New guy here with an '06 and some questions

Good morning, everybody.

I'm ew around this section of the forum, but I was active a few years ago in the Gen 3 forum. Saturday I picked up a 2006 Prius in excellent condition with 170 K. So I’ve been doing a lot of research on it, as well as going through and taking care of any maintenance issues.

It looks like the belt-driven water pump, as well as the inverter pump, were replaced around 120 K. Otherwise it’s seen just regular oil changes and very little else. My first order of business was to change the transmission fluid to Valvoline MAXLife, and I’m planning a coolant change this afternoon. Before purchasing, I downloaded the Dr. Prius app, and the quick HV battery test during the test drive showed that two cells were concerning for high resistance. Otherwise no codes or issues. Just yesterday I ran the battery life test, and it showed me the battery had 61% capacity remaining. Is this something I should be concerned about?

I was shocked to see what appears to be the factory 12v battery, I had no idea they could last that long. Resting voltage is 11.9v, and dips down to 11.6v with the ignition on, but it seems to load test fine. Is it worth a preemptive replacement, and if so are there any conventional batteries that fit the factory battery cables?

Thanks!

 

I did a lot of reading on transmission fluid, and I’ve read enough stories of people with good success using max life, I’m just not worried about it. I’m pretty sure the fluid was never changed before, and the transmission still lives. From what I understand this is one of the most bulletproof transmissions ever put into a car, and MaxLife is a recommended substitute for Toyota WS by just about everyone.

Thanks, that was the one that I found as well. I was hoping for a cheaper option, after all it’s just a battery for cryin’ out loud!

I was watching a video about using a relay to jumper the electric pump to circulate coolant to bleed the air. I'm gonna try that method...I'm not a fan of partial changes. Some is always left over, but I want to get as much as I can. I'll be using Valvoline Toyota/Lexus coolant rather than $30/gal from my dealer, so I prefer to mix as little as possible. It *should* be fully compatible, but of course, we've all heard horror stories in the past. Or rumors of horror stories, actual failures from mixing "universal" coolants seem quite rare.

I'll be getting to that, but it's not the same priority as the engine coolant. I have a warranty record from Toyota regarding the recall water pump replacement, and they charged for new coolant. So it was at least partially done at 112K...but there's no line item for coolant on the invoice for the engine mechanical pump, so I'm not as certain. Sticker on the hood says 160K initial replacement mileage for the engine coolant, so I'm not too worried about it, but it's getting done today.

THANKS, I'll look into that now. Mine was resting at 12.3v after shutting down from a 30-minute drive today, but I'm obviously a bit concerned about a 12-year-old battery. If they can be had locally for a reasonable price I may wait until it fails. The Prius is a second car I'm using to keep miles off my '17 Pacifica, so I've got something else to drive if needed.

I read about that, and that was one of my first concerns. I'm the third owner, and I have virtually every service record from the second owner, who's had it since 2012 and 90K miles. I've got documentation of oil changes every 3-4K miles, right up until 168K last summer. The dipstick currently reads nearly full, and the previous owners tell me they never had to add any oil. I'll keep a close eye on it, but they've been quite honest about everything else, so I think I found a decent one.

 

Yeesh...I don't think so. AutoZone now sells the Optima battery for $238, and I can't find anything greater than a $30 off coupon. They give me a military discount, but I don't think it'll be worth $70.

 

No SKS, this is a base model. Interesting...I can see that being an option to select for the battery interchange guides, but each only specifies one battery for both options.

Good info, thanks. I ended up going with the AC Delco battery from Amazon. I've had good luck with them in the past, and Amazon does a good job supporting what they sell.

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts! I'm pretty happy with the deal I got on this...it's easily the cleanest used car I've ever purchased. Both interior and exterior are immaculate, the family I bought it from owned it for the last six years and had it cleaned up to showroom-level when I bought it. It literally runs and drives very much like my 1-year-old 2013 did when I bought it...which is really amazing for a car with this mileage. I pulled the wheels off to swap to the snow tires that were included in the deal, and almost fell over when I couldn't find any rust to speak of. This car has spent its entire life, verified by AutoCheck, in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

I paid $3,800 for it, and it had 170,500 miles. I already ran my first tank through it, and couldn't believe 47.5 MPG with mostly highway speeds in 15-25* weather. My goal is to get it past 230K.

 

Also, I did change the coolant tonight. I was disappointed to only get one gallon out between the radiator, storage tank, and engine block drains. It took about 25 minutes to bleed and refill, and I discovered that these things REALLY don't like being switched on with a relay missing. I jumpered the electric water pump to help bleed the system, and tried starting the engine before replacing the relay. It didn't like that.

 

Yep, I did a fair amount of research before picking a fluid. MaxLife ATF is listed on the bottle to be compatible with Toyota WS.

Yep, I've been monitoring the SoC with Torque and it's pretty consistently staying in the 60-70% range. This thing drives every bit as well as my '13 did when it was only a year old...I still can't believe how well it's held up.

Got it...I replaced it a couple days ago with the Delco battery. It looks like I pulled out the factory battery, it had a date code that falls in the same month that she was made, 7/2006. Very surprised it lasted this long. I was also surprised to see that the previous owner never changed the engine air and cabin air filters, so these little guys made it 81K miles. At least they got the oil changed, but not much else!