I'm AtlasOfAngeles and I just registered - hello. I have a 2005 Prius with 120,000 miles on it and have a few questions. - My prius seems to transition from electric to gas a little more harshly than when I first got it. It seems to jerk a little when switching to gas. Is this normal with older Priuses or should I get it checked out? - If I get the EV mode mod, will it drain my batteries overall life faster? - My Prius is pretty low to the ground (no mods on my part, that's the way it came) and I tend to hit the bottom on ramps and some speed bumps. My question is, how strong is that bottom part of the car. There have been times where I've bashed it pretty hard and I'm worried I messed up my prius permanently. - Finally, any recommendations to permanently hack the Nav speed lockout? Thanks, A
How long have you had your car? Definitely change the transaxle fluid. You should also be looking at 120,000 mile maintenance, which includes spark plugs and PCV valve. Clean MAF sensor with MAF sensor cleaner only and the throttle plate + bore with throttle body cleaner while you are at it. That's about it for addressing any sort of roughness. EV mode is only useful under very, very limited circumstances. Basically, if you want to avoid a cold start on a trip from one side of the mall to another, or you have a long, downhill, low speed stretch of road and you want to lock it into EV stealth, it is ok. Otherwise, it will decrease both battery life and fuel economy. There's not much to damage on the undercarriage at the spots where bottoming out happens. There are issues on the front where parking barriers catch the plastic undercovers, which help aerodynamics as well as protecting components from road debris. Get the lockpick from Coastal for your NAV. If there are other options for that, I hope someone will post them. Don't bother with their EV kit though. BASIC LOCKPICK1
Thanks for the info. I've had my Prius since 2009 when it had about 45000 miles on it - I drive it a lot. By any chance could you tell me how much those maintenance suggestions might cost? Ballpark? Thanks, A
About $100 for parts and 3 hours of labor. Add another $50 for coolant and another hour of labor if you ask to have the engine coolant done. You should have had the inverter coolant pump replaced for free under the recall in the past 9 months; if not, ask to have that done, as this includes fresh inverter coolant.
