New Owner - New User

[Jan&tone]

Didn't the gen2 get a 'revamp' around 2006/2007 ??

So you get early gen2 and later gen2 variants. (as well as gen1 and gen3).

Anyway, as others have said, don't worry there is nothing wrong with a gen2.

Yeah, I think you are right, but the bodyshape remained unchanged, wasn't it the trim and accessory levels? Like the t-spirit got the reversing camera in 2006/7 - that sort of thing....

[timberwolf]

IIRC there was a mid-model update of the Gen 2 at the beginning of 2006. The traction control ECU was updated and I think the MFD was replaced with a higher resolution display.

As already mentioned, the IPA and reversing camera becoming standard equipment rather than optional at the end of 2006, but that doesn't to my mind count as a model update.

[johalareewi]

2009, I think with 59 plates (Q3).

There is one gen3 around here with 09 plates. Must be one the first in the country (August??).

[johalareewi]

"And I prefer to have an automatic, and air-conditioning."

"Well you'll never get 40mpg+ with the power loss of auto and/or air con."

Have a look at websites like Fuelly to see real world mpg figures.

For example

http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius

Don't forget to click on the UK units at the top left of the page to get UK mpg.

[Arifax]

Have a look at websites like Fuelly to see real world mpg figures.

For example

http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius

Don't forget to click on the UK units at the top left of the page to get UK mpg.

That makes interesting reading!

Presumably the guy at 39mpg has a lead boot, and the one at 68 only ever drives down hills and never up them :-)

Geoff

[pmf]

Had my Gen2 for almost two years now. Heres my thoughts:

FUEL - Tried higher octane for several tank fulls to ensure I could properly assess. I didn't find any noticeable difference in fuel consumption or performance. Back to standard stuff for me and i use statndard supermarket fuel.

FUEL CONSUMPTION - Using the vehicles info display you will soon learn how to achieve better fuel consumption and change your driving technique a little. To me its how you feather the throttle to maintain a speed. There is a full blown technique you can look up like pulse and glide which if you use recommended speeds can really improve fuel consumption. However i find it impractical and will likely drive folk behind you nuts. However check it out (easy to find info) it gives a good insight into how the car works and will overall assist you in driving techniques for the car.

TYRES - I switched from Bridgestones to Michelin Energy savers. i didn't notice any difference in fuel consumption but i think they are quieter and offer better longevity. Overall a good all round tyre. Shop around i found a huge diffrence in price of up to 50% between major retailers and dealers for these Michelins.

SERVICING - As others have said for the routine services i do stick to Toyota as the price isn't bad for standard servicing and I want to maintain the 8 year Hybrid warranty. I pay around £140 - £150 for a minor and around £250 for major service. It does always amaze me how quickly they can service a car for £250. However i dread the day my car needs discs and pads etc. Check out Toyotas price. I have a local garage that previously maintained all my cars and currently still maintains other family car. As the 3 year part of the warranty is out I have given them the Prius on a couple of occasions due to brake squeel which they have dealt with by freeing pads (hard winter) and second time a stone stuck between caliper and disc. I will try and use them when the car needs discs/pads or other non routine servicing work that doesn't require a trained hybrid mechanic. I always use major branded parts for my discs and brakes etc and I reckon I'll save a bit of money in parts and labour with the local garage I completely trust for non routine servicing work. I would add with the exception of the brake squeel I mentioned the car has needed nothing out of warranty and has been to date (and I know I've just jinxed myself)very reliable. Probably the cheapest car to run i'v owned. Well as I've proabably just jinxed myself I should add up to now anyway. The car seems extremely easy on tyres and brakes.

Under Toyotas 3 year warranty I did get the front alloys replaced due to corrosion and a noisy front wheel bearing replaced without any fuss.

My only critisism is the paint seems soft. I've fitted mudflaps to protect sills etc as the paint on the sills near the front wing and bottom of front wings you can see primer where top coat has worn. I will get my sills redone soon but I would recommend Toyotas mud guards as they have definately stopped further wear to this area of paint.

[timberwolf]

Had my Gen2 for almost two years now. Heres my thoughts:

<SNIP>

TYRES - I switched from Bridgestones to Michelin Energy savers. i didn't notice any difference in fuel consumption but i think they are quieter and offer better longevity. Overall a good all round tyre. Shop around i found a huge diffrence in price of up to 50% between major retailers and dealers for these Michelins.

SERVICING - <SNIP> I have a local garage that previously maintained all my cars and currently still maintains other family car. As the 3 year part of the warranty is out I have given them the Prius on a couple of occasions due to brake squeel which they have dealt with by freeing pads (hard winter) and second time a stone stuck between caliper and disc. I will try and use them when the car needs discs/pads or other non routine servicing work that doesn't require a trained hybrid mechanic. I always use major branded parts for my discs and brakes etc and I reckon I'll save a bit of money in parts and labour with the local garage I completely trust for non routine servicing work. <SNIP>

Nice write up.

Do you run with standard tyre pressures?

I think your non-hybrid mechanic would still have to be aware of what they can and can't do when servicing a Prius and the brakes. Working on the brakes can apparently cause DTCs and other warning lights on the dash, so they would need a test tool that can read and clear the error codes. Bleeding the brakes, or replacing the brake fluid requires Toyota specific (CANbus?) codes to inject into the appropriate computer (ECU) - are there any non-Toyota test tools programmed with those codes and procedures yet?

An experiment that you can try at home, if you unlock your Prius, open the driver's door, close it, then after a while you should hear the brake pump operate briefly. Note that you haven't put the key fob in the ignition slot, started the car, or touched the brake pedal.

A question that I've wondered about, is What parts of the braking system is that brake pump concerned with, and therefore what parts of the brake system is it safe to work on without disabling that pump, or should it always be disabled?

[cootuk]

From Priuschat it seems like you need to wait a few minutes after turning off before touching any of the brake components - that whirring noise after a minute can push the pistons out then you are stuffed as you have air in the system and need Mr Toyota and his special tool.

[pmf]

Do you run with standard tyre pressures?

I think your non-hybrid mechanic would still have to be aware of what they can and can't do when servicing a Prius and the brakes. Working on the brakes can apparently cause DTCs and other warning lights on the dash, so they would need a test tool that can read and clear the error codes. Bleeding the brakes, or replacing the brake fluid requires Toyota specific (CANbus?) codes to inject into the appropriate computer (ECU) - are there any non-Toyota test tools programmed with those codes and procedures yet?

An experiment that you can try at home, if you unlock your Prius, open the driver's door, close it, then after a while you should hear the brake pump operate briefly. Note that you haven't put the key fob in the ignition slot, started the car, or touched the brake pedal.

A question that I've wondered about, is What parts of the braking system is that brake pump concerned with, and therefore what parts of the brake system is it safe to work on without disabling that pump, or should it always be disabled?

Thanks.

I run with the higher recommended settings 38 and 36 If I recall correctly ( Ialways check the door before I top up the pressures)I know other recommend 40 and sometimes over but for my driving on a lot of B class roads (poor surfaces) I find its a reasonable compromise for handling, comfort and fuel.

Regarding using non hybrid mechanics for some work you are absolutely right and you have to be very careful. I read lot a lot of forums and have a reasonable idea of what needs to be dealer work. The local garage are very good as they don't want a car stuck on their ramps either. They will normally contact a main dealer if they are unsure and won't take on a job if its not for them. I certainly wouldn't hand my Prius to any garage.

They didn't have any problems removing the front calipers and pads and cleaning all up earlier in the year.

I am aware that even bleeding brakes needs special equipment. A change of discs or pads shouldn't need any bleeding so I hope should be fine, I haven't read of any problems re changing discs or pads, providing the mechanic is aware of basic procedures with these cars before starting any work. I'm not sure why basic work like that would throw codes but I'd be interested of any more info on this or links. If it did throw a code, it would likely have to go to a dealers to get cleared down. My local has code readers, programming equipment but not specifically for the Prius as not enough customers to be worth it.

I think as more Prius's are appearing on the road in UK and getting older there is more knowledge of the them out there but as owners we do have to be very careful who we hand our cars to. There is non Toyota equipment including readers out there for the Prius but I don't think there are many places other than main dealers (with Toyota equipment) in the UK that have any. I'm sure in the future we'll see independent hybrid specialists particularly in larger areas as more hybrids are on the road and getting older and requiring specialist maintenance.

You may find the following website of an American hybrid specialist interesting. If you page down you will can see the equipment and why even bleeding the brakes of a Prius is a specialist job.

My link

[timberwolf]

A pity there aren't independent garages like Art's Automotive in this country, I could see myself spending a small fortune going with their recommendations to replace all those fluids! The funny thing is if a Toyota dealer recommended all that stuff I would be highly suspicious! :)

The reference I have was a paragraph that I read in the Bentley book chapter on Brakes, Suspension and Steering, where it warns that procedures such as retracting the caliper pistons may cause diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs). Curiously, it mentions installing new brake pads, as a separate item, although I would have thought it was the action of pushing the piston back, or possibly moving the caliper assembly, as part of installing the new brake pads that would cause the brake fluid pressure to change and hence cause the DTC?

I also found a link today that I think says the same thing (I haven't read the whole article yet) Brake job Toyota Prius

Edit: I think we are definitely overdue some good independent mechanics that can look after the older Prius cars. I'm not confident that there are many good mechanics around and I am unsure about the ones supposedly trained and working in Toyota dealers. I suspect the ones in the dealers rarely gain that much experience because they are servicing newer cars, and the impression I get is that Toyota GB seems to place far too much emphasis on the sale of new cars, and very little thought on good maintenance.

[Arifax]

The deed is done!

Dropped off the Merc - christened "the Tank" by my daughter.

Picked up the Prius - christened "the Milk Float" by my daughter (well, she is a teenager :-) )

62 miles and 52mpg (10 miles urban, 40 miles motorway, 10 miles urban).

Delighted to get 54mpg as I left the dealers. Distraught watching it drop to low forties as I climbed the Pennines on the M62 (65-75 mph with the traffic). Amazed at it jumped to 55 as I came down the other side.

Overall delighted. Rarely noisier than the Merc and nearly as comfortable. Plenty of acceleration (enough to be told off by the wife). And only a gallon used where it took well over three to get us there.

One big criticism so far: can't see the stalk which controls the wipers because of the wheel spoke; but, presumably, I will get used to using it by touch.

Now to go and get to grips with all the gadgets :-)

Geoff

[r04drunner1]

The deed is done!

<snip>

Now to go and get to grips with all the gadgets :-)

Geoff

Go for it! Health to enjoy. Have fun figuring out how to get best use of the gizmos to get superior MPG.

[cootuk]

The worst thing about changing cars does seem to be the headlight/wiper stalks are different.

Finding the footbrake on a dark night is always a challenge to start too. I spent a couple of minutes one night trying to find and release the footbrake when we first got ours.

Next you'll be asking about snow...

[korat102]

Next you'll be asking about snow...

No problem, apart from the electronics getting in the way.

My solution: winter tyres and treating the controls like they're made of glass :)

[Arifax]

The worst thing about changing cars does seem to be the headlight/wiper stalks are different.

Finding the footbrake on a dark night is always a challenge to start too. I spent a couple of minutes one night trying to find and release the footbrake when we first got ours.

Next you'll be asking about snow...

And they move the horn between the end of a stalk and the steering wheel!

I remember picking up a new (to me) merc once after having had a jag. I was immediately cut up by an idiot in a "hot hatch". Boy did I wash my windscreen at him!

As for snow, believe it or not I was about to ask. In the old merc (and the jag before it) if traction control rendered the car immobile, I often found that turning the control off would get a little movement and I could build on that.

I see that you cannot turn it off on the Prius. I don't want to buy different tyres for winter.

Yet another problem I didn't anticipate!

Still chuffed though - 53mpg on the run into work this morning.

Geoff

[korat102]

The Prius strives to protect its own drive train which translates to no spinning of wheels. In earlier models, that often means you won't be going anywhere unless you're very gentle with the throttle. Going uphill on snow without winter or snow tyres can really annoy people behind who think they're following a 90 year old. My 2005 Prius simply refuses to allow its wheels to spin but instead of reducing power, it seems to cut it completely...that's what made me use winter tyres with the Prius...it makes a huge difference, less loss of traction = less interference by overenthusiastic electronics.

[cootuk]

In snow it's a case of a gentle right foot. Places where other cars are revving like mad and wheelspinnig (and going nowhere), you might just crawl up at a few mph. Annoying for people behind you, but not much you can do if there's virtually no traction. A lot of grip depends on how worn your tyres are. Mine were around 3-4mm, so quite worn.

If power does get cut, then drive/reverse/drive can rock you to a place where you get grip again.

I've got a pair of snow socks as an emergency as roads round here generally get cleared fast and I don't feel we need full winter tyres, though that's a whole separate argument about braking and grip when temperatures drop.

Also got a couple of small pieces of carpet to put under wheels, which seem to get other drivers going more than us - you wont be going anywhere if car in front blocks you.

Given that, there are some days when you do need a Landrover, though my old one only got 15mpg so not really a year round choice.