hello, my son just purchased a 2008 Prius. 50k miles, garage kept, all service records, all service performed at Toyota dealership. I suggested to him to join this forum but he probably won't do it so I'll do it for him. I have always been our family mechanic but I don't know much about these cars. Looking forward to learning from this forum. Keith
Keith, most maintenance will still be routine, just follow the Service schedule. Welcome to Prius Chat! http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/T-MMS-08Prius/pdf/Prius08SMG.pdf One item Toyota left out, but several of us regard as essential is drain and refill the ATF WS in the Transaxle at 30,000 miles, 90,000 miles, and then every 90,000 miles. (Since Toyota did not set an interval, you are free to choose your own) You may very well find that brakes last almost forever, which is good, as bleeding them requires custom software from Toyota to open all the brake lines. Since a great many questions require us to know your approximate location, I encourage you to fill it in.
Pretty much fluids and filters up to 100k. Many people think that the transaxle fluid ought to be changed at 30 to 60K and thence every 60 or so. (Think: Stator windings for a motorcycle) even though it's not on the maintenance schedule. Your call, but I'd read up on it. You can DIY ANYTHING Prius maintenance related, including brake relining and there are some great vids out there. Good Luck.
Welcome, neighbor. When it comes to a Prius the Family Mechanic is about as busy as the Maytag Repairman.
Welcome to Prius Chat. We are South Jersey alumni. Jersey is a CARB state so assuming your son is also in NJ and the car was bought in NJ he has the extended CARB warranty to 150k miles or 10 years, I am thinking.
I actually got bored after I bought my prius - coming from a gm product that I was ALWAYS wrenching on. I went on eBay and sold 2 specialty tools leftover from the Envoy and threw away some spare parts I had on hand, lol. The prius is one of the most well built, reliable vehicles I have ever encountered!!
welllll.... almost agreed .. don't forget the pcv around 60k-75k .... which you can pick up on Amazon or eBay for cheep .... most pvc's are still in great shape, even at that point. Maybe common sense stuff like replace the air filter with one you can clean and reuse ... other than that .... your son has a pretty much bullet proof ride - with record high mpg's to boot. Some Prius traction packs have lasted for over 200k - 300k miles - so he'll be good to go for a long time. Welcome! to both him you. now the question is - when will YOU get with the PRIUS Kool-aid program .... .
