Toyota Prius (2001-2022) Questions & Answers

I still own the 2010 iTech Prius - and, no, never had a boot latch issue.

No idea Wayne. I'd say even the workshop manual would not specify it. Toyota would have an engineering document with that sort of detail. Possibly ask a Toyota service centre for the numbers. Perhaps there are figures on the unit itself?

As a rough guess the answer might reflect hydraulic braking pressures generally - and so be in the range of 1 to 10 MPa.

That said, there is the gas cannister (high pressure) and the pump and if changing that unit (which I think there was a recall on for the 2010 Prius) then I believe it best to also replace the actuator (unit that attached to brake pedal).

Good luck.

Hi Colin, not sure ... ours is the i-Tech ZVW30R.

Ok, Thanks Kate. Mine is a 2006 NHW 20

I need a new bumper and I can get one for a NHW 20R but not sure if it fits a NHW 20.

Anybody have any ideas about this?

Our battery lasted about 10 years, but if you’ve already got a more powerful car that’s getting 5l/100km, why change? I hope you’ve posted a review of it! Anyway, it’ll be even better for the planet if you keep your old car.

A xmas dinner conversation about the "save the planet hippies driving old bombs with poor fuel economy" has got me thinking.

Hi, Do you mind telling me how much you bought it for? Thansk

15k. It’s more than red book but the price seemed reasonable given the low k’s.

Hi Andrea. We had a 2004 Prius and our daughter has a 2007 and they certainly appear identical so I expect they would be interchangeable (although there can always be surprises!). The i-Tech models of course had more features on their monitors would only match similar I-Tech models.

All engines use some oil, even when new. We’ve got the same car, it will go from full on the didpstick to halfway down the dipstick between services, which is more than I’m used to but certainly not an issue on a car with some kilometres on it. Just make sure to check the oil level every week

It is always good to check your oil level on every car. The Prius makes no difference. If you are not sure your nearest Toyota service department is only too happy to help you. If you have purchased your car from a private seller, that is always of a great risk as you do not have any guaranty on the car. It looks like the guaranty has just run out as there is a 10-year guaranty on the battery system of the Prius. Ask your Toyota service to get an extended guaranty agreement for a further 5 years as it is cheaper and gives you peace of mind. I have no association with Toyota or Lexus, but I am a devoted Toyota friend as to the quality and reliability of the cars. I drove a top of the range Lexus since 1992 and had three of them over the years and changed over to a Prius. This was a good decision as to the environmental and financial value of the car. Happy motoring. I do it for 68 years.

Thank you for you advise, taken on board.

I am not sure as I have not used mine to tow anything. I doubt it would have the power to get up a steep hill with half a cubic meter of dirt in a trailer.

It is not permitted to tow a trailer on a Prius because the reverse driving is only electrically and not aided by the petrol engine. The available Power is not enough to push a trailer backwards.

Sorry I can't help here. My youngest is 21 and no grandbabies yet

I never drove a Gen 3. I hear they use sightly less fuel.

My Gen 2 high tech is a dream and did not cost much.

80 percent of all Prii are Gen 2 except Taxis

Do own a Hybrid is the best yon can have if you are energy minded, I have 2 , a 2005 Prius and a 2014 Prius C. I am not aware that there was ever a recall on the HV battery, People would talk about it.

From Toyota it costs $ 3888.-- for a new Battery installed with a 1 year warranty.

You can get reconditioned Batteries for less than $ 2000.-- also with a warranty.

Low milage is good and bad as the battery last longer if worked hard .

2006 Prius are quite inexpensive on the second hand market.

I trust this assists with the decision to be made.

Thank you, Hybrid. Could you also advise me what to look out and what to ask to owner when I make inspection to that car?

Hi Tanya,

I think this car will be a bit slow to take off going up the hill (not as sluggish as a snail though). I often have 5 people in my car and the car still operates fine going up the hill.

I would say you feel bit slow but for me it is not an issue. You can always accelerate max and it will pump the torque from both petrol engine and electric motor. Another point would be, if drive a Prius the way you drive normal car it would not be enough fuel efficient. To get best fuel efficiency you need to master the slow acceleration and slow breaking.

I now live in the Hills area of Sydney which if you know the area is hilly.With regards to Hills and the Prius-C its not a powerhouse. From my experience it uses very little petrol and is configured to be very economical but if going up a hill you just accelerate more. I just believe that because by default it is in eco mode your used to no or little engine noise. I have gotten it up to 140kph racing a mate up a hill. He was also surprised it had guts because the car try (as mentioned above) is wired for economy.

Okie dokie .. I guess I am a Prius Groupie as we have two of them.. My 2005 Prius has been an excellent vehicle.. It now has almost 250,000 klm on it and all is good.. Both my Prius's are the i-Tech model which has all the goodies and toys in them..ie cruise control and more multi screen info .. it sounds like you are buying a base model ( even those are quite good cars, but not too many toys).. All I wouold recomend is getting and NRMA , RACQ or RACV inspection.. to ensure the mechanicals are all in good order.. Otherwise.. GO FOR IT!!

let me know .. i am really interested.!

Cheers

Bob

Hi My Prius 2004 is the best most reliable car i have ever owned i have had it from second hand since 2008 ---- Having said that i would not buy a 2003 (Personally) because i just believe that buying a car that is 11 years old is a bit risky no matter what it is ------- If you can afford it, i would buy a less expensive new car that has 5 years warrantee ----- the problem i feel is that, in this day and age things just cost too much to fix ---- eg i believe the battery in the Prius lasts from 10 to 15 years and costs around $4,000 to replace ---- the 2003 is around about that age ---- short answer ----- love the Prius --- but i wouldn't buy a Prius that age----- and if you have to --- buy a car that is less tech (hybrid)

good luck Ross

Hi Tam. Pretty sure the 2003 model was the old Series 1? If so I would probably avoid it and try to get a series 2 model which started in 2004 I think. The first series is getting a bit old now and is more likely to have problems (not as well designed as the later ones from what I have been told) and parts could be harder to find and more expensive.

how long does the little battery in the boot last for in the generation 3 version haven't used car for 2weeks & now it wont start. sometimes while trying to stat it the triangle prompt appears on the dash

In answer to Clintie Downes.. If the RED triangle appears on the dash .. pop into a toyota dealer.. Its an easy fix and probably under warranty ( even tho the car might be well over 5 years old .. It happened to me and Toyiota fixed whatever the problem was without so much as a Boo! .. and NO charge !

Hi Tam..

if you want to call me . hone 0411 420 888 and I can chat with you re these cars..

Cheers

Bob

Bruce is right .. The main battery which is the one that helps power the car , comes with an 8 year warranty from Toyota, but mi 2005 Prius has 245,000 klm is going strong and no signs of needing anything.. When these cars first came out , there was a lot of negative reports about the long term viability of the battery life, all of which appears to have been opposition BullDust,..

The ones used as taxis up inCairns and Darwin are reporting 600,000 klm without any problems..

As I keep saying , uts a toyota! Can't kill em with a Brick!

Hi Cathy - battery replacement on a Series 2 will cost around $3500. I know because the battery in my 2006 one failed last month at 176000km. As others have said in most cases the batteries should last a long time but apparently not always! Still a friend of mine had a Honda of similar age that had a gearbox failure and it cost him about the same to get that fixed so expensive repairs can happen to any car.

There are shops starting up everywhere incl. in Sydney who offer exchange batteries for Prius Series 2.

They cost approx. half of a new Toyota one.

Best found on the Internet.

Hybrid freak

Its a Toyota!!! they are brilliant! I have the third generation one ( as well as the 2nd Gen one) and NOTHING goes wrong!!

I cant find anything on them that causes me concern.

Cheers

Bob

Something to be aware of is do not skip services. These engine use low tension piton rings for efficiency and as such will not tolerate dirty oil. They are incredibly durable otherwise and do not tend to wear very much at all. The rings are this engines weak point and can suffer from a condition known as "stuck down" if services are neglected or cheap mineral oil is used. They are cheap to rebuild but still best to avoid it by using good quality synthetic oil and servicing on time, every 10k. By doing this, these are reliable well over 300k+. I have one apart now that suffered from this. It's an easy fix for me but would cost the average owner thousands to rectify.

Toyota offers 8 years or 160,000km warranty on batteries. Are you in Australia? If yes, you could find a lot of Prius taxis in Gold Coast, which majority of them have rolled over 300,000 without any battery change. They are very very reliable.

My 2005 Prius has now got 240,00 klm and its as good as the day I bought it !

I bought my 2014 prius on a whim---- have used it as a work horse---- sometimes a tonne of tiles in the back etc

I cannot recommend this car highly enough -- never missed a beat

They are repairable even in the event of a trouble code being logged. Usually this will be caused by a discrepancy between individual cells within the pack. It is a matter of replacing the "bad cell" rather than replacing the whole unit. Of course it takes knowledge to know how and what to do but it is not anything like 3-4k as ppl often pay. Anyway, how many ppl replace a transmission in a car for that and think nothing of it?

I had a battery fail on my 2006 Prius last month - cost to replace through Toyota was around $3500 (but we will get a small amount back for "recycling" the old battery). I am still fighting with Toyota to try to get the cost refunded as a warranty claim - we are within the 8 years but have done 176000km. Toyota are so far refusing to consider the claim even though I raised an issue twice with the servicing dealer prior to the warranty expiry (at the 140000km and 150000km services). Overall I am still ahead as I have saved more than $3500 in petrol costs since owning it (and this is the only repair apart from standard servicing).

can you jump start hybrid prius gen3

According to Toyota, the batteries are designed to last the life of the car!

My 2005 Prius now has close to 255K and doesn't miss a beat . and my 2009 Prius is already around 125k and looks like outlasting the first one !

The battery and the ECU in my 2006 Prius have just died. It's only done 80,000 kms...and the warranty ran out just recently. I'm a very unhappy Toyota customer today. Although I've absolutely loved my Prius, this was not part of my plan. I'm waiting to hear tomorrow what they might do for me...

Am I unlucky, or were those rumours true?

Some good news! Toyota will replace the battery of my 2006 Prius, even though it is just outside the 8-year/80,000k limit. The ECU is not covered. Cost to replace ECU (inc labour) quoted at $955. But 3-6 weeks to obtain from Japan. So, it's good news mostly. Much happier customer today.