Preparing for 100+ mile daily drive.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by saneesh8, Jul 8, 2026 at 5:51 PM.

  1. saneesh8

    saneesh8 Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Allen, TX
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    One
    Hi All,

    My son is going to drive the car to college with ~100 mile round trip. Most of the drive is on highway with 70 mph. It is close to 160k now.

    What all i need to check / replace as preventive measure? The list of things i already replaced listed below. All done within last 2 years.

    1. Tires X 4. Have ~13k on them now. Seems really good.
    2. All TPMS sensors
    3. Inverter coolant pump
    4. Water pump and belt
    5. Spark plugs
    6. PCV valve.
    7. Throttle body
    8. Brake actuator.
    9. All fluids
    10. Front brake pads and rotors
    11. Control arm bushings with poly bushings.
    12. Filters
    13. Wiper blades.

    Other services
    1. Cleaned the hybrid battery fan and filter and all those
    2. Hybrid battery cell voltages seems to be ok. All very close to each other.
    3. Had slight oil burn. Valvoline RP reduced it real good. Changing it every 3k miles now.

    Inspected the below.
    1. Radiator and hoses seems to be ok. No bulging or leaks.
    2. AC works fine.
    3. Engine mounts also seems to be ok. Not much movement.
    4. Struts are not leaking, but may be slightly worn out. Car feels planted on highway speeds especially with the poly bushings. No bounciness or roll over feeling on highway. Read that Prius struts last a long time.

    So far the only thing that killed it on the road was failed throttle body.
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    And it's going to be driven 100 miles a day or driven there parked and what have you? Seem like ready regardless
     
  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Three
    Its a lot of time out of the day for a college kid. Hopefully he has all his classes Tues Thurs or Mon Wed Fri.
     
  4. saneesh8

    saneesh8 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2024
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    Location:
    Allen, TX
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    One
    It will be 50+50 miles each day. Didn't get the dorm. He was planning to go to a nearby university. Trying to get classes on Mon-Wed-Fri if possible now. For those in Dallas, TX area, he will be driving on TX-121.

    May have to give him my 2014 Avalon Hybrid with 89k on it. Bigger and smoother ad safer. He said Prius is very noisy on highway. With the poly bushing on control arm, car feels more planted now on highway. Not much flexing on the suspension.
     
  5. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
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    Rent a space off campus nearby? Living an hour from campus is going to suck both socially and academically.