2010 prius taxi blew its transmision

If I understand correctly, Socrates' cab is doing fine, isn't it?

 

The other thing I regret to have found with this forum is that if you criticize the Prius in any way whatsoever, then you're making it all up and have an agenda. I have been pleased with my fuel economy but it has not been a reliable car and the replacement parts are much much more expensive than the same for a Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Insignia.[/quote]

I'm not so much defending Prius as trying to get my head around whether Toyota would deliberately make cheaper versions for Europe. It may be cheaper to make some under spec parts but Economies of scale suggest that this wouldn't happen. Take into consideration the design costs. Tooling costs etc. It may in fact not be cheaper to have two strands of parts manufacture. I'm not saying it can't and won't happen, just that it might not be truly economic.

I've had a long love affair with the SV21 Camry. My daughters are driving two that I've rescued and made road worthy. The one thing I've always found, for instance, is that whether you have the highest spec Camry or the lowest they always have the same wiring loom. This means that you can buy the lowest spec Camry and then simply plug in all the bits Toyota only puts in the high spec cars. The same with mechanicals.

I used to own Type III Volksies. I had a 1968 model station wagon. It had drum brakes all round. I bought the disk brakes off a 1971 model and they bolted straight on. I'm just saying that varying design is expensive and most car manufacturers prefer everything made to the same standard where economies of scale can kick in to make parts cheaper.

As to Prius. Sure there are some annoying features. Particularly 12 volt battery life. and I have no problem accepting that some owners are having less than satisfactory reliability.


I would be interested to find out which factories make the European Prius also.

 

new york cabbies are forced to drive hybrids, so if they have major problems, they will have to try a different make i guess.

 

I think you should go get a different vehicle. You and your neighbor or Taxi fleet are not worthy enough to be driving a Prius. If you are driving in extreme condition the trans-axle fluid needs to be flushed every 50,000 miles. The transmission blew because you never flushed the fluid. The fluid is used to lubricate the engine components. It's like motor oil, after so many miles it stops lubricating which means you need to change it or problems will occur.

 

That's a very offensive and unnecessary statement.

Besides which your trans axle oil changes go against Toyota's recommendations. You cannot claim that trans axle problems are due to not changing oil when YOU recommend. In fact it's been my observation over 47 years of vehicle ownership, that not following manufacturer's recommendations and service advice is the prime cause of vehicles aging prematurely.

Personally I think you should apologise.

 

Is that a big lolly in your cheek?

 

so you're saying, if you ever start a taxi company, and you live in greece, and you want more than 160,000 miles out of the transaxle, don't use prius. thanks for the heads up man!

 

Anyone here know what an Internet Troll is?

 

Usually someone who is a new member and resurrects old, negative threads?

 

Maybe, but if you're referring to me, Nah! Maybe that was a bad way to start my membership, but couldn't help noticing how seriously many people took this thread. I have had some experience with 'net Trolls, and they usually start with vague, ambiguous and provocative statements, but the picture NEVER gets any clearer. This one has all the hallmarks.

In my experience, once you identify them as a troll, they know the game is up and go away, but that seemed to be a long time coming in this thread.

See: wikipedia --- Troll_(Internet)

Anyway, I look forward to learning more about your bad experiences with Prius, and to tell you more about what I know from NZ. You'll be interested to know that we have hundreds of (mostly JDM) Prius taxis over here, but it's a new craze and I'm not sure how they are going / will last. I have more, but need to start a new thread.

Cheers,
Al

 

What has been so unreliable in your car? Mine has been spectacular so far. And what parts have been expensive?

And what's so annoying about the 12 volt battery? My OEM 12 volt lasted 5 1/2 years. I pay attention to the dash. It warned me quite clearly it was getting low. Drove to the store and bought a new one. People on this site complaining about there 12 usually have left a light on or went away for a long time.

AS far as transmissions the Prius is somewhat special in that it has exposed albeit bulletproof coated motor windings. The winding coatings can be compromised by overheating by pulling a big load and or worn out abrasive fluid. Trans fluid should be replaced at least every 50,000 miles and so should the Inverter coolant. I change both of mine out every 30,000 miles and do a UOA too. That costs me $ 90 every 3 years for both.

 

The first statement you quote is not mine it's a quote form another post that didn't behave. And yes I did mention the annoyingly undersized battery. Yes it does it's prime function of booting up the ECU adequately but there is no margin for human error. A battery should be able to power a cabin light for 12 hours and still start the car. Drivers are human and will make mistakes.

Toyota has a history of using just adequate 12 volt batteries and in every Toyota I've owned I have installed a larger capacity battery when the OEM died.

Don't get the impression I am dissatisfied with my Prius, I am not and I have stuck with Toyota for forty years for very good reasons. Most of them are called mechanical reliability. However no manufacturer is perfect.