Fluid Changes Cost

Just got the receipt, $28.48 labor and $26.04 for 4 quarts of "Full Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid." Little bit extra for Job supplies and tax

At some point in my life I am sure I will become picky about these things, it just hasn't happened yet. Growing up I was taught virtually nothing about car maintenance, and this is the first car I have ever bought. First one I have ever driven that was less than 15 years old! In light of this I like to think that my attempts at car maintenance are decent. Got my own copy of your maintenance schedule marked up with records of previous maintenance. I have no driveway or garage to put the car up on blocks, so I can't do as much DIY as I could.

Bought at 126k mi, so far have gotten oil, trans, and brake fluid changed. Filters look fine, coolant looks new. I got new spark plugs sitting on my desk, just need to find the tools to put those in. Front shocks/struts are rusty, so I will be saving up a small fortune to have those replaced soon

 

For spark plugs the socket size is 9/16", maybe also 14mm? Not sure, but 9/16" works. Watch @NutzAboutBolts video, pinned at top of 3rd gen maintenance forum. The big hassle is removal of the wipers, motor/linkage and the cowl under windshield. It's very frustrating, but must be done.

The spark plug socket should have the rubber insert that grabs the plug ideally, and a 6" extension minimum is needed to reach down the spark plug wells. In the video he mentions 20 ft/lb torque with anti-seize on the threads. The Repair manual spec is 15 ft/lb with dry threads. That might be best. If you do use anti-seize I would say very sparingly, and reduce torque to 12~13.

 

with prices like that, i would stick with the dealer, you got a good one.

 

No, she said the quote was from a mechanic who is familiar with hybrid. Not a dealer service.

Nonetheless, great price. Unfortunately, it is often true that finding a trustworthy mechanic who knows what he is doing on hybrid (or plug-in) is very hard. I haven't fond one yet.

 

thanks!
i would stick with that mechanic like glue

 

Even if someone else is going to install the plugs, it's good to know what it entails. If it's an independent mechanic, not familiar with 3rd gen Prius, the video I mentioned will let them know what they're in for. It's 90% access, the plug replacement itself is easy.

If you don't tear the car half apart, you just can't quite get the spark plug igniters up and out of the spark plug wells. And even if you could, access is very tight with that bottom-of-windshield cowl in place.

Print out the pdf I posted too, it has the torque specs and a few bits they could use.

 

I don't mind tearing the car half apart, and would rather do it myself than pay someone to do it. I just don't have a torque wrench with the right lb/ft, extension, or the magnetic spark plug socket. Which almost makes me want to just ask the mechanic if I can take the car apart, have him do the spark plugs, and then put it back together myself. Seems like most of the labor time involved is tearing it apart

 

Watch the video. They do it in under an hour. Of course, me, it can take 10 minutes fussing some of the small trim pieces, trying to figure out how they come off without breaking, lol. There's also a lot of fiddly cable retainer clips, again, difficult to get off without breaking. Sometimes they're not that critical: you can push the cable clip connection back together after, and it's a little messed up, but not going anywhere.

It's video #13 here:

Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat

 

Er, aircraft ICEs from the very early days of aviation have had 2 sparkplugs per cylinder. Having 2 plugs per cylinder DEFINITELY caused more efficient combustion: Part of our preflight engine run-up was an ignition system check where we switched first to “left”(set of -maneto+spark plugs), observed a 200rpm drop on the tachometer, then back to “both” systems , checked that rpms returned to normal, then switched to “right” magneto+spark plugs, observed another 200 rpm drop, then finally back to “both” for take off. This was critically important to ensure that both separate ignition systems were in fact working correctly so that if one system failed, the aircraft would still be flyable. I would very much like to do exactly the same safety check on a car with dual ignition systems , and certainly installing such a “left-right-both” ignition system switch would be trivial , but I doubt the auto engineers will allow that option to be possible!
[ But if I build a bloody dual-ignition Vehicle, (or dual motor controllers for a BEV), it WILL have such a switch!]

 

Here in Priuschat, I learn so much about not only car but also about airplane. Civic Hybrid was my first hybrid, and I did not tinker much with the car. Certainly I did not join any of forum like this for HCH. I wonder if there are internal code for ignition one can read off from ECU?

 

Uh, using a Scanguage II, one of the queries you can program in is the ignition timing for the ICE. The displayed field is a number representing “degrees of crankshaft rotation before Top Dead Center”. That is near 0 degrees at idle but increases to a maximum value (IIRC ) of 32 degrees Before Top Dead Center. I watched this display because I had a problem with engine “pinging” under certain throttle and load conditions. I was trying to check if the Prius did have a system to detect pinging and automatically decrease the amount of ignition advance, which is necessary to prevent pinging from turning into something serious like detonation, which could blow out the head gasket or melt the top of a piston. As best I could observe, the Prius like most modern cars does have a knock sensor that feeds to the ECU and causes the ignition to be retarded.

 

Yeah here's Repair Manual info. It's just up and to the left of the PCV plate (that's bolted onto the intake side of crankcase, highlighted in yellow).



This is a bit odd:



If you're standing at the front bumper, you'd be looking at the above view. I guess Toyota calls the passenger size end of the engine (end with the pulley etcetera) the "front".

 

Thank you!
Nice to know where it is, and how to test it. I’m curious if the specified resistance of 120-280 kilo-ohms gets higher or lower when the engine pings and sends a jolt to this sensor. Hmmm.
Stray thought: if the detector really is a simple shake dectector with some kind of moving part inside that changes the resistance, IF that moving part corrodes into a fixed position, this sensor would not function correctly. That would in turn allow pinging and pre-ignition to continue unabated, which would then allow abnormally high combustion chamber pressures and that could blow the head gasket. Now I want to take one apart!

 

Clamp on electrodes and vibrate it?

 

It's more likely similar to a microphone that generates a voltage spike whenever there's a tapping noise.

Pixel XL ?

 

You might need an oscilloscope

Pixel XL ?

 

At Hybrid Repair Center in San Antonio:

Replacing Coolant for ICE: 128.50
Replacing Coolant Invertor: 150.50
BG Fuell Induction service:180.00

 

This is a perfect example why if you're not doing yourself, and you're planning on having the dealer do it, you might want to think about spreading out the services. Like the transaxle at 90K, inverter at 95K, brake fluid at 100K and the plugs at 110K. I change the oil twice a year so starting at 90K I plan on getting something done each oil change.

 

IIRC the inverter coolant is easier and uses about 1/2 as much fluid? Watch @NutzAboutBolts video.

 

Just did both loops on @m.wynn ’s daughters 2011.

168 ounces in the engine loop and 57 ounces in the inverter loop.

So a 3:1 ratio.