Hey all! Finally posting after so many years of leaning on this forum (or maybe I just lost my old account ;^) Anyhoo, I'm looking to get some new tires on my trusty '06 Gen 2 rolling with 226K. The situation is that I am preparing to move cross-country and it looks like the best option I have is to do the drive. I'm excited and also slightly anxious to get the preparations right and make sure my ride will handle the journey and be prepared for the seasonal climate at the destination. A little backstory for context: the car was handled in a very very premium way up until 117K, at which point I inherited it. Since then I have been perfect with the oil changes, always full synthetic, and have done various fixes and maintenance like plugs, rear hubs/bearings (recently), struts (2012), and axle (2022). The hybrid battery was replaced at the dealership in 2013. Have not always kept up with various flushes so I have been getting the materials together for doing transmission and brake flushes and check the various systems and tubing. Mainly I am looking for advice for an upcoming tire purchase -- but of course and pre-journey advice is welcome! I am planning to drive from Vegas to DC. The tires have about 15-20% tread left on them and I think one of the tires may be running on a flat repair, so I think it's definitely time to get some new rubber for the road. Main tire selection considerations are, in this order: - Weather performance on the way and expected seasonal at the destination -- Good for freezing temps/snow/rain. - Mileage -- Important but I'm not a stickler for absolute best. / Noise -- Not super important but hopefully don't have to compromise too much on this. \ Wear -- I rank this last because I am thinking to sell within a year. Roughly equal to noise in importance. So far I have narrowed it down to these two brands and models: Faulken Aklimate ControlContact Tour A/S Also wondering: All-Season vs All-Weather -- any real difference? Thanks a million! :^)
Whichever will be gone you're coming to my side of the US. Run cheap tyres on the Gen 2 I run a brand called Ecosa 195 65 15 great all round tyre 53 buc a pop . Year round car handles just wonderful and we drive the car not the other way round . Prius is Corolla family you should be able to drive across country with minimal prep . Oil change tire pressures coolant check no need change all the fluids. At you under 150K you're just broken in well . Brakes need be good . Slide on new front pads . It's cheap to do in driveway. You'll probably get to DC without incident long boring drive .
Has the OP changed the inverter pump since taking possession? 100K on an inverter pump is living on borrowed time. Only use an OEM Toyota pump obtained from a dealer. Before that long a trip I suggest: check that the 12V battery is healthy (most auto parts stores will test them, although they may require that you bring it inside) get some coolant test strips and test both in the radiator and in the inverter tank (because coolant may not have been changed recently) new wipers and a full tank of wiper fluid clean all windows thoroughly, especially removing the foggy coating on the inside check that all external lights are working check the oil and if the change mileage falls during the trip change it ahead of time check inflation in the spare check that all tools for changing a tire are present and in working order check that the heat, defrosters, and AC are working consider bringing common repair tools With regards to (10) I always bring a breaker bar with a socket that matches the lug nuts, since that is about 10X easier than using the tools that come with the car when changing a tire. I also bring a bicycle pump,. These days little electric pumps are more common but I don't have one. Some people carry jump packs or jumper cables. Work gloves, nitrile gloves, a flashlight or work light, pliers, screwdrivers, a socket set, and a multimeter are good to have too. Check the batteries in any tool which has them. It doesn't hurt to bring a spare bottle of oil. At that mileage the car may burn some oil and it is a ~2500 mile trip. Also there are anecdotal claims that these cars sometimes burn more oil on long highway trips than they do normally.
So the first lasted 7 years. The second is at 12 years. If you have Techstream or a compliant OBD2 dongle and a copy of Dr. Prius it wouldn't hurt to check the HV pack. As long as the car hasn't been dropping bars suddenly and then starting the motor to recharge it is probably in OK shape. If it was already having serious problems there would be a code.
