So you want to get maybe 300,000 miles from your Gen 3 Prius over say, the next 10 years. What PM items would you recommend and when? Obviously tires, brake pads ( lucky to get 50kmi on Gen 3 ) , windshield wipers, etc., get replaced as needed. Add your items to the list or alter the ones I have listed- 1. Oil changes every 10,000 miles 2. Brake sliders cleaned and lubed every 2 years 3. Brake fluid change every ________years 4. Antifreeze change every _________years 5. 12 v battery change every 5 years 6. Air filters change every 2 years or 30,000 miles 7. Transaxle fluid change at 30,000 then every 60,000 miles 8. Spark plugs at 100,000 miles 9. 10.
My 2004 Prius is just shy of 70,000 miles to reach the 300K mark and my daily commute is 130 miles. All fluids and oil changes listed are critical and as long as you change and check their levels (especially the oil), you can easily reach 300Kmiles on your odometer and probably more. I've never done No. 2 but had the dealer replaced the front pads at 200,000 miles. Happy Motoring
Brake fluid ages due to the accumulation of moisture, so the 'right' answer in Phoenix will not be the 'right' answer in Miami. Test strips are your key. Remember you have two coolant loops. While the 12 volt battery can last longer, I would budget as if it lasted 5 years Air filters every 30,000 miles I would due drain and fill of ATF at 30,000 miles and then every 60,000 after that
Concur with Jimbo's observations. the 30/60 transaxle fluid is a little bit of an overkill IMHO, but it's the consensus here at PC, and it's inexpensive and easy to do. I'd consider a 5K interval for the oil as well, although this may not be as important in the Bay State as it is in Aridzona. Your call. Are YOU planning to do this maintenance, or are you going to pay to get it done??? That's a VERY important consideration when contemplating preventative maintenance, since dealer mistakes aren't nearly as uncommon as you may think. Keep records and double check their work if you're having the maintenance performed at a dealer. Good Luck!
Brake sliders (aka caliper pins) has been weighing on my mind. Our's has just passed 3 years on the road (and around 40,000 km), and I'm thinking to look into that. I've talked to the service manager of our dealership via email, and he was quite informative. Due to my concerns about upsetting the car's electronics I may just hand it over to them, still not sure. Here's an excerpt from his email response ("Whistler" is a local ski resort): With regards to "not too tricky", maybe just disconnecting the battery, and not touching the drivers door for good measure, does the trick? Coupled with pumping the brake pedal to build up pressure, before reconnecting the battery? ("Whistler" is a local ski resort)
Spark plug replacement in the US schedule is 120,000 miles or 12 year. It's worthwhile pulling them sooner, imho, just to get acquainted, reduce the possibility of having them seize up. NutzaboutBolts has an excellent YouTube video outlining the (insane) steps needed, to get at them. There is no valve adjustment, the clearance is hydraulically maintained.
Luckily gen 3 doesn't have shims/buckets, far as I know. Hydraulic fluid keeps a constant zero clearance.
I replaced the spark plugs at 200,000 miles which I purchased on my own (NGK Iridium Ix Spark Plug (BKR5EIX-11). However I never done a valve adjustment.