Maintenance battle plan to keep 2011 Prius to 300k miles

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Hi All,

I'm trying to form a maintenance battle plan to with the intent of keeping my 2011 Toyota Prius to 300k miles. Driven on long highway trips & daily driver for my wife. Anything in the list (or not in the list but should be) that catches your eyes?

Thanks a bunch!

-kehyler

  • Check fluid levels every 2 months or 5k miles
  • Rotate tires every 5k miles
  • Change engine oil with 0w-20 M1 HM synthetic every 7.5k miles or 12 months using Toyota 04152YZZA6 or Fram TG10358
  • Car washes during the winter every 1 month
  • Replace engine and cabin air filter every 30k miles or 3 years
  • Transaxle fluid every 50k miles or 5 years using oem fluid
  • Engine & inverter coolant every 80k miles or 6 years
  • Spark plugs every 60k miles or 10 years
  • Brake fluid every 60k miles or 4 years
 
The battery is probably the main concern with these, but I would think a colder climate might be better than hot. There are reports of head gaskets and fuel pumps going out on the 2nd gen cars. Otherwise, your plan looks solid - a Prius can hit 300K without a sweat.

I would look into rustproofing.
 
Plugs @ 60k? Practically throwing away new! OE Iridium should go 2x that many miles.

There was a recent Chris Fix vid on changing the hybrid pack. Not too difficult but probably an afternoon's work. The aftermarket pack was $1500 IIRC.
 
I would have the undercarriage sprayed with Fluid Film before the winter. You plan seems fine to me, especially the transaxle fluid change interval.

Sam
 
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I'd do struts and potentially springs, at least in the rear, at some point. 2nd gen ones blow rear springs pretty regularly.

Depending on your level of prophylaxis, new TPMS sensors at around 10-12 years would save you the hassle of doing them one-by-one. Of course your tire guy could smash them at any time.
 
Clean EGR circuit and intake manifold every 60K. Not sure if it helps, but they are usually clogged up.

Be prepared to replace headgasket and hybrid battery by 200K.

Plugs only need to be done every 120K.
 
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The only common problem I've heard of (and experienced) would be burning oil, 1qt/1500mi not unusual. The oil rings & piston drains become stuck/blocked by burnt oil residue, even with regular oil changes
 
Originally Posted by PandaBear
Start a fund for battery replacement at around 15 years / 150k miles?


Yeah, on each car I assume that it'll need some random $2k fix every 150k.
 
Originally Posted by cjolson140
The only common problem I've heard of (and experienced) would be burning oil, 1qt/1500mi not unusual. The oil rings & piston drains become stuck/blocked by burnt oil residue, even with regular oil changes


Huh, interesting. Thank for making me aware!
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Clean EGR circuit and intake manifold every 60K. Not sure if it helps, but they are usually clogged up.

Be prepared to replace headgasket and hybrid battery by 200K.

Plugs only need to be done every 120K.


Yeah, I might push back my plug interval. Thanks for the heads up on the EGR circuit and intake manifold.

Anything else?
 
Originally Posted by cjolson140
The only common problem I've heard of (and experienced) would be burning oil, 1qt/1500mi not unusual. The oil rings & piston drains become stuck/blocked by burnt oil residue, even with regular oil changes


So I should check my oil level more often than what is currently in opening post?

You've had a prius? If so, anything else catch your eye?
 
Originally Posted by nthach
The battery is probably the main concern with these, but I would think a colder climate might be better than hot. There are reports of head gaskets and fuel pumps going out on the 2nd gen cars. Otherwise, your plan looks solid - a Prius can hit 300K without a sweat.

I would look into rustproofing.


Head gaskets & fuel pumps aren't really things I can do preventative maintenance for, right?
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
I would do more to combat rust such as an annual undercarriage spray such as Krowne or equivalent.


Are these spray on things that I can do myself?
 
Originally Posted by cjolson140
The only common problem I've heard of (and experienced) would be burning oil, 1qt/1500mi not unusual. The oil rings & piston drains become stuck/blocked by burnt oil residue, even with regular oil changes


It's not uncommon for Prius owners to experience high oil consumption that steadily gets worse. Some owners notice that oil consumption increases below 100,000 miles and worsens to the point where it's one quart every 500 miles.

Upon disassembly, users of conventional oil often have clogged oil ring drain holes in the pistons. Users of synthetic oils typically don't see this problem. In both cases, the low tension piston rings are a root cause of the problem. As combustion blowby heats the ring pack and further reduces ring sealing, leading to steadily worsening oil consumption.

Toyota is very aware of the problem, furthermore the problem is not limited to the Prius.

I'd choose a quality synthetic and change it frequently. It's entirely possible to produce pistons, rings and cylinders that have very long lives on incredibly thin oil. Most manufacturers don't employ such strategies and the result is evident.

Prius owners who start to experience oil consumption often have good results stepping up to 5W-30 synthetic. Prius owners with serious oil consumption issues have been known to use even higher viscosity oils with excellent results.
 
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Originally Posted by Cujet

Prius owners who start to experience oil consumption often have good results stepping up to 5W-30 synthetic. Prius owners with serious oil consumption issues have been known to use even higher viscosity oils with excellent results.



Mine has seen synthetic from the start(it was my parent's car until they bought a new car) - I was starting to drink oil at the 130K mark. After some MMO and a BG EPR flush, I'm seeing my consumption around 1qt/2500mi. I'll plan on a Neutra soak next oil change.
 
Originally Posted by kehyler
Originally Posted by cjolson140
The only common problem I've heard of (and experienced) would be burning oil, 1qt/1500mi not unusual. The oil rings & piston drains become stuck/blocked by burnt oil residue, even with regular oil changes


So I should check my oil level more often than what is currently in opening post?

You've had a prius? If so, anything else catch your eye?


I maintain my dad's 2008 Prius, which is a 2nd gen compared to your 3rd gen 2011. If I remember right, yours has an exhaust/coolant heat exchanger compared to the coolant thermos on the 2nd gen, and you have EGR where the 2nd gen doesn't. I believe you have a different engine as well, the 2nd gen is a 1.5 1NZ-FXE, where I think the 3rd gen has a 1.8 2ZR-FXE. I have heard of EGR issues with that engine.

My dads car has about 275k miles and hasn't needed much in the way of repairs. A few wheel bearings have failed, and it burns a quart of oil in 1500 miles, i'm still debating how to address this. I did change the "atf" in the power split device; Toyota claims this is a lifetime fill (which it might be actually capable of in this application) but I changed it anyway. I used the specified Toyota WS, and cleaned a big blob of sludge off the drain plug magnet.

Other things I've heard of wearing out but not yet experienced: rear shocks/springs, electric coolant pumps, traction battery. As far as I know this 2008 still has the OEM battery. The current issue needing fixed in the 2008 is the engine thermostat seems stuck open; the coolant temp only reaches 190 on the highway and rapidly drops to ~150 driving at lower speeds.
 
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