Maintenance on a 2005 Prius

Spark Plugs: Denso IK16 or NGK xxxx
ATF: Toyota ATF WS or Redline D6. There is no dipstick, filling is the same as a manual transmission.
Oil + Filter, Tires: not even gonna go there...

Also do PCV (19mm box wrench!!!) since you are doing plugs, and clean the throttle body and MAF sensor since you have to pull the air intake.

There has been a recall for the inverter cooling pump on your car. You can register at toyota.com/owners to see the maintenance/recall history. If the recall has not been performed, then you get an inverter coolant exchange for free in the process.

Take a good look at the engine water pump. The service life is 100K - 150K on those. Engine coolant exchange is tough because technically you need a scan tool to fill the coolant storage tank, but Patrick Wong has posted a workaround here at PC.

 

1. Denso SK16R11 or NGK IFR5T11
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ting/76323-what-spark-plugs-should-i-use.html

2. Toyota ATF WS, 4 US quarts needed and two aluminum washers for the drain and fill plugs. Changing the transaxle fluid is much easier than on a conventional vehicle because you don't have to worry about the fluid being at a certain temperature, removing a transmission drain pan held on with ~15 tiny bolts, replacing the transmission oil filter, etc.

3. Engine oil: Prius is not a Porsche or Corvette. A quality 5W-30 mineral oil is sufficient, changed at 5K miles or 6 month intervals. If you wish to use 5W-30 synthetic that is fine. I buy name-brand synthetic from Walmart, whatever is on sale: Mobil 1, Pennzoil Platinum, etc.

Engine oil filter: I use the correct Toyota-brand oil filter, 90915-YZZF2 which sells for $32.90 for a case of 10 here:
Champion ToyotaWorld

4. Tire choice is highly personal depending upon your location, driving requirements, the need to deal with winter snow, etc. You need to do your homework here.

The engine coolant needs to be replaced at 100K miles. Use the correct Toyota Super Long Life Coolant which has a pink color and pre-mixed with distilled water. You'll need two gallons of this for the engine coolant loop.

As previously mentioned by seilerts, I have posted on how to do this without access to the Toyota diagnostic laptop. See my post #42 and jreed's post $56 here:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...shooting/30813-changing-engine-coolant-5.html

Subsequent inverter and engine coolant changes need to be done at 50K mile intervals i.e., 150K miles, 200K miles, 250K miles, etc. Good luck.

 

Yes, in the case of Prius. Usually, front wheel drive vehicles have a "transaxle" because the transmission and differential functions are combined into one physical unit, while rear wheel drive vehicles have a separate transmission and rear axle with differential.

 

There is no pan. Service is the same as a manual transmission: a drain plug on the bottom and a fill plug on the side. And, there is no torque converter, so the word "flush" doesn't apply, since this is a drain+fill. Both of those quotes are high. You should only spend $32-$36 for the fluid,1 hour or less of labor, and $0 for flushing equipment.

 

Two separate jobs and two separate charges. That's nice of them, since they're the same thing.

Just for fun see what they say if you ask them to just change the transaxle ATF and to leave the transmission.

 

There is no transmission. You have a hybrid transaxle that contains two motor generators (MGs), a power split device that ties together the engine and MGs, and a differential that drives the axle shafts.

 

I just went through this issue so I understand your confusion. All you need to ask for is a transaxle fluid change. The total bill should be no more than $120. I had 2 dealers quote me nearly $300 because they confused the procedure with what is required for the Tacoma trucks. The dealer by my work explained the correct procedure and it did not require a flush like the trucks. They charged $120 for the transaxle fluid change AND an oil change.

 

You may recall that we had the discussion earlier in the string about why changing Prius transaxle ATF fluid is so easy. The Prius transaxle does not have a drain pan, unlike conventional transmissions which require removal of this part in order to replace the transmission oil filter and to drain the fluid. Whoever gave you the two separate quotes either doesn't know what they are doing, or consciously wants to rip you off, big-time.

You need a 10 mm hex key socket which is not the same as a 10 mm Allen wrench. The former is a socket which fits on your ratchet wrench and has a 10 mm hex key that can be inserted into the drain plug for removal. The latter is an L-shaped piece of metal that will not give you sufficient leverage to exert 29 ft.-lb. of torque.

 

Be forewarned, it may take >100+ ft-lb to get it loose. I used a 2' breaker bar on mine.

 

You need to find out what hazardous waste recycling is available in your local area. For example, the landfill for my town accepts antifreeze, batteries, engine oil and ATF for recycling.