Diy Servicing On Gen 3

[PeteB]

On 17/11/2015 at 10:21 AM, PeteB said:

My last Gen 1 Prius had done over 163,000 miles when I sold it, still with original transmission fluid.

 

I discussed changing it with my dealer once or twice, but it was pointed out that Toyota didn't require it ever to be changed and deemed it unnecessary. To a degree, it's almost unheard of for one to fail, even at 400,000 miles, so they may have a point.

 

However, the chap who bought my car does a lot of work on various Hybrids and changed the fluid himself. He reported back that it was very heavily discoloured (no sign of the original red colour left), but fortunately no significant metallic debris.

 

On that basis I probably would have it done on my current Prius if gets towards 100k (half way now!).

 

He did state that my Gen 1 had no transmission whine at all, unlike some Gen 1 & 2 models that had passed 100K, so I guess the jury's out, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. A fluid change costing maybe £60-£100 once every 10 years or so isn't going to drastically affect the overall running cost, whereas a new power split device (aka transmission, transaxle) probably would!

Not an issue now as I'm swapping for a Gen 4 Prius (in June, I hope).

On the strength of this, I would always have it done between 60-100k in future if I kept a Toyota Hybrid that long.

I wish I'd known he was going to do that in advance; I'd have offered to pay for a sample to get a laboratory analysis, to see how much lubricating ability it had remaining.

[kithmo]

On 2/25/2016 at 6:57 PM, tonino said:

The chain you are talking about is also called a belt, and despite there are no other belts or chains and pulleys there are bearings that would benefit fresh oil plus the gears, and yes there is a dry clutch in. If you don't like to change don't have to, but there is no reason ppl that want not to do it, a regular change with the correct oil  will extend the life of the tranny no doubt. 

Cheers 

Who, besides you, calls the chain a belt ?

There is no clutch inside the transmission where the oil lives, but if there was and it was a dry clutch (as you say above), how would it benefit from a transmission oil change ? 

How would bearings in there benefit from changing the oil at this stage. I can understand wanting to change the oil at say 1000 miles to drain any metallic particles that have been picked up from the gears during running in but after that it is a waste of money and resources (oil).

If Mr T says the oils is good for life then I'd rather agree with his engineers than go on the old fashioned whim of change the oil more often than necessary just for the sake of it. 

Modern oils don't degrade like the old transmission fluids, this is especially so in the Pruis where there are less moving parts, so there's no need to change.

[IanIanIanIan]

How often do you change the oil in the suspension dampers?

I certainly will be trusting the Toyota engineers and not change my transmission fluid.

[JD]

32 minutes ago, IanIanIanIan said:

How often do you change the oil in the suspension dampers?

I certainly will be trusting the Toyota engineers and not change my transmission fluid.

my question is has anyone heard of a transmission failing and if they have then at what mileage? I dont mind paying toyota for the oil change but i also dont want to tamper with the transmission since its been running fine

[drives]

Its up to you what you want to do and personal preference at the end of the day. Priuschat has got loads of posts/advice about this. Toyota engineers also decided the Prius doesn't need brake fluid changes on the uk service schedule so I wouldn't trust them implicitly necessarily.

gen 3s are only five or six years old so bit early probably for cvt issues. There are quite a few documented cases of gen2s failing.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

28 minutes ago, drives said:

Toyota engineers also decided the Prius doesn't need brake fluid changes on the uk service schedule so I wouldn't trust them implicitly necessarily.

As with all Toyota models in the UK market, Toyota GB list the brake fluid change as a maintenance option rather than saying their models don't need brake fluid changes, and they recommend brake fluid changes are done every two years.

[TomdeGuerre]

20 hours ago, IanIanIanIan said:

How often do you change the oil in the suspension dampers?

I certainly will be trusting the Toyota engineers and not change my transmission fluid.

Changing the oil in suspension dampers is a different thing since they are not subject to the same pressures and temperatures that CVT’s are. You may as well ask about changing the oil in the steering rack or the lubricant in CV couplings.

In any case these items are consumables and won’t cost you an extra mortgage to renew so it’s no biggy if they go in less than 100k miles. Renewing a CVT is a huge potential expense and I’d opt for changing the fluid if I was keeping one long term.

[kithmo]

21 hours ago, drives said:

gen 3s are only five or six years old so bit early probably for cvt issues. There are quite a few documented cases of gen2s failing.

 

Please enlighten us with these "documented cases" with a link.

[drives]

google search cvt or transaxle failure Prius in order to be enlightened. Not that difficult.

[kithmo]

Most transaxle failures are electrical failures and only 2% of all Prius repairs are transaxle related according to sites I found on google search, so I'm still not convinced it's anything to do with the oil. But it's your choice, if you want to open the plugs on a sealed transmission and introduce the possibility of contamination when filling up, then go ahead. 

[IanIanIanIan]

On 07/03/2016 at 3:43 PM, TomdeGuerre said:

Changing the oil in suspension dampers is a different thing since they are not subject to the same pressures and temperatures that CVT’s are. You may as well ask about changing the oil in the steering rack or the lubricant in CV couplings.

In any case these items are consumables and won’t cost you an extra mortgage to renew so it’s no biggy if they go in less than 100k miles. Renewing a CVT is a huge potential expense and I’d opt for changing the fluid if I was keeping one long term.

Exactly my point.  They are designed and made as sealed for life and nobody questions that.

The transmission is also designed and made as sealed for life by Toyota and that is their firm advice. I will follow their advice.

[YarisHybrid2016]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

I'm thinking of doing an early engine oil change, but that is it. I plan on keeping my Yaris until it falls apart! I fear the bodywork will go before I get some serious milage on it! :D

[SH4RKY]

Out of interest, for DIY servicing for filters and oil changes etc, what is the consensus in terms of sourcing parts?   Places like Eurocarparts decent enough / equivalent or can you source directly from Toyota and what are the cost implications? 

[drives]

I got my service items from Opie oils- mahle air and oil filters, and then motul 0w20. Bit more expensive that the toyota oil. Really limited choices when it comes to 0w20 oil unfortunately. One of the reasons I didn't go to eurocarparts is because they only did 5w30 from what I could see. I couldn't find any Toyota dealers who would sell all of what I needed online all in one place.

Just make sure you have the right tool to get the oil filter housing off. I bought something of Amazon that said it was compatible but it wasn't as it was too bulky to fit around the housing. There isn't much clearance around it. Just a basic oil filter removal cup with a thin profile I found was best. I had to give the wrench a few whacks with a hammer to get the housing off as it had been over tightened.