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Am I pushing my luck? 2012, 70k miles...only oil changes done so far..

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Lindsi, Apr 24, 2018.

  1. Lindsi

    Lindsi Junior Member

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    I've basically only drove cheap cars that weren't worth putting money into them until I bought my Prius new in December 2012. I've just passed 70,000 miles and I've only done the oil changes at every 10k miles (and whatever was free with Toyota care the first 2 years).

    I've thankfully had no mechanical issues and only minor repairs (dealerships car wash scraped my spoiler so they repainted it, someone hit my bumper so that was repaired and repainted and Toyota replaced my windshield).

    I'll have the car paid off in the next couple weeks so that means something is gonna go wrong... (the bumper damage was last month so hopefully that's all that does actually happen).

    Am I pushing my luck with anything? Should I have any additional maintenance done asap? I think I was reading something about the ATF...maybe overdue for that?

    Any tips would be much appreciated!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    not at all, your prius should be trouble free for many years and miles.

    having the tranny fluid changed is a good idea, you should check/clean/replace the cabin filter every 15k and the engine filter every 30k.

    do you know where to find the maintenance schedule?

    it is important to check tire pressure and oil level at every fill up.

    and your 12v battery probably only has a few years left.

    you are supposed to have the brakes inspected every 30k, and the caliper slide pins lubricated.

    the first major service is 120k, iirc.
     
    #2 bisco, Apr 24, 2018
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2018
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  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Transaxle fluid change is easy, and the genuine Toyota ATF WS fluid is highly recommended, plus replace the drain and fill bolt washers. The fluid and washer shouldn't be more than $40. You basically raise and level the car, drain the old fluid, refill till it starts coming back out, which should happen around 3.5 liters. Purchasing 4 liters (or quarts) will be more than enough. You cannot do this too soon; I would recommend at the one year mark, with typical mileage.

    There's a glaring omission in your maintenance: brake inspections. Toyota has two brake inspection descriptions. Every 6 months a "visual" inspection, basically a quick look-over while the wheels are off for rotation. But they also recommend an in-depth brake inspection, every 3 years or 30K miles. The latter entails lifting off the calipers, inspecting/cleaning/lubing the brake pads and shims, lubing the caliper slide pins and checking the rotor's thickness and run out.

    Not in the US shedule, but in the Canadian schedule, and highly recommended, is a tri-yearly or 30K brake fluid change. Two pints of
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Apr 24, 2018
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2018
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Assuming you're not DIY, having a dealership service department doing the maintenance: you can get mixed reactions, asking for transaxle fluid change. Some places are on the ball, understand it's just a simple drain-and-fill, and the charge should be somewhere between $70, upwards to $100, at most. Other places, will argue, say it's "lifetime", and very complicated, going to cost $100's, requires Techstream, special equipment, and on and on. If they respond thus, they are not the place to go. If that's the response you get, and alternate dealerships are no better, you should consider an independent mechanic or DIY. I'll attach the Toyota Repair Manual official instruction, so you can see how straight forward it actually is.

    Similarly for the brake fluid change, it is not in the US schedule (albeit in Canadian schedule), but a very good idea. again I'll attach Toyota Repair Manual instruction.

    Watch @NutzAboutBolts videos too, for sure, if only just to see how straight forward these services are:

    Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat
     
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  5. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    We had our 2005 (Gen 2) for 10 years and 145,000 trouble free miles. Other than scheduled oil/filter changes every 5,000 miles (for Gen 2), we changed the engine air cleaner and cabin air cleaner annually. At 115,000 miles, we replaced spark plugs, transmission fluid and brake fluid. You should review the Maintenance Guide for your Gen 3 to see what Toyota says for your car ...
     

    Attached Files:

  6. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    I would suspect Indiana is tough on batteries, so look for signs your 12 volt battery is aging. (do the headlights get MUCH brighter when the car is on, dim greatly when you power off?)
    Brake fluid goes bad with humidity, I do not recall Indiana as that humid. (I was in Evansville inspecting a Greyhound Bus Station)
    Replacing the ATF seems like a good idea. Since it is not in the manual, it is anybodies guess how often is 'right'. I would change it now, then at 120,000 miles then every 90,000 miles. (but that is just me)
    (120,000 miles should be the big expensive maintenance to plan for)
     
    #6 JimboPalmer, Apr 24, 2018
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2018
  7. working1

    working1 Active Member

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    My 2012 is still going strong @191K miles. I'm going for 500K miles before retiring it.

    Suggest addressing the age related issues first (those items not tied to mileage):

    1. Replace the 12v battery. Odd things happen when this goes bad. There is no dashboard warning, so it can happen at the most inconvenient time.
    2. Replace the brake fluid. As I recall Indiana has hot humid summers.
    3. Lubricate the caliper slide pins.
    4. ATF drain and fill.

    Between 100K and 120K miles, coolant drain & fill, replace spark plugs, and more should be planned for. At your mileage rate, that's a couple of years away.
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    so, is it humid, or not?(n)
     
  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  11. Lindsi

    Lindsi Junior Member

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    I'm in northern Indiana... spring and fall both last about a week...the rest seems to be extremely cold or extremely hot. I would guess we are fairly humid in the summers...

    I greatly appreciate all the recommendations...It's been a busy time between work and kids...I will hopefully get to go through this better soon but it sounds like there's a consensus on a few things... I have kept up on the engine filter and cabin air filter...so I guess I'm doing more than I thought.
     
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