My 2020 Prius Update News!

Hi friends....my 2020 Prius L Eco will turn 275,000 miles next week! I bought it new at Rodland Toyota in Everett, WA. Currently I deliver cell phones around the Puget Sound area, and drive about 2,000 miles per week, mostly freeway driving.

This car has been amazing, having ZERO problems so far. The Li--Ion battery system seems still as strong as ever.....at least I see NO evidence of deteriorating. This leads me to believe that calendar time is just as important a factor as total mileage on the car.

I am a long time Hypermiler, since 1982 and my VW Rabbit Diesel with extra fuel tank. Then I had a 1987 Honda CRX HF, drove it 620,000 miles before I sold it. Then I purchased 3 NEW Honda Insights over the years, a 2002, 2003, and 2005. I competed with these Insights nationwide at fuel economy events, and achieved as high as 180 MPG. Wayne Gerdes is a long time friend, I competed against him and with him several times.

So far my Prius has averaged 80.42 MPG, even though the car's metrics shows 81.68. Previously doing ride-share driving, I got quite a bit higher MPG with the high % of city driving. Now with more highway routes, my MPG has decreased....but I use my Highway Techniques to still achieve high MPG numbers. These include driving slightly below the speed limit, always keeping 50 PSI in the stock Bridgestone Ecopia 422 plus tires, spending a lot of time coasting in neutral, driving on the concrete lane rather than asphalt when possible, looking WAY ahead to the next traffic light or traffic jam and getting OFF the gas pedal, (momentum driving) accelerating slowly, managing the battery pack, avoiding the use of the cruise control except in rare cases of little to no other traffic, etc. ( I do NOT like the radar controlled SMART CC that keeps it's distance behind other cars)

MAINTENANCE. At 165,000 miles I changed the spark plugs myself, and the old ones looked excellent. bought the new ones right from the dealer, only $16 each. I used anti-seize on the threads and did the job very carefully. Yearly, the Toyota dealer has the buy 3 get 4th tire free. I take advantage of this, always buy OEM tires....they last about 85,000 miles with uniform, even tread wear, and still have about 4/32 tread left. Driving slower, and living in a climate that does NOT have super hot temps and road surfaces is good for tread wear life.

I always buy Mobil One 0w-16 at Wal Mart, and a 12 pack of OEM oil filters from the dealer. Oil changes at the dealer only cost me $36 and I insist on using the SAME technician EVERY time. This is very important. He knows me and what I expect, and I slip him a $20 on the side. He checks everything and rotates the tires every time. Very good value. At 90,000 miles and again at 205,000 miles, I had him change the coolant fluid and the CVT system fluid, which is just Toyota anti-freeze coolant.

The brake pads are original and still have over 50% left....I really don't use the brakes too often. Next week I am going to change the brake fluid just because it is good practice. I wash the car myself quite often. I frequently apply RAIN-X to the windshield, so on the freeway I seldom need to use the wipers here in the Seattle weather.

This has been an amazing car. My total cost of ownership, per miles driven, is super low compared to nearly any other car on the road. I hope to keep this car running strong for many more miles, as this is a very expensive time to try to replace a car like this.......

 

Hi JBurner....sorry, let me clarify. It is the maintenance item they call "inverter fluid change"....

 

The transmission takes 3.75 qts of Toyota ATF--WS. Toyota says in my owners manual, that it is a "lifetime fill" but soon I will drain and refill it anyway. Need a 24 MM and a 10 MM socket, new drain plug crush washer, etc. It is an easy job.