Tundra mpg blues. Talk me out of a Prius.

It’s a solution to avoid future problems.

Top tier gas has higher detergent content and fends off deposits longer.

Does it stop them from forming? No.

Does it extend the deposit formation time? Yes.

I bought cheap gas for our Prius up until I pulled the egr cooler and intake manifold while now performing an engine flush with BG Products EPR each oil change.

Now I buy top tier gas only .

 

The vast majority of cars are not investments, and a Prius wouldn't be unless it's one of the first built. The purpose of cars is to go longer distances faster and consistently. A used Prius is typically a good way to do that for several years without paying exhorbitantly. While it's true that very expensive things can go wrong with a Prius and it's impossible to know exactly what will happen to a specific car, that's where reliability history and maintenance records come in. For a car that has had regular maintenance with no red flags, there's pretty much the same chance of having a $1000+ repair in a Prius as there is in a Corolla, which makes it a very good "starving college student" car, or at least as good a one as there can be.

 

I disagree.
Although you might need to replace a Corolla engine, that is also a possibility on the Prius. The Prius also has the expensive traction battery variable when considering an older vehicle.

 

More parts do not always mean more risk. It depends on the frequency of those parts failing, and at least according to the repair cost graphs on True Delta, percentages of expensive repairs between Corolla and Prius are very similar.

 

Since there's no top tier gasoline on most brands in UK then all our vehicles are obviously doomed to awful repair bills.

 

You can 'make your own' by using techron and the like.

 

Yes, 2k1Toaster does make a good alternative to the OEM HV Battery. Ingenious and some crazy mad skills (in a good way)!
Prius Battery Replacement (GenII) Like you've never seen - NEW Cylindrical Cells | PriusChat

Looks like pricing dropped by $100, to $1500. Just wonder what shipping would run? Maybe he will have an upcoming Black Friday Sale?
New Prius Battery Kit (GEN2, 2004-2009) - New Prius Batteries LLC
It is truly a very compelling alternative for those who can not get the Toyota dealer to sell the HV Battery to you, and esp at the lowest online pricing (looks to be $1993.28 from Olathe Toyota, 11/9/2017).

As for Top Tier gas, atkins vs otto cycle, some of you are missing the bigger issue. Top Tier gas has been proven to be cleaner, specifically against far fewer valve deposits, which will also translate into cleaner injectors. Atkins or Otto engines on current modern cars use fuel injectors, so injectors on these engines will benefit from Top Tier gas. Thus the smart purchase of Top Tier gas for your ca. All of this may be a moot point, if you live in an area where you can only buy Top Tier gas. For those of us in major metropolitan area our reality is Top Tier only; you have to go out of your way to find a non-Top Tier station, if possible. Independent no name stations are disappearing with acquisitions by the major brand stations.

BMW was one of the first manufactures to notice problems with their engines due to gas, specifically intake valve deposits. As the fuel industry began to introduce better detergents, BMW conducted mileage based fuel test, to make sure a fuel would not cause performance issues, due to valve deposits; some of you may recall the fuel makers touting passing BMW's 100,000 mileage test. The test consisted for removing the cyl head, weighing each intake valve, then running the engine for 100,000 miles on the test subject gasoline, removing cyl head, then reweighing each intake valve. Passing was a VERY small weight gain (deposit formation); the allowable number was VERY, VERY, VERY small. This is the standard for gasoline to be certified as Top Tier (exact number of test miles is not listed). Deposit Control | Top Tier Gas

Top Tier stations: Licensed Brands | Top Tier Gas

 

I would suspect the gas in the UK/EU is of the same quality as the USA. I can't see the same multi National refineries that are in both countries making, a lower quality gas in one area, possibly exposing them to problems caused by their gas. These multi National Refineries probably make the same high standard of gas everywhere.

Shell in the UK = USA
BP in UK = USA​

 

Shipping is free in the continental US. Price is just lowered until the next shipment arrives.

Gen ii - Battery woes -P08A80 - Warranty Q's + | PriusChat

 

Well those two brands alone charge a Minimum of ~$0.75 / gallon more than usual, but frequently more along major routes.

 

This is very simple. You have two options.

1. Continue driving the Tundra
2. Keep the Tundra and add a Prius

Which vehicle is more reliable and has less maintenance? A 2010 car with 72k miles or a 2005 truck with 214k miles over the next 3 years? That's a rhetorical question. Why 3 years? I'll get to that in a minute. But to give the Tundra it's best footing, let's just say maintenance and repairs will be the same on both vehicles.

Option 1:
The only thing different is gas.
50,000 miles / 14 mpg x $3 / gallon = $10,714
Option 2:
50,000 miles / 50 mpg x $3 / gallon = $3000

The difference between the 2 options is $7714. It in other words, after 50,000 miles or 3 years, you would've paid for the Prius. Okay so you have to pay insurance on 2 vehicles. So a little over 3 years.

Still not feeling good? A 2010 has 10 year battery warranty in CARB states. That means you have ~3 more years remaining.

It's a no brainer. Get the Prius.

 

IIRC, Pennsylvania is like Washington State: worthless CARB. They adopted CARB Emission standard, but not the longer Warranty requirement. WA & PA only have an 8yr/100,000 mile warranty on the HV Battery.

Assuming there is very little warranty left, the HV Battery will still likley last the OP 10+ years. Colder climate, and car to driven regularly. If OP lived in South or mountain area, shorter life. This is based on observation of people reporting failures here and where they reside.

$7714 - $1600 spiral Hv Battery replacement from 2k1Toaster = $6114 possible savings. A good chunk of change!

 

I assume you meant cylindrical.

 

Yes, cylindrical.

 

FWIW, QT and Valero are usually cheaper than any other top tier gas stations except Costco in D/FW.

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