Canadian gen 2 owners - routine maintenance costs at dealer?

No worries about headlights since HIDs were never offered in Canada, just regular halogens. Just make sure that the vehicle has been looked over by a qualified Hybrid Technician at the dealership (or if it's Hybrid CPO, even better). You'll have about 70,000km left on the hybrid warranty (it's warranted for 8 years/160,000km from the In Service Date).

I would sit in the car and turn on the headlights and see how they perform to check the strength of the 12V battery. I've had a weak battery (the original one in our '05) and it still "checked out" when I took it into the dealership . Of course it did because they tested it while the car was running so the 12V was charging. Anyway, just make sure it's up to snuff as the 12V would be 4-5 years old and may need replacing soon (~$200 at the dealer). The 12V is the one that runs your accessories like radio and headlights.

The Hybrid Transaxle Fluid (i.e. transmission fluid in a regular automatic) will need changing at 96,000km (so your next service if the 88,000km oil change has been done).

Check toyota.ca --> For Owners --> Service Your Vehicle --> Maintenance Menu and plug in the details (2009 Prius with 88,000km) to see the maintenance schedule (click the Full Schedule tab at the top if you wanna see the details for other service intervals).

 

Well if the battery is low, you'll see the dashboard lights start dimming (including the "taillight on" light or the "AUTO A/C" light if the climate control is running). You may even see the master warning light which is a giant red triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle.

Make sure there are no strange high pitch sounds from the engine compartment. There will be a buzz (that's just the brake actuator) and if you start the car, there will be a sound from the driver's side and that's the coolant pump pumping coolant from the thermos to the engine to warm it up (unless it's the car has been sitting around for > 3 days, at which point the coolant in the thermos will be the same temp as the rest of the coolant anyway so the pump won't start up).

Just like any other car, listen for rattles or weird thunks.


The car did come with a cargo net, wheel locks and tonneau cover as standard equipment so make sure they're there and the dealer didn't take it away. Check for wear in the rear wiper since that probably wasn't used very often and may not have been changed (if it's cracked or showing signs of wear). Same for front wipers.

It may or may not have the accelerator pedal shortened (it was all under the "recall" because of that unintended acceleration scare). So if it hasn't, they'll probably ask you to take it in (after you've bought it) to get it fixed. It should be free of charge and covered under the "recall".

And of course check the service history of the car. Ask them to show you it's been serviced properly with all the proper items and check it against the one online.

 

Well if the 12V battery is weak, it shouldn't matter if they drive it over. Just shut off the car, wait a few secs, turn on the lights and see how it performs. Leave it on for a minute. If the battery is strong, it won't drain it in a minute but if the lights start dimming (just walk to the front of the car) or the radio starts sputtering or it gives you warning lights, then you know it's weak.

I'd be wary of that Insight then. If it had to be jump started, twice, the 12V battery's life is already shortened. Also, it means they didn't bother to take care of the car (so how has the HV battery been taken care then? If the car wasn't driven, the HV battery would've been drained too).

If the car's running, charging is fine. 120W total is what is listed on the 12V outlet cover (that includes both outlets).


If your foot is off the brake:

Press the POWER button once --> ACC. This is Accessory mode (like turning the key once in a regular car or turning the key counter-clockwise in a GM car). This runs the radio

Press once more --> IG-ON. This is "ON" (like turning the key twice in a regular car or turning the key once clockwise in a GM car). This powers on the radio, climate control (fan), power windows and power mirrors.

Press once more --> OFF. The car is off.


In any circumstance (OFF, ACC or IG-ON), if you press the POWER button with the brake pedal depressed, the car will go to READY (or "start" in a regular car) and the car is live and powered.


To shut off if the car is NOT running, just keep pressing POWER and cycle through the stages above until it's OFF.

To shut the car off if IT IS running, press the POWER button once and ensure that the instrument panel (the speedo and so forth) is off. It is not necessary to press "P" (or Park) before turning off the car (since the shifter is electronic and will automatically engage Park when you shut off the car) but if you feel more comfortable doing so, then press "P" and then POWER.

If the car beeps at you when you're outside, pay attention. Chances are, you left the car running in Park.

 

Considering Honda Canada didn't update their Insight page for an entire year (went from 2011 to 2013... so maybe there is no 2012 Insight??), I don't think they have much interest in it. Their new Accord Hybrid is one to watch but nobody knows if it's coming to Canada.

 

$40-$50 for an oil change (first 3 services, then it alternates oil change & full service)
closer to $200 for a full maintenance service and add another $100 for this new "brake service" that's done at 32,000km and every 32,000km thereafter.

Service includes check of lights, horns, locks (and lubrication if necessary) and fluid top up. The full maintenance no longer includes tyre rotation.

 

Oh no!

 

Uhh... bummer. .