engine maintenance

Did you get the owner's' manual and maintenance schedule with your 2005?

The air filter is 20k I think? More frequent would be fine by me.
Coolants are changed 100k first time and 50k intervals after.
New spark plugs ar 100k or so - you could have them checked now at half-time and get some antisieze on the threads.
Engine mechanical water pump and PCV valve have both been discussed in terms of precautionary replacements, but 50k might be young for that.

If I missed any, we'll be hearing about it!

The above directed at gas engine only, so see elsewhere for the electricals side, and undercar maintenance.

 

The maint schedule for the engine is *very* sparse. Oil/filter
changes, that's about it. The tech community recommends transmission
fluid changes around 50K, which you won't find in the Toyota stuff,
but there are a couple of threads and webpages supporting this.
.
_H*

 

You may want to take out the spark plugs, inspect them, apply a proper anti-seize compound, and put them back in.

I did this on mine around a year ago, and had one hell of a time getting the plugs loosened up. I applied Loctite Nickel Grade anti-seize before putting them back in. Otherwise the plugs looked ok

I used to have a 2000 GMC Sierra. Had to change the plugs in 2002 and just about gave myself a hernia getting them off. The Vortec 5.3 V8 has aluminum heads, and the plugs were put in dry.

Otherwise the Prius is fairly low maintenance. It has a "returnless" fuel system, so there is no external fuel filter. The only way to "service" the fuel filter is to remove it from inside the fuel tank.

The lack of external fuel filter isn't a Toyota thing, virtually every car maker has adopted a "returnless" fuel system. The days of changing a fuel filter are over.

 

My handbook which isn't in my hand does schedule a fuel filter change, I think at 160,000km or 100,000 miles.
Plugs get changed at 100,000km
The engine tunes itself pretty well apart from the plugs and filters.
Haven't you noticed all the beggars in the streets are Toyota service techs? :lol:

 

So if one were to change the oil, replace the air filter and keep an eye on the fluids one could avoid the service dept at your local dealer? At what point would you go in?

 

Well, you must do more than "keep an eye" on the fluids. The factory-fill pink engine and inverter coolants must be changed at 100K miles, then at 50K mile intervals (30K mile intervals if you have the Classic Prius with red coolant.) The transaxle fluid should be replaced periodically, no later than 60K mile intervals - ideally at 30K mile intervals if you are doing it yourself, it will cost ~$25 for four quarts of ATF WS and two new washers. The iridium spark plugs should be replaced no later than at 120K miles.

On an annual basis you should inspect the brakes, suspension, axle shafts, and exhaust system. If you can manage the above, then there's no need to visit the dealer's service dept unless you have a failure where you need help diagnosing.

Note that the fuel filter is located within the fuel tank and therefore does not require replacement.

 

Well, we started my talking about engine maint, but for all that under the car stuff I'd say somewhat more often than annual. All the safety stuff happens down there.

If you stare fixedly at the CV boots, they will never get cracked. but some sort of compromise is probably in order.

I think we see more threads about being overcharged for routine dealer maint, than about DIYs (with car problems) who got the cold shoulder at Toyota for being seldom seen there. Seems significant to me...

 

Alot of what you wrote is hard to follow, but I think you're implying that cars need to go into a dealer more often.....for "safety reasons" or some inspections......and to keep things warm and fuzzy with the dealer ?!?

Well, I disagree, if any "under car" issues develop you will hear or feel something wrong before its a real problem. Those "inspections" the dealers charge you for are rarely done, and are actually just an opportunity to get you into the dealership and sell you something you DON"T need, or scare you into thinking you need to spend money.

The most important safety item that requires routine inspection is the brakes, and if you are getting/doing regulare tire rotation, then the brakes are getting plenty of attention.
Fact is the Prius friction brakes wear far less than ordinary cars because they are used less. 100,000 miles on the brakes should be no problem.

Otherwise, what are they gonna look at? I don't want them pulling and spreading my CV boots and causing them to crack. Or dribbling some oil on my shocks and telling me they have failed, or taking a crow bar and cracking my exaust to sell me a new muffler. When I hear a unusual sound, or a change in whats normal, I'll get those looked into.

Fact is though, I get several 100-thousand miles out of all my cars and have never had to do that on a Totota.
Our Sienna has 140,000 miles on it, running strong, and has been to the dealership only for warranty work, where a idle control valve failed, and replacement of both O2 sensors within a week of each other, also under warranty. On that particular service the dealer tried to sell me a throttle body cleaning first, to make money, before doing the necessary warranty work. I didn't fall for that, I told him to have the tech inspect the TB first and show me , ......guess what.... it was clean. Then I told them to cut the non-sense and get the real problem fixed. See what I mean..... they will try to rip you off at every opportunity.
My '87 300ZX had 320,000 miles, before I sold it, and only went to the dealer for a fuel injector recall.
I can keep on going, but you get the idea. The Prius will be the same way.

My Prius has not seen the dealership since the day I drove away, and it won't back unless something fails. I've never been turned away by a dealer when I did go in for warranty or failure repair. That misconception is another scare tactic to make people think they need to keep going in and spending money.
If you are not a DIY type person, fine, but don't spend money unnecessarily on car service, and don't be fooled that dealer inspections are really accomplishing anything, other than finding ways for you to spend money. Just get the basics done, out of the book, keep the fluids changed, and never ask for a "service".

 

9G-man, I hear you but just rmember that alot of the fluids are Prius specific.

 

I have a 2005 prius that has 70,000 miles on it. I know the recommended transaxle fluid replacement is at 100,000 miles but have heard that it is best done before that. Does any body have any diagrams of instructions on the procedure?
Thanks -

 

Supplies needed (buy ATF and washers from Toyota dealer):

4 quarts of Toyota ATF WS ($5.20 MSRP each quart)
2 new aluminum washers for transaxle drain and fill plugs (around $1 each)
Paper towels, newspaper

Tools needed:

24 mm or 15/16" socket, ratchet wrench, and torque wrench
10 mm hex key socket
Plastic funnel with flexible tail; 3 feet total length
Drain pan, 6 qt capacity or more

Procedure:

Raise up front of car, support with jackstands.

Get under car and locate transaxle fluid drain plug which requires the 10 mm hex key, at the bottom of the transaxle. Do not remove drain plug yet. Do not confuse this with the adjacent drain plug that requires a 24 mm socket to remove; this is for the inverter coolant.

Locate transaxle fluid fill plug on the side of the transaxle facing forward. This requires the 24 mm socket. Remove the fill plug; note that if the transaxle is cold, you will hear a hissing sound as air enters the transaxle case.

Then remove the drain plug and allow the old ATF to drain out into the drain pan (with newspaper below to catch any splashing). Clean off the tip of the drain plug which contains a small circular magnet, using paper towels. Make sure no paper lint or any debris is left on the drain plug.

Replace the drain plug using a new washer, tightening torque is 29 ft.-lb. Use the plastic funnel to add the 4 quarts of ATF WS. Replace the fill plug using a new washer, tightening torque is 29 ft.-lb.

Clean up, lower the car, take a test drive, recycle the old ATF and you are done.

By the way, based upon used fluid testing it is reasonable to change the transaxle ATF at 30K mile intervals. However now that you are at 70K miles, better late than never.

 

I've done this procedure, and having the front of the car jacked up high enough to be on jack stands is going to limit how much old fluid drains out, and getting the proper amount back in. I think it should be sitting level for the drain and refill.
I even jack up the back of car, briefly, to drain out that much more.

Something to consider.

PS: Clear vinyl tubing makes a perfect funnel-hose.

Here's a link to the procedure, on Hobbit's website.http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/maint50k/

 

change the oil/filter every 5k/6mos till out of warranty. Rotate tires, check over your fluid levels if in a hot climate

when you hit 15-20k change out the airfilter if in a dusty area, or just 30k for less dusty climate..very cheap. I changed mind at 12k on my own, took 1 minute..get's dusty here

cabin airfilter, can be changed at 30k, or you can just take it out and vacuum it off if you wanna be really cheap.

pretty much you don't need to have much more done then that till around 60k, then like others say..it's probably a good idea to drop the trans fluid and re fil..do not flush though..you can't on this trans anyway.

after that sparks shouold be done at 90-100k..if you still have the car then. and the usual items.

I would have your brakes checked every 15-20 K though, often the dealer will inspect them free with coupons you get in the mail..it's just good safety and peace of mind.