Hello everyone, I have been using this forum for a long time and it has been the go-to guide for me if the manual does not have what I need or if I need clarification. I would just like to thank everyone for all of the help and advice. This is my first car that isn't a piece of junk and I am excited to treat it best I can, I would definitely not be able to without the help of the maintenance manual snippets for the gen 3. Thanks to you all I am about to start cleaning the throttle body, EGR, MAF sensor and intake manifold/replace all gaskets where I can to avoid the head gasket scare. I know that it may be inevitable, but I am prepared for the worst and hoping for the best. The car has been good to me and never been unsafe, and it is fun to learn about the hybrid system. Some quick notes that I have dealt with and may help others: When the 12v battery is dying out the car will act very strange, if your car is sitting for a long time disconnect the battery, or best case have a trusted person run the car or drive it every so often The brake booster failed at 150k, from what I have seen from others it is a common gen 3 issue, the car would still brake but I made sure the next place I drove it to was the mechanic. I believe there was a recall on it too but I was just out of the range, maybe it would have been better to cause a ruckus over it at the dealership My passenger airbag light would not enable, I have tried putting lithium grease on the under seat sensor, cleaning it, and adjusting the seat all the way through all of the motions, but in the end it was a bad belt buckle. If you are new to hybrids like I was, the car can feel very weird at first, I was stressing out when the gas engine shut itself off and was a weird feeling to get used to. I plan on sticking with this line of cars and keeping my current car as long as I can. Thanks again for all the help and thoughtful discussion (most of the time). What advice do you have for keeping your Prius going and/or tips or tricks newbs(me) may not know.
welcome! how many miles on her? focus on the egr circuit, bad pistons and rings, and head gasket. as far as the battery is concerned, there's not much you can do besides keeping the cooling circuit clean, and opening the case to see if there's any corrosion that needs attending to. all the best!
She is at 160k miles, just did the inverter coolant flush and refill, along with replacement of transaxle fluid which both went well. Under the body there seems to be little to no rust, and I still have the OEM plastic undercover, I forget exactly what it's called. I will be cleaning the EGR, throttle body, and MAF sensor, currently draining the engine coolant and will then clean/inspect the intake manifold, throttle body, and EGR degunk. From my latest inspection at the dealership and mechanic before that they said battery health is good, I haven't checked in awhile but I remember when I did with Dr. Prius it said the battery was in good shape. The dealership was for the seat belt issue. As for anything opening up the engine I don't feel comfortable doing that and will take it somewhere when the time comes or if there is a need for it. People say that a JDM car is better but I don't know, she was from Hawaii and has a Japanese manufacturing VIN. I plan on taking her on about a 2500 mile road trip back home and excited for it. I plan on getting a full size spare, and filling out my toolbox for the trip just in case. I was thinking one of the things to add is the blue devil head gasket sealer just in case, and I accept it could ruin the engine and require a new one but better than nothing in the case of an emergency, and from what people have said there are no issues with the head gasket or signs, but things can always happen. For my tool box I have the following planned: Brake fluid tester pen Blue devil head gasket sealer Digital multimeter Launch CRP123 1/2 inch drive 20-250 ft lbs torque wrench for tires 3/8 drive 5-75 ft lbs for drain plugs and oil filter Electric screwdriver with many assorted sockets 3/8 drive oil filter sockets 2 jack stands 2 ton racing jack Tarp PB Blaster Oil drain pan Brake cleaner LED shop light Thanks much for the advice, and I don't know where I would be without these forums. It makes me less anxious to do the work myself when I can in order to ensure it was done right. PS. I will be moving to an apartment where the only things I could realistically do would be to change oil and check up on things/change a tire if needed, otherwise I will take it to a trusted shop for checkups, that's why I plan on getting this cleaning out of the way before the trip.
As for oil, she does not burn or leak any that I’ve noticed, but they have said that there is a seep at the dealership but people I trust say it does not need to be addressed now and is the stealership wanting money (pic attached)
