I just bought I used 2012 plug in Prius and I have not owned a car since college. Does anyone have any maintenance tips? I am liking this car a lot and want to take good care of it so I get a lot of years out of it. any advice would be much appreciated!
Clean egr, intake manifold, throttle body, maf sensor, replace all fluids, replace spark plugs, fuel treatment, replace air filter, wash and wax, vacuum, clean hybrid battery fan, rotate tires, maintain psi, replace shocks and sway bar links, replace tie rods, anti-rust spray exhaust and undercarriage, park in a garage or shaded area. Also, if you’re gonna drive higher-speed like freeway, start your car in hybrid mode instead of ev mode that way you give it a better warmup instead of it starting cold when you get on the freeway.
congrats and welcome! just follow the maintenance schedule with three caveats: clean the egr circuit as mentioned above (these cars are prone to blown head gaskets) change the engine oil and filter every 5k change the tranny oil all the best!
Also a 2012 here with 110k. Took it to a local independent garage that specializes in Prius. Any comments on three of their recommendations-- EGR can be at least partially cleaned by using a round or two of fuel injector cleaner, brake fluid never needs to be changed (does this apply to all cars?) and replace the water pump ($525) after 120k as preventive care to cut the risk of a $2500. head gasket job.
Not a chance. To put it impolitely, the guys are larcenous, lazy and/or idiots. See first two links in my signature for EGR cleaning tips. Toyota USA agrees, says nothing about brake fluid. Toyota Canada was* saying tri-yearly or 48K kms, whichever came first. *When I checked a 2014 model year maintenance document (excerpt attached). With the advent of 4th gen they've completely stripped mention of service intervals from the documentation that comes with the car; the only way to sort it out is by viewing an interactive event-by-event schedule online. Progress... Replacing the water pump at those miles is not a bad idea. $525 USD is a little steep (presumably installed), especially if it's with the Aisin WPT190 pump, which I believe is identical (see link below, for price shipped to you). https://www.amayama.com/en/part/toyota/161a039015 Still, cutting the risk of head gasket failure it's most important to keep on top of the EGR cleaning.
Can you tell us the name of that auto-shop that specializes in Priuses? I would like to look at their customer reviews. EGR cannot be partially cleaned with a fuel cleaner. It has to be manually cleaned.
Guess you just keep missing the “INSPECT fluids” part? Toyota doesn’t say “nothing” it is just the owners who misread it.
I should have clearer, meant to say: Toyota USA does not provide a brake fluid replacement interval, or mention it.
