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Hi all, new Prius v owner

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by farmecologist, Jan 31, 2018.

  1. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Drilled rotors on the v:).

    I know there’s a lot of flat open land out there. Looking to see what she can do:whistle:?

    Looks like one well spent this weekend ;).

    Think how satisfying it will be once this is all done(y).
     
  2. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Ha yep..I wasn't going to go that route but I found the complete R1 Concepts zinc-plated set with ceramic pads for a really good deal ( via Amazon ). :D

    I 'broke them in' this weekend as well. Directions were to speed up to around 55MPH or so and then slam on the brakes 'just enough' so as to not trigger the ABS. And then do it 9 more times! Directions said they could have 'a burning smell' during this procedure...which they did! Luckily nobody else on the road when I was doing this...lord knows what they might have thought! (y)
     
    #62 farmecologist, May 6, 2018
    Last edited: May 6, 2018
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  3. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Arg...now that my Toyota OEM front brake shim kit has arrived, I went back in to install them and lo and behold one of the caliper pin bolts snapped. Very, very odd as I was using my torque wrench and nothing seemed awry. o_O Needless to say I am going to replace all of the caliper bolts/pins/boots out of paranoia (and the parts are inexpensive (y) ) . Picked up parts this morning....

    One question though...when I did the rear brakes there were just the pads...no 'Toyota shims' at all on there. In poking around a bit it seems like there should be shims on there ( similar to the front brakes ). I'm assuming that you guys do have them? Could someone check? I'm also trying to locate the proper part # for the V...appears to be 04946-47100 (or 04946-47090) ?

    Thanks!
     
  4. PriusV17

    PriusV17 Active Member

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  5. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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  6. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Well I think I'm finally done with all the things I originally planned on doing. The 'final' items are :
    • Installed the rear brake shim and parking brake kits that arrived last week. No photos...just busy work. All the hard work ( i.e. - cleaning up the horrible state of the original brakes ) were already commented on above.
    • Installed rear shocks. This was a really easy job on the Prius v because it has access panels in the trunk area ( note that our 2010 liftback doesn't have these panels ).
    IMG_5370.jpg IMG_5369.jpg IMG_5371.jpg IMG_5372.jpg

    Of course, I now have things on the list that I didn't originally plan on doing :
    • Catch Can - next up.
    • Front Struts.
    • Examine the hybrid battery cells to look for dust. The original state of the vehicle was very dirty which I noticed when i replaced the battery early on in this adventure. Any precautions I should take while doing this? Maybe I should install a prolong harness while I'm at it?
    Does anyone know if there is a decent 'quick strut' assembly available for the Prius v (wagon)? These 'quck struts' include springs and are preloaded so in theory the install is just a swap out vs. having to deal with spring loading and such. I'm having a hard time finding a set other than the ultra cheap ones from the Chinese companies....which I'm afraid to use due to the stories of weld failure and such.
     
  7. PriusV17

    PriusV17 Active Member

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    Very likely I'm going to install the Prolong harness to my HV battery pack as well. These batteries are not "smart" batteries. A smart battery would have a BMS (battery management system) built in to make sure each cells are properly charged and not allowed to go above or below their charge levels. Toyota, like Tesla and just everyone else links them in series and there are 168 of them linked in a series in the Prius v. That means any of them can go out of sync and out of balance with the rest of the pack. Causing the pack to be less and less efficient over time. I know my battery is under warranty and any "tampering" can void it. But I also know that it needs proper care and maintenance over time that Toyota is not providing. At least for now it seems. Also I do think that new Toyota NiMH cells are better in performance as mentioned in the PWR Mode post. These are new cells introduced since 2016 but their long term longevity is not real life tested. But for $2k I think may be a good investment. With return of the original pack without the original pack will cost around $4k. Otherwise proper battery maintenance is important over time to get the best MPG. Check your bus bar as well for signs of corrosion. Be safe. I saw a youtube guy handle the entire dismantle process without any rubber gloves. He even got shocked with it and didn't think it was a big deal.
     
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  8. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    What part of CA are you located?

    Up here in the Bay Area I share the Prolong equipment with another member;).

    We each have a harness, and the v has the same pack size as the Gen3 and Gen2 :).

    Just one option (y).
     
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Shim kit for our 2010 regular Prius rear brakes, fwiw:

    04946-47070

    My usual go-to site McGeorge Toyota, doesn't seem to show any shims, for the rear brakes on a Prius v. Also, they're not showing any shims for our 2010, and I know dang well there ARE shims, they're on there, and the Repair Manual shows them. It'd be really nice to cadge a 2012 Prius v Repair Manual pdf, but it could be that boat has sailed, ie: it's all online now, they're no longer maintaining a "book" version. :(
     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Check with a dealership too, regarding the shims. I know Honda in recent years has gone to bundling the shims with pads, all in the box.

    Odd though, McGeorge Toyota diagrams don't show them.
     
  11. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Already installed the shims ( see post above ). (y)

    Also see this post above : Hi all, new Prius v owner | Page 4 | PriusChat . It is a neat cross reference for brake parts for all Toyota vehicles.
     
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  12. PriusV17

    PriusV17 Active Member

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    I'm in the LA area. I do plan to buy the entire unit with the discharge feature then really get more familiar with it. In the future I may share it.
     
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  13. taxibuddy

    taxibuddy Member

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    I'm amazed that people are willing to spend that kind of time and money on that system and then put their car out of commission for 3 days while they babysit it. And all of this time and expense when there is literally nothing wrong. Not to mention the risk that all this money and effort will be wasted because the car gets totaled or your transportation needs change or you do it wrong and cause the very problem you were trying to prevent.
     
  14. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    It must blow your mind then that it actually works;).

    Got some data to support your claims:whistle:?

    I’ll be from Missouri: show me(y).
     
  15. PriusV17

    PriusV17 Active Member

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    It's not that there's nothing wrong. It's seeing reduced MPG over time and losing money by burning more gas.

    This article states Toyota will recondition your battery for $750. By owning or sharing a reconditioning system with others you can save money and MPG over time. But this is more for the DIY crowd. 99% of hybrid owners will not want to open the battery compartment and risk losing their warranty. But they can go through Toyota and pay for the service to get their MPG back.

    Why would I want to recondition my hybrid battery pack? | HowStuffWorks

    "Reconditioning the battery in a Toyota Prius not only extends the life of the battery by adding another six years; it also reduces maintenance costs for the owner. At $750, battery reconditioning costs about one-fourth the price of replacing the battery pack entirely."
     
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  16. PriusV17

    PriusV17 Active Member

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    I do think the cheap alternative to reconditioning the pack is to regen your car down a long decline where the hybrid battery can get to reach 100% capacity according to the battery bars. I think that would be a good sign that your pack is still capable of going to 100%.
     
  17. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Gee I didn't think mentioning a Prolong harness would be so controversial. :eek: :giggle: However,I do think the system has been pretty well proven at this point. Heck, they are even marketing a 'pro' version to shops.

    BTW - I ordered some front 'quick struts' with integrated springs ( see this post Hi all, new Prius v owner | Page 4 | PriusChat )...yes the same post with the prolong harness mention. :whistle: In theory this should make it a relatively quick install.
     
    #77 farmecologist, May 25, 2018
    Last edited: May 25, 2018
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  18. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Not as controversial as oil grade thankfully(y).
     
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  19. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Or Cold Air Intakes and four-tip Titanium 'fart can' exhausts.
     
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  20. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    How can we compete with those:rolleyes:.
     
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