2007 Toyota Prius
Discussion
patmahe said:
As something for the daily slog they are quiet, comfortable, reliable and useable day to day. I'd have no problem owning one now, they are as good as any other commuter car in a similar class.
Quiet - yes and no; wind noise is an issue if you are used to something like a Mondeo. "A cheap car with an expensive drivetrain" - not sure where I read it but when you hear the wind and road noise at speed, you realise it is true. patmahe said:
My only worry would be the gearbox longevity as I have heard they are pricey to put right?
It is not something to worry about. Nothing really is. Like any car of this age, things can fail and they can fail expensively - but remember these things are used as NYC taxi cabs which tells you lots about their reliability. patmahe said:
Kudos to the OP for having the neck to post it on here given the reception it could have gotten. Hope it brings you many happy miles.
I thank you 
Ursicles said:
The weight thing explains a lot!!
Someone is coming over from Holland tomorrow to buy my cousins Integra Type R - tips the scales at 1101kg - did wonder why they were coming all the way here to buy it!!
I used to have a prius, last of the first gen sold in the UK as an interim car before my company car was ready. I really enjoyed it, lots of toys, drove pretty well and as a town car would be brilliant.
The F10 520d that replaced it was s
t however, but hoping to alleviate that memory with an M5 soon.
They'll also be attracted to your cousin's Teg because the prices over here will be totally nuts compared to those in the UK. I doubt the low-ish road tax is what's driving them (ahem, sorry) to it as it is already a niche car. (Nice btw, always liked them in all flavours).Someone is coming over from Holland tomorrow to buy my cousins Integra Type R - tips the scales at 1101kg - did wonder why they were coming all the way here to buy it!!
I used to have a prius, last of the first gen sold in the UK as an interim car before my company car was ready. I really enjoyed it, lots of toys, drove pretty well and as a town car would be brilliant.
The F10 520d that replaced it was s
t however, but hoping to alleviate that memory with an M5 soon.Your mentioning road tax reminds me of something I meant to mention in this thread. As of January 2017, the Dutch Govt abolished the 'discount' for hybrids, so now we all have to pay the normal rate for the Prius weight. Full electric cars remain at €0/year however, and I think Plug-In Hybrids are either also zero or have a discount.
This afternoon I drove all the way to De Cabriohoeve for some MX-5 bits (see my other thread if you're interested) in the Prius and as usual it just did the job. It will happily cruise at 135+ km/h and do 45-50 MPG (ish! it is very wind sensitive). Maybe some readers will be thinking that a diesel would do the same, I agree. But here the road tax on a diesel is pretty much double that of a petrol vehicle - this means a Prius size diesel car would probably cost you something like €850-950/year before it's even turned a wheel.
HardtopManual said:
I love that the road tax system is based on weight.
This is pretty much all that matters when it comes to wear and tear on the roads, fuel efficiency and the energy cost of manufacturing the car and its consumables. Far more sensible than VED based on how much CO2 a vehicle emits in a lab and fuel duty that essentially boils down to how light your right foot is.
Imagine if this was widespread - cars from every manufacturer would be built around the Colin Chapman "add lightness" mantra and would be far better to drive for it!
IMHO Road tax as a concept is rubbish overall. If you do 100 or 100,000 miles per year, you pay the same amount, it is nonsense. Add it to fuel and be done with it. Drive more = pay more. Unsure how that would work with foreign vehicles but if all (EU) countries did it, they'd all be fairly level.This is pretty much all that matters when it comes to wear and tear on the roads, fuel efficiency and the energy cost of manufacturing the car and its consumables. Far more sensible than VED based on how much CO2 a vehicle emits in a lab and fuel duty that essentially boils down to how light your right foot is.
Imagine if this was widespread - cars from every manufacturer would be built around the Colin Chapman "add lightness" mantra and would be far better to drive for it!
Trabi601 said:
It would quickly become tiresome when you spend half your working day in your car. Weight often equates to refinement and comfort.
If you spend half your working day in a car, you would not normally be choosing a tiny light weight car. Get the correct tool for the job A friend of mine from back home sent me a message just now. I'm a bit in shock and certainly surprised because this: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-japanesecars/re...
PH staff - yes, you obviously have lost the plot. It is baffling and flattering but neither I nor the car deserve it!
Rear springs replaced on Sunday at 238,659 km:
1) Remove rear interior bits so you can get to the top strut nuts and bolts
2) Remove lower bolt (and upper ones, no pics there)
3) Wiggle and wangle until the whole strut comes out
4) Yeup, that's had it!
5) Spring compressors, hold on tight and grit your teeth! No pics of that bit either, just wanted it to be over. They scare the carp outta me
6) OE shocks and new vs old
That's it for the steps - it was a fairly easy job except for the spring compressors. You just have to be very careful and take your time with those things - make sure they are 180 degrees from each other and tighten them equally (I found 7 half turns / cranks of the ratchet was a good amount each) If it starts looking iffy, go back and start again. There is a horrible amount of force in that spring once you've wound the compressors up and you do NOT want st going wrong.
To do both sides took me around 6 hours including tea and thinking brakes. Both sides? Yeah, always do these kinda of things in pairs. Why? Because this is what the one on the other side looked like!
Although I could not feel anything wrong when driving it with the broken coil, it definitely (notwithstanding placebo effects!) feels somehow smoother at the rear. There is no doubt at all that it's sitting a bit higher too.
APK (MOT if you're UK) is due in a couple of weeks, I shall report back...
1) Remove rear interior bits so you can get to the top strut nuts and bolts
2) Remove lower bolt (and upper ones, no pics there)
3) Wiggle and wangle until the whole strut comes out
4) Yeup, that's had it!
5) Spring compressors, hold on tight and grit your teeth! No pics of that bit either, just wanted it to be over. They scare the carp outta me
6) OE shocks and new vs old
That's it for the steps - it was a fairly easy job except for the spring compressors. You just have to be very careful and take your time with those things - make sure they are 180 degrees from each other and tighten them equally (I found 7 half turns / cranks of the ratchet was a good amount each) If it starts looking iffy, go back and start again. There is a horrible amount of force in that spring once you've wound the compressors up and you do NOT want s
t going wrong.To do both sides took me around 6 hours including tea and thinking brakes. Both sides? Yeah, always do these kinda of things in pairs. Why? Because this is what the one on the other side looked like!
Although I could not feel anything wrong when driving it with the broken coil, it definitely (notwithstanding placebo effects!) feels somehow smoother at the rear. There is no doubt at all that it's sitting a bit higher too.
APK (MOT if you're UK) is due in a couple of weeks, I shall report back...
kapiteinlangzaam said:
Can't grumble at 238k Kms. Although having to take the interior apart to remove a shock and spring would make me angry!
Spring compressors are the work of the devil. Friend of a friend is brain damaged and basically a potato after having one let go and the spring hitting him square on the temple.
If you drove it and couldn't see the odometer, you'd never think it had that many km's on it. That's awful what happened to your friend's friend. Pretty bloody terrifying if you think about it. I do wonder if he was using them properly, if they were cheap ones or whatever. Poor bugger though, just shows how careful you have to be when working on cars.Spring compressors are the work of the devil. Friend of a friend is brain damaged and basically a potato after having one let go and the spring hitting him square on the temple.
LasseV said:
Haha! You cheap bd! These are great commuter cars, decent enough as a car and still very cheap to drive/own/maintain. Still ugly, tho. I also have a '06 Prius with 205+ thousand miles on it. Original battery, engine and transmission. Reliability is same kind of what 90's Toyotas used to have.
I wonder how long it lasts
Oi, I resemble that remark! You say cheap, I say frugal and careful with spending. Although it is the most I've spent, by far, on buying a car. Certainly the least in running costs though. Ugly is subjective, I think because there are so many of them here I don't really notice them anymore. They look their best from the side, especially the rear section what with the Kammback type rear end. How long have you had yours and how many of those 205k have you done? d! These are great commuter cars, decent enough as a car and still very cheap to drive/own/maintain. Still ugly, tho. I also have a '06 Prius with 205+ thousand miles on it. Original battery, engine and transmission. Reliability is same kind of what 90's Toyotas used to have. I wonder how long it lasts
l354uge said:
Good to see maintenance is still easy on a hybrid. Kudos to Toyota ensuring these hybrids are super-reliable, sure a lot of people were waiting in glee for a bad reputation for hybrids ...
I'm more of a mk1 Honda insight fan myself, but I must admit I was looking at priuses a few weeks ago as a comfy commuter..
Yeah maintenance is mostly the same as any normal car. You're right - Toyota really did do a good job on these and as you say there was a lot of BS surrounding them when they started becoming popular. Hybrid batteries which need to be replaced every 3 years and other such nonsenses. If you're looking at getting one, get a 2006 or later Gen 2 as they're reckoned to be better than the 3. Gen 1 are way too old and the tech is way off the 2. Comfort is a difficult one to talk about as everyone is a different shape, but for me I wouldn't say it's comfortable for long journeys. The mk1 Mondeo we had was waaaaaay more comfy than the Prius.I'm more of a mk1 Honda insight fan myself, but I must admit I was looking at priuses a few weeks ago as a comfy commuter..
APK is booked for Wednesday morning.
APK on Wednesday was a fail but only because the tyres (bought on page 1 of this thread) were cracked and one of them had a bulge in the sidewall. The cracking was deep enough you could just about see the metal!
Off the record advisories - just the rear pads. The same garage said the same thing a year ago - I've had another look and it seems like there is about 3mm left. Considering the Prius is soooo light on the brakes, I'm not touching them yet.
Today it went back for 4 new Continental EcoContacts and the APK was granted with 239057 km on the clock.
Only at a Dutch garage would you find a rental bike so you can still get around while they work on your car :-)
New shoes.
Off the record advisories - just the rear pads. The same garage said the same thing a year ago - I've had another look and it seems like there is about 3mm left. Considering the Prius is soooo light on the brakes, I'm not touching them yet.
Today it went back for 4 new Continental EcoContacts and the APK was granted with 239057 km on the clock.
Only at a Dutch garage would you find a rental bike so you can still get around while they work on your car :-)
New shoes.
Yesterday fitted new front discs and pads, did oil/filter and air filter change. I'm using the car a lot less now as I got a new job in January which is much closer to home so I'm cycling instead of driving. The road tax here is €640 a year for the Prius so I have been considering changing it for something smaller, and therefore cheaper to tax. It is so reliable though, I am loathe to change it.
Current ODO is 256320.
Current ODO is 256320.
Yesterday I took the Prius to the local car wash and gave it a good clean with their jetwash. It's white again now, and after getting home I was admiring it in all its white bulbous glory. Huh? Is that writing on the bootlid? Looks like letters... as if a sticker used to be there. How did I not spot this before? G... something? GG.... GGD. Hmm. Wait there's more... GGD Amsterdam. Never heard of it.
Google has though, of course: https://www.ggd.amsterdam.nl/
GGD means "Geneeskundige en Gezondheidsdienst", literally Medical and Health Service.
A bit more Google probing and there she is, spotted in July 2007 when she was just a couple of months old, in all her blue-lighted glory on a German 'emergency services vehicle' website:
https://bos-fahrzeuge.info/einsatzfahrzeuge/6108/A...
And on a Spanish page:
http://www.empire-emergencias.es/ggd.html
Also shown on this Dutch page if you search for its registration number:
http://www.kazernesnederland.nl/ambuzaanstreekned....
Pretty cool and certainly unexpected.
Since fitting the new discs and pads, I've driven it a couple of hundred k's. It's driving SO much better and the fuel usage has gone down dramatically. This thing is so easy to drive, quiet and smooth - 3 years later I'm still very happy with it.
Google has though, of course: https://www.ggd.amsterdam.nl/
GGD means "Geneeskundige en Gezondheidsdienst", literally Medical and Health Service.
A bit more Google probing and there she is, spotted in July 2007 when she was just a couple of months old, in all her blue-lighted glory on a German 'emergency services vehicle' website:
https://bos-fahrzeuge.info/einsatzfahrzeuge/6108/A...
And on a Spanish page:
http://www.empire-emergencias.es/ggd.html
Also shown on this Dutch page if you search for its registration number:
http://www.kazernesnederland.nl/ambuzaanstreekned....
Pretty cool and certainly unexpected.
Since fitting the new discs and pads, I've driven it a couple of hundred k's. It's driving SO much better and the fuel usage has gone down dramatically. This thing is so easy to drive, quiet and smooth - 3 years later I'm still very happy with it.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
Did it take you 3 years to wash it then!?! 
To be fair I don't wash it often at all, so you're not far off 320touring said:
Glad to see this is still rattling along!
If I were sensible, I'd have one on fleet..
Not rattling at all! Quiet and smooth. Get a good one, you won't regret it. Don't worry about high mileage, as long as it's not astronomical. Get a 2006 or later, up to that point they weren't quite as nice and the post '06 had improvements. If I were sensible, I'd have one on fleet..
Tyre Smoke said:
Was in a Prius taxi in Plymouth a couple of weeks back, 2005 plate just clicked over 320,000 miles on it's 1.4 engine.
Driver was quite pleased but reckoned the engine had only really done about 250,000 because of the hybrid drive. Fair point I suppose.
Anyway, just like to say OP, loads left in that yet. My Prius + is on 24800 miles since July and my Auris Touring is just tripping 5000 miles since the end of October.
Boring as hell to drive, but great as taxis, which is why I bought them.
There are loads of Prius out there with very high mileage on them - they just keep going and going. (it's a 1.5 btw, the Gen 3 and 4 are 1.8) I was in a Gen 2 Uber a few weeks ago, it had something like 340,000km on it and was absolutely fine. Your two could probably serve you for another 15-20 years, if you can bear to keep them that long! Driver was quite pleased but reckoned the engine had only really done about 250,000 because of the hybrid drive. Fair point I suppose.
Anyway, just like to say OP, loads left in that yet. My Prius + is on 24800 miles since July and my Auris Touring is just tripping 5000 miles since the end of October.
Boring as hell to drive, but great as taxis, which is why I bought them.
As for being boring as hell to drive... it's funny, I really don't feel that with mine. It's so incredibly functional and easy to drive, that the boringness doesn't bother me. Seriously who needs excitement on the daily grind type driving? Not only that but I find its low speed acceleration to be way more than adequate in urban and suburban driving, I'm usually accelerating quicker than most drivers. Even at 70-odd MPH type speeds, if you gun it you still get a shove from the leccy motors and you're quickly doing 85, at which it will sit all day long and still do 50-55 MPG. Weight balance seems very good, so neither the front nor the rear wants to do anything weird if you lean hard on the suspension and tyres.
I posted it before but I think it is worth doing so again, this is mine from 0 to 130 km/h. I'm under no impression that it is a fast car! But it is not slow. People drive them slowly and have given them a crappy reputation, but slow they aren't. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnZ9BEnblMQ
LordGrover said:
Stop it now.
I've been so tempted by these the last few years - you're not helping!
Am not trying to help! ;-) Get a late Gen 2, as close to 2009 as you can. Don't worry about higher mileages, they can take them. As an A-B hack they are so good. Don't expect super comfort, expect functionality, longevity, low maintenance and low running costs. Get in, switch it on, drive, arrive, switch it off. Repeat until you realise you've had it 4 years and nothing has gone wrong, realise they are nowhere near as sI've been so tempted by these the last few years - you're not helping!
t as people say!This weekend we'll be driving to Germany to an area where there is snow. I did have a second set of wheels with all season tyres on but the tread was quite worn so I sold them. There is no way the tyres on it now would cope with snow (they are Continental Eco jobbies) so I had a look on the Dutch eBay, Marktplaats. Sure enough a guy 20 minutes from home was selling a set of steel 15's with good-enough winters on them. I picked them up a couple of days ago, paid €80! He even gave me the set of 20 wheel nuts (nuts for alloy vs steel wheels are different). Fitted them last night, car is looking badass on steelies. (not really)
LordGrover said:
I'm not looking... https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
That's quite strong money for a 10 year old Prius, IMO. Although I'm really out of touch with UK prices, so maybe I'm wrong. Tyre Smoke said:
I'll doubt that! they are on course for 70,000 miles a year!
Ah. That's quite some going! 5 or 6 years then?Finally a problem with the Prius!! A number plate bulb has gone out....! You have to remove the inner panel to get to the bulbs, a job for the weekend.
Vid for reference (not mine): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3EJpG59rhw
Vid for reference (not mine): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3EJpG59rhw
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