General question about manuals, handiness

Hello,

Welcome to the Prius family. Oil changes are a breeze on the prius. In fact its almost enjoyable because of how easily accessible the filter is. I haven't done too much else. I've looked at the brakes and they seem very straight-forward to work on; I changed my brake pads all the time on my previous vehicle (camry). I did replace my rear view side mirror after shattering it myself accidentally, and that was a bit more work (had to take apart the inner door panel).

I actually haven't invested in a manual. I get all my info and instructions from this forum and the support here is fantastic.

Lastly, the Bentley book has been recommended on this forum over Hanes manual. Also check this thread for links to some free documentation:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/66184-best-repair-manual.html

-Dan

 

Oil/filter changes
Transaxle oil changes
Engine air filter
cabin air filter
tire rotations
replace 12V battery
tire pressure checks
fluid level checks

The above are pretty easy and comparable to other cars except you have to have ramps to get underneath versus larger truck-based vehicles.

The '04-'09 models still have a belt or two. 2010 has no belts.

Some here do far more than I would.

 

If you can raise up the car on jackstands or ramps, then you can do all of the required scheduled maintenance. You can change brake pads and shoes but should not try to do anything upstream from the calipers and wheel cylinders, or change brake fluid, without access to the Toyota diagnostic laptop.

Engine and inverter coolant changes require some effort. I've posted on how to do both.

Transaxle fluid changes are quite easy, no flush required.

One serpentine drive belt spins the engine coolant pump and is pretty easy to change. Do a search to find all of these topics addressed in detail in the 2G forums.

techinfo.toyota.com is Toyota's website that provides repair manual and other technical information. You can also buy the Toyota paper manuals for ~$500.

Don't waste your time with the Haynes manual which contains inaccurate information. The Bentley manual is better and perhaps will be sufficient if you only aspire to perform basic maintenance.

Good luck.

 

Oil changes are easy. 10 min job. I don't even use ramps or jacks, though it's easier to inspect the CV boots if you can raise the car 6-10".

"Transmission" oil is also easy, but be sure to use the Toyota oil. It has to resist "high voltage".

Brakes, while on the surface may appear easy, require a bit of care. Disconnect the 12V battery and apply the brakes a few times to fully discharge the capacitor bank -before- you remove the calipers. Otherwise it's possible the brake pressure pump could fire up while the caliper is off, popping out the pistons, and then requiring a tow to your local dealer to have the system properly bled.

Note that the coolant is also "special" so buy the proper Toyota type from the dealer or on-line.

Other than those few caveats, it's easy to "do it yourself".