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2007 Touring with 106k Miles

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by Jameson Babb, Jun 1, 2014.

  1. Jameson Babb

    Jameson Babb Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hello everyone, been enjoying some of the great info on these forums and look forward to joining the conversation going forward.

    I just purchased a 2007 Prius Touring that has 106k miles for 9,300.00 in Virginia. I did a decent amount of shopping and am pretty happy with the deal but feel free to let me know if I could have done better. The car is in immaculate cosmetic shape and seems to be operating as it should be. I have just a few request for all of your experienced advice:

    1.) Is there any go-to indicators that there is impending battery failure? For instance, I noticed the attached image from my owner's manual related to the 50kwh regenerated rates related to minutes of usage. I am not getting anywhere near the numbers shown, is this a bad sign? I'm getting 1-3 at most per 5 minute interval. Any other indicators I should be aware of? I know, the obvious battery paranoia like all n00bs, I'm almost over it, I swear
    [​IMG].

    2.) I am about to embark on a cross country trip in the new (to me) ride, about 9,000 miles over 45 days. Is there any advice/tips about such long journeys that could be useful?

    3.) I like to use a power inverter to power laptops/speakers/lights etc. Is there anything I should do differently now to help minimize drain to the HV battery? Is this just a practice I should avoid altogether?

    4.) The 'B' setting on the gear shift should be used when going down sharp inclines, right? That's basically how I understand it... instead of charging the battery it uses the engine RPM to slow the car, which is what you want to do when going down a mountain, for instance. Please inform if I'm understanding this correctly.

    5.) I logged into the Toyota Owners site and found that up and until 60k miles and June of 2011 the car was under a very good maintenance plan from the dealership, it went in ever 5k miles and the notes simply say 'AUTOCARE TECH'. After that, there is a 35k mile, 2 and 1/2 year hiatus of service records until what seems like a fairly large service in January of 2014, details below. Is this a terrible/normal/pretty good situation?

    "OIL AND FILTER CHANGE WITH 28 PT INSPECTION-RESET MAINTENANCE LIGHT, WORLD CLASS MULTI POINT INSPECTION, MOUNT AND BALANCE ALL FOUR TIRES, FOUR WHEEL ALIGNMENT, CLEAN AND ADJUST BRAKES, REPLACE THE HV ELECTRIC WATER PUMP - PRIUS, C0T INSPECT BOLT HOLE AND RE PLACE BOLT ONLY - PRIUS"

    That's all folks. I know, quite a hefty request from a n00b but believe me, all advice will be gratefully received.

    Cheers,

    Jameson
     
    #1 Jameson Babb, Jun 1, 2014
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2014
  2. KhaPhoRa

    KhaPhoRa Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2013
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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Welcome to the clubs (paranoia club, prius club, priuschat club)!
    Battery: look for the number of bars to go up and down very fast (within seconds). It's normal to go all the way down to 2 bars while stopped especially with the AC on so don't panic. Don't panic the first time you're at a stop light and the engine stops, although I'm sure you're already over that.. Those little car icons... Ignore them. They're related to regen braking, so it will vary from zero to about three or so at most.. I can't specifically recall the most I've seen..
    2: get a AAA or other roadside plan on a new-to-you vehicle for such a long trip.. Oil change before you go, monitor oil consumption periodically.. Check your spare and related tools. General safety stuff, nothing particularly prius related here that I can think of.
    3: inverter is fine, people use these cars as a whole house UPS/generators.. I know several people using 1000w inverters without issue.. Your hv pack can source and sink more than 20000 watts, your inverter is fine.
    4) yes on used down steep hills only..
    5) depends.. I do my own work and while it may take me longer, I trust my work more than the dealer.. I know for a fact the deal has taken shortcuts on my car when the last owner owned it. Of course this is all relative, they may have used a crappy mechanic or a friend without a clue.. It's impossible to know.. Regular service is typically a good sign though. That work looks like two recall services were done, perfectly normal.

    Others will chime in as well, this is a pretty great group of people..
     
    #2 KhaPhoRa, Jun 1, 2014
  3. Jameson Babb

    Jameson Babb Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2014
    3
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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    KhaPhoRa, thanks for the great advice!

    One question I forgot to ask, I have the fully loaded Package #6 with Bluetooth capability. Is there a way to use this bluetooth to play music from my iPhone or will need to just use the AUX jack? I fiddled around with it a bit but couldn't quite figure it out. Thanks again!!
     
    #3 Jameson Babb, Jun 2, 2014
  4. TampaPrius.com

    TampaPrius.com Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    461
    296
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    Location:
    Tampa, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Use the AUX jack. Bluetooth is for phone only.
     
    #4 TampaPrius.com, Jun 17, 2014
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome and congrats! all the best with your new prius!(y)
     
    #5 bisco, Jun 17, 2014
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