Avocado Prius - My first Prius

Hi all.
I am the newest owner of 2 gen Prius, Its SIlver Pine color but to me is not silver. I called it Avocado.
I have always had Audis, older and newer and now I am thrown in a totally different world of Prius.
I have driven the 2nd gen prius for couple of weeks back in 2014 and I know what to expect as of drivability and dynamics and fuel.

I bought 148K miles car with some extra options but not fully loaded. has JBL, Xenons, and I dont know if its a Base or Touring
Its a 3 owner car, owned always locally in Chicago and maintained in the dealer up untill
2015. Came with plenty of paperwork and carfax and somehow car has little to no rust on the underbody.

I am a DIY person who never neglect his cars
Before I even brought the car home I have bought 2 front rotors and pads, rear drums and shoes
as well as 5w30 oil with genuine toyota oil filter.
I also will buy 2 gal of coolant and 4 qts transmission oil from the dealer.
I also bough a Chilton repair manual book, off ebay for $10 in great condition and immediately read most of it

I can say comapring to the Audi world I come from, this car is totally easy and most importantly pleasant to work on before I even start the work on it.
For reliability and cost of ownership its not even comparable of any audi

The car had a big door dent but not an impact (it was pushed by a truck rear bumper) so the door opens and closes without it being deformed.
The car drove fine but had terrible noise from the front when runnung and driving. Turned out the water pump was to be replaced as the noise was coming from there and the second noise was from the wheel bearing.
The car dealer replaced them for me but when i saw video and read the repair manual
of how to replace those I was laughing how easy and cheap is to do that. Try do that to my old A8

I am concerned for a few things as I have not driven the car yet more than 50 miles but as far as I see it shouldnt be a problem for the car
I just dont know the condition of the battery and have no time to take it out and measure it untill spring comes. I watched and read plenty of videos how to do the removal of the interior to reach the battery.

Watched plenty of videos for failed batteries at around my milage, but I assume since I watched battery videos it seemed to me that all prius fail on the battery
But probaly is because I am searching for battery problems online and cant actually see how many % of all priuses are like that.
If the battery fails in around a year from now I wouldnt complain as I will cahange it myself.

I need to put new tires as those are kind of worn, Front ones doesnt even hold air for long. I have an extra set of 15" kumhos that I bough new couple years ago and will install them for now.
the only thing is my extra set is 195-65-15 and not the 185-65-15. That means I have a little bigger and wider tire.
Would I do a mistake if I put them? I am thinking a little extra width and stability wouldnt hurt it much?


Thanks

 

Thank you!
Today i replaced the tires and OMG. The car feels and handles a lot better with the new size tires. And you cant really tell the difference on the look. I only need an aligment as the steering wheel is a bit off but will happen tomorrow.
I put fresh mid grade gas. Replaced the oil and filled up with 3.9 qts of oil (says in the manual when replacing filter too)
And just like wb9tuj said i reset the service.
I replaced the air filter and cabin filter with those on the picture. The old ones were actually almost new so i know someone took care of it regularly. I found a sticker for the extended warranty they had so looks like well maintained but i will still perform whats needed.

In the next few days i will replace rear and front brakes as the front ones look pretty rusty but pads are still thick enought to not be changed. But since i already have discs and pads as well as drums and shoes...why not to refresh them.

I was thinking to buy the rear wheel brake cylinders as i found Advics is the oem manufactorer and they are available outside toyota for cheaper. But i read in the repair manual that the brake flush will not be easy and dealer has to do it. But my brake fluid in the reservoir looks very bright so i believe its not more than a year or two old. Usually on the 3rd year it darkens a lot so for now i will hold it there.

And after the weater gets a bit warmer i will flush the 2 coolant systems and the trans fluid and i will not be surprised if they are replaced but still will have to check it off the list.

I found 1 small problem. My passanger side HID comes on and off from time to time. Read in the owners manual that power to it has to be restored or something. What would you advice me to check?

 

Thanks for the advice WB9. After i checked what the OEM ones go for i will never buy cheap replacement. Under $30 per bulb is a no btainer. I am amazed by the cheap OEM parts prices of Toyota.

 

All good so far. Fixed the door and found a complete door for $125

Now i am about to change the trans fluid and i have option of using the Castrol CVT. Would that work on the Prius and what manifacturer standarts need to cover?
TC and FE?

 

Yes. Actually i do not try to save money as the local dealer sells is for $9 plus tax which is incredibly cheap for oem part but i feel like its made by mobil super whoch is lower brand of Mobil 1 and WS isnt really a synthetic oil.

 

First problem i am facing:
I replaced the transmission fluid and drove the car around 50 miles. Car drove beautiful.
On the highway the red triangle and check engine came as well as VCS(but went away) i thought maybe the new oil leaked out. But its all as i left it. No leaks
I went home ..like 10 miles away. It is soaked up for the last 2 days here
Now i checked the code in autozone and it shows P0A93 - Which in the Chilton manual says it is Hybrid powertrain control module. And in the scan tool says coolant performance or water pump.

Help

 

Yes the dealer fluid. Old one was dark but Not really bad and had some sludge on the drain plug which is magnetic.
Now i drove the car....drives just like normal but when i shut it of then I usually hear Drrrrrzzzzzzzz... Now this sound more tiny sound like its a cartoo ln caracter ...more high pitch than before
Checked the 12v battery...remains steady 12.3V
So if that noise is different then thats what i should look at? And where that noise come from by the way? The pump we talking?

 

I know how it sounds from a while ago and my sounds normal.. ...
Will start by replacing that coolant with pump. Really wasnt expecting reliability issues .kinda dissapointed