Is the 3rd Gen Prius "Easy to work on"?

If you have a North American 3rd gen, with the big double-jointed windshield wiper on the right side, then the cowl sticks out so far over the engine that you have to remove the wipers and the cowl every time you want to do simple things like reach the spark plugs. The good news is, after the first few times, it's just second nature, like cooking recipes that all start with "chop one half onion". It just adds some twenty minutes of mindless drill to whatever actual thing you wanted to do.

If you're in one of the regions where the car sells without the double-jointed wiper on that side, the cowl isn't in the way, and you can change spark plugs with no extra fuss. Frustrating to those of us here.

 

It's pretty much
like a z engined Corolla. A few quirks and extra bits . Transmission is a single CVT with two motor generators in it the Corolla is just a three-speed or whatever automatic but most of the brakes and the hubs and the other stuff pretty much the same or if there's a different part it's so similar there's a little design difference very little

 

No. Since no history of car work experience were mentioned and car tools.

 

The engine underpanel can be a bit of a handful; you get used to it, if remove it with every oil change and wash the plastic fasteners free of grit, it’ll stay happy. See my signature.

Brake inspection requires a few accommodations: I found it simplest to just disconnect 12 volt neg cable before doing ANYTHING, and when everything is buttoned up, pump brake pedal several times, to remove any excessive brake pedal travel, and THEN reconnect 12 volt.

further on brakes: be real careful with rear brake caliper piston orientation, more info in my signature.

3rd gen permanent oil filter housing can be “fun”; you can convert to spin-on. See my signature.

Toyota’s TPMS sensor style is not accommodating for those trying to DIY rotate stock wheels with an extra set with snow tires. Mazda manages this.

 

Sorry to change the course of this thread, but can you elaborate how to handle the TPMS with a different set of wheels?
What is required for a simple tire rotation?
Thanks!
I know about the button under the steering wheel and resetting the reference PSI,,, I think.

Just this weekend I bought a set of stock Prius 15" wheels to replace my stock Level 5 17" wheels.
I'm tired of barely breaking into the 40's mpg when on the interstates driving ~77MPH.
I may put winter tires on them or just go with the latest Ecopia's from Costco and try to sell the 17" wheels.

 

.......

 

that's how i'd handle it

 

That’s my M.O. as well. When I do my snows on rims in 2010, dealership mechanic asked if I wanted sensors, while shaking his head. Not that I needed convincing.

but yeah, just put snows on rims on our sons Mazda CX5, with sensors, and no problems, no Autel gizmo, drove it over to their place today, no light.

 

As an owner of a 2016 Toyota Corolla and a 2011 Prius, I can say that the Prius is definitely more of a PITA to wrench on.

There's just more "stuff" involved when working on the Prius, especially in the engine bay. Inverter, and engine both have a dedicated coolant loop, with double the coolant hoses, high voltage cables running around, and more wiring harnesses running everywhere. So getting to bolts and hose clamps sometimes is a challenge.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

You should not attempt to work on this car unless you have the dealer computer. The service manual is about 7,400 pages. Unqualified people should not be 'working' on cars.

 

Everyone was "unqualified" before they worked on it. And it means nothing.
Just because you are "qualified" doesn't mean you know what you're doing.

 

It is super easy. I was also a little intimidated at first but I did some easy jobs to build up confidence and now I do everything except the fluids and the stuff inside the block (except I will do spark plugs)

 

I have a 2013 with the 15s but regularly drive my Parents 2011 which has the 17s. They completely change how the car feels/handles.

 

My 2 cents: it’s not just the wheels. The 3rd gen Prius that comes stock with 17” rims, has some other differences, steering components, larger min turning radius, diff lock-to-lock of steering wheel, maybe suspension diffs too.

we test drove a 15” before getting Touring which comes with 17”. Definitely felt more planted. Every winter I swap to 15” snows; it doesn’t change the feel.

 

Would you go to an unlicensed doctor?

 

Everything cept fluids . Not much else . Till failures . Usually past 180K for most. Not a cavalier.

 

My persona w 205 50 17 never sees much above 42 that's with new eng and trans running perfectly no codes rarely sees hiway woman driven which maybe issue. My 09 between 47 49 similarly driven