Instruction to fix band expander in MK1 Prius (Jap Import)

I'm in NZ also and can attest to Prius's being a rarity over here.

That said Toyota have been selling the 04 Prius here since they were launched which is good news. In fact they've got a few months waiting list and they're popular especially as fleet cars, and I see they are now advertising the 04 Prius on TV! (ad with people walking but staying stationery as the Prius zooms past them)

We also have increasing numbers of used Mk1 Prius's from Japan coming over. These are the types that Hannah mentions above with the screwy FM frequencies. I only hope there's a way to change the radio for a standard one when I get my Prius (the day is getting closer!), but it's not a huge concern.

Hannah I hope your Prius is doing okay. Also to anyone out there in NZ who's looking at a used import Prius - I get no benefit in plugging this guy but he is a friend of a friend, his name is Stephen and he runs Clean Green Motor Co. down at the Viaduct in Auckland.. Apparently hybrid vehicles are all he does. Perfect! I am planning on visiting him in the near future when I have enough money to plonk down on a Prius!!

 

One my friends already paid a visit to him..anyway how much is he asking for the Prius he is selling? By the way my Prius is fine and I enjoy driving it.

 

Uhh, Clean Green's a used car dealership, so I would expect he's selling quite a few of the things at various prices. I did see a couple of his listings on Autopoint and he was asking $20k for one - way too expensive for me and since I know him through a friend I'm sure I'll get a HUGE discount on that. Since Toyota don't know of the existance of Mk1 Prius's, he probably knows a lot about them mechanically too and probably acts as a good support channel. *shrug*

 

Have a look into this auction site in Russia which gives you the price in Japanese yen when Prius is being auctioned in Japan....

http://english.auto.vl.ru/auctions/toyota/prius/

 

hey that's pretty interesting.. seems most of them go for around the US$3000 mark.. (assuming that IS US$) which is about NZ$5000. Then you need to add shipping, registration, customs and other charges for another $2-3000 I'ld say. Oh and you need to have a clue about how to import cars hehe

 

Just thought that let you know before you buy yours...anyway what's the phone number of "Clean Green's a used car dealership". Cannot seem to find it in Yellowpages...

choice

 

Hi Guys, Owner of a Prius 2000 here in New Zealand.

Steve's number is Auckland 3089951. Say you got the number from me (Trent). His cars are around the 20,000 mark, but he only deals with the 2000-2003 model, which has a number of differences to the 1997-2000 model. The 00-03 model is basically the same as the US. I am in the middle of putting together a NZ Users webpage, and will let you know when I am done. I also have a US manual for the Clasic Prius if anyone needs one.

Cheers

Trent (Auckland, NZ)

 

Hi Trent

Who's Steve? cheers for the number any rate. I dont think I'd wanna go as far as $20k when there's heaps of 1998-2000 models for around ten. Given the future of oil production and rising prices for energy I just can't justify spending over ten grand on a car unless it was radically different. Yes the Prius is radically different but it's only the first generation of such a car and technology is moving on (though not fast enough for my liking...).

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that we're at or near a peak in global oil production and with demand constantly rising and prices already showing signs of rising due to lack of production? Does it worry anyone that our entire lives in a 1st world country depend on an INCREASING supply of oil - or everything around us will be lost to a collapsed economy, equalling unemployment, starvation, death... And all we have to show for it after what, 110 years or whatever of the automobile, is a few hybrid vehicles - that STILL require gas to operate, and a few prototype EVs etc that are simply not yet up to the task?

Anyway. Let me get off my soapbox

If Toyota was to bring out a hybrid that ran on an economy-tuned diesel and was a small hatch that was built on a light frame and with weight kept to a minimum, then hell - I'ld probably buy one new, because the energy savings in one of them would be amazing. Especially if said vehicle was capable of ruinning on waste/straight vegetable oil or biodiesel..

Last year I was the proud owner of a crusty old jap import 1990 Starlet with a Toyota 1N 1500 diesel engine and 273,000km on the clock. I bought this thing in Loot for 600 bucks. We're not talking flash or zippy (it wasn't a turbodiesel but the car was light so it wasnt too bad), but damn it was economical. It took $15-16 of diesel to fill and that would get you about 450-500km from memory (I only checked it once or twice, as I had the speedo disconnected to avoid RUC and used my GPS for speed and odometer most of hte time).

More economical than the Prius? Yes. And that was on petrodiesel. Yes, I experimented with biodiesel first, got some WVO from McDonalds and converted it, but it's a bit icky and smelly and messy.. So I tried straight (filtered) waste vege oil in the Starlet as an experiment. Probably not the best for the engine but hey it was cheap. You should have seen the km's I got out of it. No problems at all.

Then I sold the car because it has a mechanical problem I didn't know how to (nor could be bothered) to fix I sold it to a guy who then fixed it and did the exact same thing as me. He drove this starlet all around the south island on waste vege oil (from auckland) and still has it going strong to this very day!

Anyway. Sorry for the flamebait off topic post.. I hope I don't get slaughtered

 

it's quite funny to see how my "Instruction to fix band expander in MK1 Prius (Jap Import)" had turned into a wholesome new topic.

 

Pics related to fixing Band Expander are now in the Album Section as well as in the file section of Mk1_Prius yahoo group.