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Preventative Maintenance

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Roadie_, Mar 14, 2023.

  1. Roadie_

    Roadie_ Junior Member

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    I've recently purchased a 2013 Gen 3 with 85k miles. Carfax one owner, regular maintenance from the dealership from brand new until it was sold to me last month.

    I plan on keeping this car until it costs more to fix than it's worth. I've done loads of research regarding this generation and have noted all flaws that are prevalent.

    I plan on doing the following for preventative maintenance:
    • Intake Cleaning
    • EGR Cooler & Pipe Cleaning
    • New PCV Valve
    • Oil Catch Can
    • Spark Plugs
    • Inverter, Coolant & Transaxle fluid change
    • Water Pump Replacement
    The above maintenance is due at around 100-120k miles, but I figured I'd knock them all out at once as I plan to do the EGR cleaning ASAP. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, but due to a recent move I've decreased garage space to perform the above. It's doable, but depending on shop labor rates I might opt to spend a little extra.

    My question is if I should knock this all out at once right now or wait until 100-120k miles to do so? Is some of this maintenance pointless to do? I know some claim the OCC is a waste of time & money. Will a shop even install one? At the least I'd like to check out the EGR. But again, I really hate to take it all apart again in 15k miles just to install other parts.

    Additionally, are there any other maintenance performances I should execute? I just swapped my EV battery filter for the exterior clip on, new cabin filter, front brake pads & fresh oil change.

    The Prius runs/drives fantastic and does not seem to show any signs of mechanical issues.
     
    #1 Roadie_, Mar 14, 2023
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2023
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    The Toyota software will allow you to observe the flow rates of your EGR system cooler etc so just keep an eye on that and as things start to close up and flow is reduced then it's probably time to clean the intake manifold the EGR cooler and it's related ways and valleys sure you could rip it all apart right now but if it's not clogging up and the numbers aren't getting anywhere down then what for You want to keep the thing running fantastic like it is now more than likely not start ripping it apart especially with limited garage space I try to do that stuff in the spring and or the fall when it's nice weather out here where I live it's not 110° or even in the early part of the winter when it starts because then it's reasonable down here like in the '50s you can stand outside work for an hour or two without getting uncomfortable.
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Mar 15, 2023
  3. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    You may need to hunt to find a shop to do the OCC, just because it is custom work.

    If it were me I'd do the EGR/intake work now, the plugs & coolant work in a year (that's 15-20k for us) and the water pump never unless the old one broke first.

    So many random things happen with used cars. Compressing a big list of work into something you call "preventative" is just putting all your eggs in one basket. If something big you didn't notice blows out in June, you'll need some cash on hand to deal with it. Better to have the savings standing by (or earning interest) when dealing with 10+ year old cars.

    Another example: your car gets in a crash and insurance decides to total it, which doesn't take as much as it used to because body shop labor is going up while the value of the car has dropped from age.

    Without some heroic hounding of the adjuster, you're going to get the same reimbursement check whether you've neglected the car since purchase or spent a fortune on recent maintenance. When you consider that risk, it may make more sense to split up the repairs and pay as you go.
     
    #3 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Mar 15, 2023
  4. Roadie_

    Roadie_ Junior Member

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    Makes sense. I'll hold out on spark plugs & fluids until 100k or a year, whichever comes first. I already have the front torn apart now as I'm installing the PO spacers, might as well knock out EGR/intake cleaning this weekend.
     
    #4 Roadie_, Mar 15, 2023
    bisco likes this.
  5. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    If there are no symptoms, nearly everything on your list can probably safely wait. I'd maybe clean out the manifold passages, and do the easy check of EGR flow restriction via OBD2.
     
    #5 CR94, Mar 16, 2023
    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller likes this.
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