Another thread talked about driving the Prius fast. Got me wondering. What sort of data does Toyota collect on the computer in the car. Can Toyota find out if you have been abusing the Prius. Driving fast, missing old changes, lead foot, the speed you were going before the airbag deployed (I'm not joking, real question), how hard you were braking when airbag deployed etc? Anyone know?
I don't have exact data, but I know some of that data is retained for accident forensics, perhaps speed, braking data, etc.
Almost certain that the data collected is just the last thirty sec or so, unless things have changed, and yes it's quite extensive, but not service data. Nothing in the computer "knows" if you change the oil or not, it could know if you reset the reminder message, but not if the oil was changed
The computer does log a few things for longer term use. One of the stranger ones is shifting into D before the car is ready, or I should say attempting to shift into D. Doing this logs a code that persists for a few starts. Toyota did this because it's a common complaint: "My Prius won't shift into D on the first try." They pull the code and tell you to stop jumping the gun. Tom
Keep it clean and serviced up to date. All they have to do is look at the car and they will know what kind of owner you are. Clean inside and out and up to date on all required services will do more for your reputation as a car owner than anything else. I had my old Volvo detailed about a year before I got rid of it and the owner of the shop made a comment about the car. He told me that my car was the cleanest Volvo he has seen in many years. Cleanest? He was talking about my interior. Seems all that most dealers have to do is look at what is hiding on the floor in the back seats and between the front seats and console. You treat the car like a piece of garbage you can bet there is going to be tell tail signs all around the car. The other Volvo's he had detailed had old fast food bags and food and trash in the back seat area and under the front seats. Stained and very dirty upholstery front and back pretty much tells you the owner was a slob. The interior looks that bad what do you think the service history looks like? Also they can tell if you got money or not. How you ask? Gas gauge. If "every time" the car comes in there is less than a quarter tank they know you have money problems. People that can only afford to put $10 in gas in the car never have more than 1/4 to a 1/3 of tank of gas. Learned this from techs I know that work at dealers. If your wondering if they will know that your hot rodding the car and beating on it? YES and NO. Things will show up over time that will point out that the car is being driven hard. Tires, brakes, suspension parts like struts, tie rods and ball joints needing replaced sooner than most other Prius's being serviced at that dealership with similar mileage. For example when the AWD 300 HP Volvo S60R's came out, it didn't take long for the dealer to know who was beating on theirs. Clutches, tires, brake pads needing replaced in under 10K miles are all tell tail signs the car is being driven hard. BTW with the S60R's under normal driving conditions tires were lasting around 20K miles on average due to the soft compound used in them. Front pads were wearing out normally in the 20K-25K mile range.