Hey Veeky Forums I work at one of the highest rated toyota dealerships in North America...

>40-60
>cheap

A 1991 bmw 318is E30 (silver one)
A 1989 mercedes 190e with a 2.6 M103
And im also swapping a 302 into my 1990 volvo 760 as my redblock went kaput

The only other car i can think of around that range is the C7 corvette

T-that’s surprising. Good on yah user, keep on wrenching!

Are the hybrids hard to work on? I like to DIY a lot but have no experience with hybrids. Can I work on the petrol side myself and just ignore the electric?

Have you run into any carbon buildup on the intake ports of the newer DI engines?

I have a 01 Tundra which I bought a few years ago. When I talked to my local dealer re: service records, it showed that the truck had been checked for rust under the recall, and since the frame was in good condition, it was sprayed with that rubbery whatchamacallit thing. In 2005 I think

Now the coating is of course peeling off so I am considering re-applying it. The truck was undercoated every year or so (I get it done every year) and the frame is in good condition as far as I can tell, and I want to drive this thing until the frame falls apart. So

1) do you know what type of coating it would've been used when Toyota did the job (I'm on Onterrible, Canada)
2) is there a better alternative than re-applying the same compound? I've heard it could be dangerous because it could trap moisture

thank u master race Toyota man

Kek trying my best, ty amigoIm not hybrid certified. But from what ive seen they’re a real bitch

Are the Prius C’s any good? A guy I know recently got one and it looks like it would be a comfy shitbox to use as a commuter, considering picking one up

I fucking hate the prius, i say the C stands for cuck. Theyre a yaris in a different shell essentially

Sorry to hear about the frame mate, i used to live in ontario too. Imo best course of action to take is just keep undercoating it, our road salt is a nightmare

Used to do your same job at the local toyota dealer in my town. How many units get sold per week on average do you think? I think we went through 5 or so on a good week

My Prius has regenerative braking obviously. How can I bleed it without taking to a shop. Just turn it on first to ready and then gravity bleed?

Lmfao, on a non sale event we sell about 60 cars a week. During red tag we sold about 40 a day

Didn't the 760 have the Renault engine instead of the redblock?

Camaro and Mustang are near 40 with the fun options

That's fucking crazy to me. I also worked in the detail "department". There were only 3 of us. Just keeping the lot cars clean and the sales units kept us going just about nonstop. 40 in one day is beyond belief!

Nope, mine has the B230ft redblockTheres 23 of us at my work, quite busy there

Oh, good luck with the swap anyway.

thats a fair point. Forgot about them

good question, again I'm not a hybrid certified tech. But im sure youtube/google has much better info

Can I get recall work on a Pontiac Vibe done at your shop?

Probably not.

TY

What Toyota product would you choose if it was free?

Id take a GT86, if you enjoy nimble little cars they're actually a lot of fun. They remind me of my E30, I also love the sound of the boxter

PFA

how long do the prius batteries last?

whats the newest and oldest model prius that required a full battery change

and how much does it cost.

also explain the meme of the "plug in" priuses, when all the others also have rechargable batteries as you drive, just seems like more of a hassel, especially since you buy a prius to NOT have to fill it up each day, paying 15k more for an inconvenience seems dumb and the range is still only 30 miles

im a prius c owner of a 2015, very happy and will continue to lease C's cause they're so cheap and great on gas

i also love that the cruise control can be engaged anywhere from 24mph and up so i always use it on "slow roads" allowing the engine to optimally handle fuel consumption

dont listen to this idiot, the C is great just get teh BAREBONES model and buy it new 1 year old, so once the newer year is out you can get them for well under 20k, best deal

just make sure its truely a level 1 model otherwise they'll try to sell you a 3 or 4 tier model which is now well above 20k with shit that doesnt matter included

Hmmm battery life really depends on driver and climate. Canadian winters tend to take a toll on batteries with the harsh temperatures. I believe the newest prius ive seen with bad batteries was a 2016, my work doesnt do them often though.

The oldest prius Ive seen is a 2008 with about 360k km, they certainly are killers on the gas mileage game.

do you like the lc 500?

Never said they were shit cars. Just my personal opinion on them, Barebones models are certainly excellent commuter cars. I agree with buying them a year after for the price drop

Beautiful looking car! Never gotten to ride in one, but an old neighbour recently had borrowed one, he said it was an absolute blast to drive

can u talk about the Plug In pruises point i brought up

Shit sorry about that,
The plug and play models basically have different batteries. The Ev models have lithium ion cells for faster recharging, lithium ion is also more efficient meaning the engine has to work less producing the energy needed to power the nickel style batteries in the old models.

i mean more on the fact that it costs nearly 15k more than the C or standard Prius yet offers just 30 miles on electric, after the fact it just becomes a standard prius

who actually finds this to be a fucking logical purchase? cause now you're spending more money to fill it up electrically, along with gas wise and if you actually live somewhere that requires less than 30miles round trip each day then leaving a full gas tank just makes you heavier and the gas will eventually go bad

i mean they literally are asking for MORE than the price of a tesla 3

Dont ask me why prius drivers think the way they do, the 15k increase is because of the new lithium ion system.

yeah so how do i not get cucked by a dealer

i just want a 2018 model car but i dont want to fall into a death trap financially

Do you guys get any fuel suction plate recalls? We get like 5 a day here in NZ and like 10 airbag recalls aswell

>buying a 2018
>doesnt want to get financially cucked

Never once seen a fuel suction plate! But ive seen a fair amount of airbag recalls.

what Toyota has the least mechanical problems ?
6th and 7th gen corolla seem the best

>But the cars bore the absolute fuck out of me.

Shit sorry to hear about that. I wish Toyota went down the exciting route like Ford or Chevy. They can, but they choose not to do it.

Do you keep spare parts you get from a junkyard like we do at VW? Just swap out the old water pump when your temp sensor o ring goes, and now you have a brand new OEM pump to sell.

How is baytown treating you user?

I take it you'd advise avoiding a hybridd then. I'm up north of that matters and regularly drive below -35C. I don't care about gas, I'm just interested by the proposed performance hybrids.

Corolla id say, take care of them and they take care of you!

I dont blame toyota for choosing the route they take. They sell a shit load of cars and unfortunately more and more people just want an appliance to take them from A to B.

We dont carry spare used parts, only OEM. Aftermarket parts can cause fitment issues when customers buy cheap shit. So we avoid wasting time on that.

Not confirming or denying which workplace is mine. Sorry

Hybrids are great cars, but from a performance aspect toyota isnt there yet. Performance hybridization still has a ways to go IMO

driving a 7th gen for 6 years because of shitty job situations and all I've had to do is buy tyres and oil change if I'm feeling sorry for it, also handles really well for what it is on a set of 15s

rip long post guy

As a mechanic, you keep spare parts you buy at a junkyard so that you can swap out with parts department for the OEM one when it's not that problem at all.

We discard the old parts, or send them off to a wrecker yard. We dont keep used parts

Yeah sounds about right for a corolla, maybe take a look at the running gear soon but ultimately the engines are pretty bulletproof.

Toyota OEM is so fucking expensive
>$175 for a plastic bumper top cover lol #yolo
I only buy OEM for critical components (lower ball joints, driveshaft parts) and even on eBay, its expensive ($40 for a 15cm parking brake cable) fuck Toyota and their OEM prices.

I don't think you understand the scam, or how common mechanics are scammers.

Im aware of the pricing, do i have a say in it? No. I just do my job

OEM anything is ultimately a pain in the ass, i agree

they are fair comfy too
not as comfortable as Mitsubishi of the same age
but much better than e140 corolla Ascent with its rock hard seats
I'm interested in how well newer Toyota will last but they are not feeling like the sort of car people would keep
I do see the 12 valve engine often (E4 and E2)
only for oil changes and such
also V40 Camry is ageing well (one came in with blown 100 amp fuse for alternator)

I was a long-time hybrid tech, now have a different role with Toyota instead of working at dealerships. I'll answer some of the hybrid questions. Hope OP doesn't mind.

Hybrids aren't bad. They have their quirks and their own learning curve, but they're still just cars. Once you learn them they're a good way to make money because a lot of the techs don't want to work on them. It's hard to really work on the engine without touching the electric side though, because things like the inverter get in the way. The A/C compressor is also electric, so you have to watch out for that as well.
All current Toyotas with direct injection also have port injection (In North America, anyway.) The only model we got with only direct injection was the Lexus IS250, which was a carbon build up nightmare. Since the other models have port injection as well it hasn't been an issue with them so far.

Prius C is a great commuter. Cheap and very reliable. The drivetrain is pretty much the same as what was in the 2nd generation Prius, but with EGR added to the engine.
I guess due to the location of the battery air intake (for battery cooling) people tend to accidentally block it off a lot with this model. That will make it even slower, so watch out for that if you get one.

Regenerative braking simply means that instead of using the brakes, the vehicle uses with electric motor/generators to slow the vehicle. The hydraulic brakes are only used at very low speeds and during ABS/VSC operation. Most of the Toyota hybrid brake systems have a stroke simulator attached to the brake pedal which simulated the feel of a normal master cylinder. The brake actuator (or electric booster, depending on the model) then supplies the needed pressure. If you open the system to replace a part, you will not get all of the air out without following the brake bleed procedure using Toyota's scantool (Tech Stream). If you try to bleed it with the vehicle on and no scan tool, you will set codes.
The short answer is, if you actually need to get air out of the system, you won't be able to get it all out without the scan tool.

Like OP said, battery life depends a lot. the NiMH batteries that were in most hybrid models usually go somewhere in the 120,000mi -140,000mi range. The batteries rarely fail in the Highlander Hybrid. I think because it is more of a performance upgrade than an efficiency thing in these, and that changes the way the battery is used. The individual battery cells are the same.
The Li-ion batteries haven't been around as long, so harder for me to give a good average on them.
Cost of replacement depends on the model. somewhere around $3500 total for a NiMH battery replacement in a Prius.

15k is a lot but charging a car is basically free compared to paying for gas and 30 mile range is still longer than a lot of commutes. I'd say it's still something of a vanity thing compared to just buying a Leaf though.

The current Prius plug-in is the Prius Prime.
It does have a Li-ion battery, but several Prius models do now. The battery in the Prime is much larger though.
Some of the cost increase with that model goes to other things as well. Carbon fiber rear hatch, different headlights, a giant touch screen trying to steal Tesla's vibe, etc.
Toyota's justification for the 30 mile full-electric range is based on the average person's commute. 30 miles is enough to get to work and back for most people (according to Toyota's research). So, the plus is, you can probably do your daily commute without using any fuel. When the point of a car is to use less fuel, I guess that's a plus. If you want to drive the car on a trip, the plug in feature is useless, and yeah, at that point it's basically a normal Prius with some other features stacked on.
That alone is not worth $15k.
But, I should point out, the Prime is a fully loaded Prius that also has features not available any other Prius model. If you are comparing cost difference, you shouldn't be comparing it to a Prius C or a base model Prius. If you are in the market for the cheapest Prius available, the Prime is not in consideration.

Im also unsure about the newer gen corollas, from what ive seen they seem to be just as reliably built as the previous models.

Also sorry for late replies i was in class.

Hey mate id absolutely love some feedback from a previous hybrid tech, unfortunately i have little knowledge in hybridization, i prefer classic cars.

Pretty much the same preference here. I own a few old garbage American cars and a GT86.
From the viewpoint of a technician I really liked hybrids because I had work that I could easily secure even on slow days, since not everyone in the shop was able to do it.
All the Toyota hybrids and also the Mirai FCV are incredibly bland to drive, though.

Thanks user! I’ll probably avoid the hybrid option then. I’m looking at the next gen Auris/Corolla Hatch for a sturdy little DD. The eurospec 2.0 hybrid at 180HP was tempting if they brought it over. I test drive a 1.8L iM and while I’m sure the handling would be fixed if I tossed the tires I can’t stand that engine.

Have you seen many problems with KDSS on 4Runners? Is it hard to work on?

Not OP, I'm the hybrid guy. Jumping in since it's been a bit.
KDSS has been pretty trouble free. Every time I have worked on it it's actually been on a Land Cruiser and not a 4Runner, and usually because it was an older vehicle. Shock shaft seals will leak eventually on anything. On the Cruisers up to 2009 you could bleed the system without a scan tool. Not sure if you can or not on a 4Runner. I can look if you need to know.
The XREAS suspension on some 4Runners seems to get people upset more often than KDSS. Mostly because if a leak does occur the system cannot be bled, and you instead have to replace all components on the circuit.

Working on cars is shit, leave while you still can

How much for all OEM front struts and parts for a 2010 Highlander base

Op, explain this shit to me.

>Toyota comes in with tire light on
>Need to use scan tool to get the light off
>Absolutely required to scan the sensor in the spare. No exceptions
>Spare is rusted to shit
>Valve stem is on top, forcing you to lower the spare tire
>The customers trunk is full to the brim of shit that you have to move just to get to the access
>All of that just to reset a light

Explain yourself op. I would expect this kind of fuckery from Ford, but at least they have a universal relearn procedure that's really easy

Is it possible to perm disable ESSO?

OP, or whoever else, my lease is up in October.
How bad is the dealership going to try to fuck me? What should I be weary of?

I have one, my wife hated it. But she doesn't drive, we went from a 186 HP roomy car to this. I love the cheap fuel, ez parking. That thing can squeeze anywhere. I recommend it, if you have to drive narrow alleys, crowded cities, and tight parking spots.

>I have one, my wife hated it.
Maybe she'll like Toyota cars more when they are self-driving.

Can you guys install a android auto head unit into my car if I were to buy one and pay you guys for labor?

Not OP or the other guys but that is easy DIY stuff. Audio installers will also do it for a reasonable price.

I just don't have the tools to solder wires but I'll take a look.

Thanks

OP how you do feel about the Solaras? Specifically the 06-08 non-vert V6s? Might be buying one bc poor and need Toyota's high reliability but can't stomach a regular Camry.