Just bought my first Prius! Any advice?

Welcome! You'll find much useful information by browsing through the threads in this forum, but here is a couple of tips:

For the health of the main battery:

1) Try to keep the interior of the car as cool as possible in the summer by setting the A/C at a level that is comfortable for you and leaving it there whenever you are going somewhere. Your solar fan is a neat solution for helping to keep the car cool while it's sitting, but that should be combined with windows that are tinted to the maximum legal level and sun shields for the front and rear windows. (There are some available for sale in the store that is part of this forum.)

2) Try not to let the car sit unused for long periods of time. If you are going to be away from it for weeks or months, have a trusted friend or relative put the car in 'Ready' mode for half an hour at a time once a week or so. (Make sure there is enough gas in the tank before you leave that it will not run out when your friend is doing this, of course.)

Other than that, enjoy the ride and especially the gas mileage.

 

I'm a semi-new owner so this is new to me. I understand that excessive heat can deteriorate a battery.
Are you saying that heat from the interior of the car is sufficiently transmitted to the main battery to cause deterioration?
Does the about 40 degree difference on a hot day make a big difference?

 

Congats on the Prius!

You know what they say... once you go hybrid, you never go back! In all seriousness though, don't wait 10,000 miles to change the oil. Oil is so cheap, and with only a little over 4 qts of it, it really isnt worth it.

 

It will take some time for the interior heat to penetrate the panels surrounding the battery, but there is no doubt that using sun shields and tinted glass will keep the interior cooler and that will preserve the battery. I would guess minimizing heat in this way becomes more important as the battery ages, so those of us with Gen 2 cars need to think about it more than those with later models.

 

congrats and welcome!

you might consider changing the tranny fluid. other than that, just follow the maintenance in the o/m.

it's a good idea to learn about the 12v battery. it's small, and back in a corner of the hatch under the floor.
there's a jump point in the fuse box under the hood, where you can test the battery voltage, and jump the car if necessary. to avoid jumping, learn how to test the voltage, and keep an eye on it periodically.
if you're not going to drive the car for several weeks, consider a battery minder, or disconnect the neg cable.

did you get two key fobs with it? now is a good time to learn how the mechanical keys come out, and try locking and unlocking the drivers door with them.

all the best!

 

Welcome, and congratulations!
Here's a good thread in the sticky section of the Gen 3 forums.
3G Prius Features Explained | PriusChat

And there's lots of good info here on @john1701a's web site.
John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more

There are things you can do to make the Prius battery last longer and things you can do to shorten its lifespan just as with a conventional auto engine. First, though, just drive it and enjoy it while you learn about it.

 

While I think the advice about keeping the interior cool is sound and does no harm, I wouldn't obsess over it. Most Prius owners take no special precautions in this (or any) regard, and its reliability survey results are absolutely tremendous – it's one of the most trouble-free cars ever made.

I agree with the poster who advised changing your oil more often than the prescribed 10,000 mile interval. Some Priuses have started to consume oil after about 100,000 miles, and there's an unproven anecdotal suspicion (which I believe) that this is part of the problem. An ounce of prevention, as they say.

The only other note I'd personally interject is that your car is now five years old. It's starting to enter the window of time where it's normal for the smaller, 12-volt battery to fail due to old age. It's one of the few failures that can strand you, so I personally think it's worth it when you have a few spare nickels and dimes to pre-emptively replace it. Note that because this battery lives in the back of the interior, for safety reasons you can't use just any battery that's sized to fit – you need one made expressly for a Prius. However, a couple different makers offer aftermarket Prius 12v batteries that fit the bill, and there are terrific DIY videos online to save the labor charge; it's a very easy job. All of which means you need not pay a Toyota dealer $250 when you can DIY a third-party brand and pay $130 instead. Check this forum for more information about it.

 

I agree with what @Tideland Prius has to say.

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Change your oil every 10k miles, there is nothing wrong with changing it every 10k miles. I've been doing it since brand new and it has 140k miles, no oil has been burned. You only read a lot of oil burning on the 2010 and 2011 Prius, somehow their engine has those issues, but for the 2012, there hasn't been any of the issues the later model has been experiencing, such as brake booster, egr, oil burning, head gaskets, misfiring issues etc.. etc.. My 2012 has been no issue for me, and your year, and model is the exact same as mine.

As for the HV battery, don't worry too much about it since over time, it'll eventually die and you'll need to replace it. Just make sure to clean the HV battery fan to prevent over heating due to clogged battery fan.

Honestly, the solar panel roof is a waste of money and the fan that runs it is useless. It won't keep the car cool because you're just circulating hot air inside the vehicle, the AC is not on so its not keeping the car cool at all. I've used it once and I don't see a difference in temp. and so I never used it again.

 

the metal key goes into the lock on the drivers door handle. if the 12v dies, you can't open the hatch, or the doors electrically, so it's a good idea to know how to use the mechanical keys, and find the jump point under the hood.
learning about the 12v can be found here, not in your o/m. toyota would never admit to having an insufficient product in their vehicles.

 

you can still open the hatch manually from the inside.

 

yes, but it's much easier to put 12v to the charge point.

 

sometimes I don't feel too safe using those points, but that's just me, I like to go straight to the source

 

The solar roof package was an expensive way to get a sunroof.

 

Yeah basically... they hyped up the solar AC as if it was the best thing ever, I tried it and I thought, what a useless function lol... I guess the engineers didn't think this through since you need freon to keep car cool and not just the fan running.