200k Service Questions

The cooling in the jugs is still pink All of the coolant throughout the car it's pink still red Asian colored whatever you want to call it? If so pH strip test it see what you got That's how much of a priority that would be at my place that just takes a second kind of like testing the pool or the hot tub. Brake fluid is it clear very light tan colored whatever kind of like the jug it's in again I would leave it the brake fluid in these cars is very good It's not your brake fluid of 30 years ago It's a little bit different there's nothing wrong with it when you do your brakes you can let some drip out at each wheel whatever top it off You can let some out at each wheel and then let one wheel run until the jug is almost empty like right down to the little hole where it's going to vanish and start sucking air and fill it up with the new good stuff let it run a few more minutes close that up and you've pretty much changed your fluid technically speaking. Spark plugs that would be more pressing than me than most other things because he's plugs in these cars are 100,000 mi platinum meridian whatever you're poison is now and so I imagine they're coming to the end of their life which has been probably quite long and that's only a few minutes on an afternoon and I don't wrench fast. I don't remember what else was on the list but none of it was very pertinent I'll just keep an eye on things and drive the h a l e out of the car that's what these cars need more than anything is to be in the wind.

 

The one NZ is generally not an oil consumer unless it's been just plainly abused which many are but if it's been any kind of maintained it all it's probably not burning oil at 200 some odd thousand miles if it's using just a little not a humongous deal. When your engine is in that state you shouldn't be using the greatest and most best oil in the world It's then unnecessary.

 

Quote for transaxle fluid change is nervy; I wouldn’t pay over $100. It’s comparable to an oil change. Worth doing if it’s been in there a long time, but that’s way too much.

Engine coolant change not bad; I hear it’s a bear on 2nd gen.

inverter coolant change quote seems about $100 too high.

spark plugs and PCV valve again about $100 too high.

Brake fluid change not too far out of line, and worthwhile.

engine flush of dubious value.

 

IMHO; It can all wait. The engine flush isn't going to put a dent in the oil consumption - in fact it may make it worse. The engine is just too worn-out.
If your nervous, if the coolant looks good, do a litmus test on the coolant and decide from there. The brake fluid gets a moisture test. I've had cars with more than 200K miles and original brake fluid still in the car. I flush out the system myself and the braking improves drastically. Keeping old brake fluid in there isn't going to stop your brakes from working - it'll simply take longer distances to stop. Which your used to, since your driving it everyday.

Save your money and enjoy your new car when it arrives .....

 

White oil consumption at 200K or 150 K is going to be pretty normal for a little tiny 1.6 l engine I mean you can put all the snake oil you want to and do all those things with tough oil and tefal and Teflon oil additives and it can go on forever The cost of some of those things is quite sometimes so you don't want to be stuffing $40 cans of BG in that they're charging you $140 to do or anything like that You could just do that at the house for the cost of the $25 can The BG dealer will bring it to your house if you're nice or maybe they won't in the area you live in.

 

The transaxle fluid will be almost black You could undo the fill plug and stick a little piece of paper towel or a white shop rag in there and if it comes out so dark red it's almost black it's spent. And this stuff at about $140,000 mi generally looks like that It's not really hurting anything but I would say drain it out of there and put the red stuff back in and just know it's done That's a something you don't want to replace if you can avoid it your transmission motor generator 1 and 2 inside the transmission etc these things usually last the full ride but for that kind of guarantee I would say 100,000 mi are close to it transmission oil change would be fairly reasonable again it shouldn't be very costly a teenager can do it in your driveway with the right socket Allen wrench etc or they can't.

 

Spark plugs should be done at 200k. If you’re keeping with regular maintenance periods, the rest of the things you mentioned should have been done at 180k and not needed again until 240k.

On the other hand, if you have never replaced the transmission fluid, don’t do it now. The way I heard it explained is gears get worn over time and the debris in the transmission fluid is compressed against the gears, which can help them catch and engage correctly. If the fluid has not been changed in 200,000 miles, then draining the existing fluid would get rid of so much of the debris that the gears would likely start to slip.

 

Unless you have warning lights on display, or codes being thrown, then I would pass on 'all of the above' at those price points.

Gen2 is a 1.5 liter engine.

Not sure who charges $40 or even $25 for a single can of BG, as I once walked out with a can of EPR for $10 at a local oil changer.

 

I'm in the same boat... I just got a 2nd gen with 200k for relatively cheap. I've done the oil, oil filter, transmission fluid, removed the oxidation from the headlights, reaatached the HID level sensor on the rear axle, replaced the spark plugs, cleaned the throttle bottle, and replaced the pcv valve.

The spark plugs were fairly bad. I don't think I'll change the engine filter just yet it looks fairly clean. The transmission fluid wasn't black and it wasn't original red just a few shades darker. The throttle bottle I found a bit hard to clean, but it looked fairly good. The PVC valvue was a @#$&# I to get on and off with the hose used a crowfoot. Don't suggest it. A ratcheting wrench definitely is the better tool. The value seemed fairly clean. Probably could of just cleaned it...

I might consider the cleaning the sensor, not super confident I can do the coolant (would need to invest in a computer and techstream) Toyota wants $330 for both coolants changed. Gonna do the cabin filter of course. I checked the brakes and undercarriage. Mine came with a cat shield Probably gonna leave the brake fluid. Toyota wants $185 for that. Worried about the inverter pump...

 

I don't like additives and it's mostly "snake oil"; pardon the pun. Those additives, usually just thicken up the oil a bit. A product called motor honey, comes to mind. It was thick and sticky, and would probably block oil passages in our modern engines. Older cars; pre-fuel injected motors tolerances was very loose and sloppy - the theory was, motor honey filled in the loose gaps. Tighter seals, better performance. Best case, it doesn't do anything or damage anything; just a waste of money.
I usually go with slightly thicker than OEM spec. oil to slow down the oil burn. We're going into summer, so you won't be running into any cold start-up oil flow issues.

 

are you getting the new prius from this dealer?

 

No you can do the coolant no problem both of them inverter and radiator you will need no special tools for a Gen 2 some people have these burping things and an air operated something another and all of that I haven't had to use any of it I have a friend with a shop that has all that stuff because I guess you know it can make it so that you can not have to pour the coolant in slowly it'll suck it in and power it down every way in valley and the cooling system and fill it right up I'm not on any kind of time constraint like that so filling it slowly and what have you is just fine while I'm waiting for one to burp I can start the brakes on another one or what have you It's not that much of an issue My space isn't that valuable I'm not on that kind of clock.

 

i don't see anything on that list that will help prevent a breakdown. keep your phone charged!