going from FL to OK to CA

Drive it like you would any car. There will be no overheating problems. Do the normal maintenance checks, oil, fluids, tires and pressures. When loading the car for your trip, make sure you don't block the traction battery cooling grill in the back seat area.

 

We,, it depends on your car's condition. If it was reliable ever since you owned it, fore sure it is no problem to drive long. Is your 12V aux battery OK? Didi it change to new one one recently? Only this battery get problem will cause you trouble. Check it. If OK, just according to your personal need to stop for food,restroom.... The car will serve you good. No worry.

 

I'd do the following check list before leaving.

1. Check oil level/condition (change it if not done very recently).

2. Other fluid levels. (1x brake and 2x coolant)

3. Check for flow in inverter coolant reservoir. (VERY IMPORTANT)

4. Check rubber "Vee Belt" condition.

5. Check condition of tires.

 

The Prius is well suited to long trips. Have a good time!

America's Byways®: National Scenic Byways Online

especially

Talimena Scenic Drive

If you make it to the Mississippi Delta come visit Greenwood!

 

Concur w/post #2. There should be no issue. Why would it overheat? Who are these people saying that? Do they own Priuses? I monitor my coolant temps with ScanGaugeII - Trip Computers + Digital Gauges + Scan Tool and have never seen it rise to abnormal levels w/long drives or rise over time, once at operating temperature.

The longest drive my Prius has been on is from San Jose to the Seattle area (>850 miles). There's no problem but I (not the car) had to take rest and bathroom breaks. I did some sightseeing on the way too, so I racked up >1000 miles in a few days.

As for not blocking the battery cooling intake, see http://www.myprius.co.za/technical.htm#High_voltage_NiMH_battery_pack.

It is impossible to determine w/o visual inspection whether your tires are worn or not. At 3 years, I wouldn't worry about the age of the tires. One of the tires on my car is the original still, at past 5 years and >50K miles. It is almost worn out though.

 

We do long trips all the time and find that the Prius is "in the zone" at those times. Just think about it. On the open road plenty of air is flowing over the radiator, the engine cooling system is wide open, you're on cruise control so you're not using the brakes much or doing a lot of accelerating and decelerating and the road is generally pretty smooth and level so the suspension doesn't even have to work very much. At highway speed the engine doesn't have to run much above idle to keep up with traffic. In other words, operating conditions are just about optimal on long highway trips.

As others have said, just check your fluids and air pressure (including the spare tire) and have a great trip.

Edited to add: If I were buying a used Prius, I'd take one with 50k of highway miles on it over one with 50k of city miles any day (everything else being equal).

 

Three year old rubber, OEM, hmmm, the tires weren't very good to begin with, speaking for myself, I'd definitely put on new rubber, and it would be the best rain tires available, get caught in a down pour at 65-70mph and you'll be glad you have excellent rubber.
It's a tiny little 4 cylinder motor turning pretty low revolutions with lot's of air flow, over heating has never been a problem for the Prius.
A trans axle fluid change would be a good idea, fresh motor oil, 36+ pounds of air in the tires, a new engine air filter and off you go.
I head from NH to FL twice a year and my Prius loves to travel 800 miles a day, not saying I do

 

Hmmm? A brake flush at 30,000 miles? How much did they charge you? That's like a 2 hour job and requires a scan tool. I can't see a dealer charging anything less than $250 to do it correctly.

Anyway, your car will be fine. Even though the 3/36 basic warranty has probably timed out, you still have lots of room on the 5 yr/60,000 mile powertrain warranty, and even more on the hybrid warranty. If something happens, you should be covered. If you get new tires, try to put a few hours of driving on them before you set out, especially if you have an alignment done at the same time, since the driving feel will be different.

 

Pump the tires and just drive.

 

I agree. Just "Pump the tires and just drive".

I have 288+ thousand miles on my '06. Just came back from a 2500 mile trip.

Let's see. In 288+ thousand miles, I have changed both headlight bulbs, both tailight bulbs, 3 windshields due to rocks from other vehicles, oil change every 5k, coolant at every 100k, new tires every year. I put in a bottle of STP gas treatement at every oil change. I once had a red-triangle issue, which turned out to be a dirty sensor in the throttle body which was corrected with a little carberator cleaner spray.

Still has the same batteries, alt, wires, hoses, belts and whatever else, shocks, brakes, (lets see, what else do they have) seats, bumpers, .. not the warranty for that expired many moons ago. Anyway, it is a great and VERY dependable car to go on long trips with.

Oh yes, almost forgot. In all those miles, I also have had to change the wiper blades a couple of times.

SUV owners ask me about my mpg. Ha, let see if you can drive your Honda CRV or Escalade that far without changeing a $400 alternator or waterpump or some other expensive part. Just follow the maintenance schedule in the Owners Manual (not the dealer for so many want to seperat you from your money) and you will be fine.

 

One more thing. This is controversial. What to do when the low tire pressure light comes on in the middle of your long distance road travel.

1. Stop look at the tires. Do any of them look low.
a. If one is flat, then change the tire.
b. If they all look fine, drive to the nearest service station with a working air pump. Inflate ALL tires to max as stated on sidewall of tires. My Michelin Hydroedges say 44 lbs.

2. Assuming you followed step 1 then b.
Stop again at the next exit that has a service station, and go around and manually check the tire pressure in all tires.
a. If it was temperature-related-low-tire-pressure-warning, then all tires should read the same. Drive 10 or 20 miles more, and check again. If all tires continue to read the same, continue with trip, don't worry about it any more.
b. If one tire is low, then reinflate it and then quickly locate somebody to fix it.
If your experience is like mine, nobody in 2 states around will be available, or it will be Saturday night and nobody will open till Monday, and I will want to have traveled through a few more states by then.
You can get that spare out and change it. Or, you can take the Green-Slime or Fix-a-Flat route. (A family who wants to go and plenty of luggage in the back may affect your decision like it does mine.)

(Oh No, he said "Green-Slime"!!!) Yes, alot of Prius owners reading this will be haveing near heart failure, and will want to tell you that that stuff can really screw up some expensive electronic valve stems in your Prius. And you know what? They are right!

Yes. It is my theory that if you are doing stop and go, that stuff will get on the eletronics of your valve stem and make a mess out of things. But if you plan on driving an hour or two, then centrifigal force will keep it on the outside of the inside of your tire, while it does it's thing, and you will be ok. Least I have, more than once.

Stuff is not easy as the advertised to put in. I buy and put in **1** can and then add air to 44lbs or whatever max is as stated on the outside of the tire.

Drive the car 30 min or so, stop, go around and check pressure. If the tire is still loosing air, I add ANOTHER can, then add air to 44 lbs or so, and drive some more.

Sometimes one can will do it. I have never had to add more than 2 cans.

When I can find somebody who fixes flats at the SOONEST opportunity, I will take the Prius in and have them take the tire off the rim, wipe all that mess out, fix the flat if it can be fixed, mount it, balance it, add air, and I have never had any problems with the stuff getting into the electronics on the end of the valve stem.

Again this is contoversial, if you use Greem-Slime or Fix-A-Flat, you do it at your own risk. Again, for me, a family and plenty of luggage affected my decision.