2002 TOYOTA PRIUS maintenance

3
Important information about your Toyota
New vehicle warranty
Your new vehicle is covered by
the following Toyota limited war-
ranties:
New vehicle warranty
 Emission control systems war-
ranty
 Others
For further information, please re-
fer to the “Owner ’s Warranty Infor-
mation Booklet” or “Owner ’s Manu-
al Supplement”.
Your responsibility for maintenance
It is the owner’s responsibility to
make sure the specified mainte-
nance is performed. Section 7
gives details of these maintenance
requirements. Also included in
Section 7 is general maintenance.
For scheduled maintenance infor-
mation, please refer to the
“Scheduled Maintenance Guide” or
“Owner ’s Manual Supplement”.

15
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Do not put the luggage on the package
tray behind the rear seatback.
An air vent is provided on the package
tray behind the rear seatback to cool
the hybrid vehicle battery. If this vent
is covered with something, the hybrid
vehicle battery will overheat resulting in
a reduction of the output performance
of the hybrid system.
Do not apply water or put foreign ob-
jects over the air vent. Otherwise, it
may affect the hybrid vehicle battery
adversely and cause damage.
You may hear a cooling fan noise from
the air vent.For vehicle repairs or maintenance, be
sure to consult your Toyota dealer.
If your vehicle is beyond repair because
of accident or something, be sure to
consult your Toyota dealer.
As sealed Nickel
−Metal hydride batteries
are used, be sure to consult your Toyota
dealer when disposing of your vehicle.
CAUTION
If you are involved in an accident,
follow these precautions.
Move the vehicle to a safe place
and perform the followings to re-
duce the risk of high voltage elec-
tricity leakage.
 Depress the brake pedal and put the
selector lever in “P” position.
 Apply the parking brake.
 Turn the ignition switch to “LOCK”
and remove the key.
If your vehicle has experienced ma-
jor damage, you may get an electric
shock. To prevent this, never touch
the high voltage parts (hybrid ve-
hicle battery assembly, etc.) or
cables (orange color) connecting
these parts. If some exposed elec-
tric wiring is protruding inside or
outside of the vehicle, an electric
shock may also occur. Never touch
them.
If the fluid leaks or gets in some
part of the vehicle, never touch it
because it may be electrolyte
(strong alkali) from the hybrid ve-
hicle battery. If it gets on your skin
or eyes, wash off immediately with
a large amount of water, if possible,
with boric acid solution, and get
immediate medical attention in or-
der to help avoid serious injury.
If a vehicle fire occurs, extinguish
it using a fire extinguisher for the
exclusive use on electric fires. As
a small amount of water may be
dangerous, use a large amount of
water, for example from a fire hy-
drant, or wait for a firefighting
team arrival.

94
(e) Malfunction Indicator Lamp
This lamp comes on when the ignition
key is turned to the “ON” position and
goes off after the engine starts. This
means that the warning light system is
operating properly.
If the lamp remains on or the lamp
comes on while driving, first check the
following:
Empty fuel tank
If the fuel tank is empty, refuel immedi-
ately.
This case is a temporary malfunction. The
malfunction indicator lamp will go off after
taking several driving trips.
If the lamp will not go off even after
several trips, contact your Toyota deal-
er as soon as possible.
There is a problem somewhere in the
hybrid system or warning light system
itself.
Contact your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible to service the vehicle. Emissions inspection and maintenance
(I/M) programs
Your vehicle may not pass a state emis-
sion inspection if the malfunction indicator
lamp remains on. Contact your Toyota
dealer to check your vehicle’s emission
control system and OBD (On
−Board Diag-
nostics) system before taking your vehicle
for the inspection.
For details, see “Emissions inspection and
maintenance (I/M) programs” on page 198
in Section 7.
(f) Master Warning Light
()
If the master warning light comes on, the
warning light for the faulty system is high-
lighted or the message such as “When
you park your car, make sure you shift to
Park P.” and “The batteries will not charge
if the shifter is in N” appears on the mul-
ti −information display. (See “Service re-
minder indicators and warning buzzers—
—Multi −information display” on page 97
in this section or “Precautions for use” on
page 12 in Section 1 −2 or “Fuel gauge”
on page 88 in Section 2− 4 for instruc-
tions.) (g) Output Control Warning Light
()
This light comes on when the ignition
switch is on. It goes off when the electric
motor is ready to run.
The warning light comes on when the hy-
brid vehicle battery temperature is low or
high, or the hybrid vehicle battery capacity
is decreased with the selector lever at “R”
during driving. If the light comes on, the
power will be limited. Drive your vehicle
without hard acceleration.
(h) Low Engine Oil Pressure Warning
Light
This light warns that the engine oil pres-
sure is too low.
If it flickers or stays on while you are
driving, pull off the road to a safe place
and stop the engine immediately. Call a
Toyota dealer or qualified repair shop for
assistance.
The light may occasionally flicker when
the engine is idling or it may come on
briefly after a hard stop. There is no
cause for concern if it then goes out when
the engine is accelerated slightly.
The light may come on when the oil level
is extremely low. It is not designed to
indicate low oil level, and the oil level
must be checked using the level dipstick.

146
Drive gently and avoid high speeds.
Your vehicle does not need an elaborate
break−in. But following a few simple tips
for the first 1000 km (600 miles) can add
to the future economy and long life of
your vehicle:
Do not drive over 100 km/h (62 mph).
Avoid full −throttle starts.
Try to avoid hard stops during the first
300 km (200 miles). FUEL TYPE
Your vehicle must use only unleaded
gasoline.
To help prevent gas station mixups, your To-
yota has a smaller fuel tank opening.
The
special nozzle on pumps with unleaded fuel
will fit it, but the larger standard nozzle on
pumps with leaded gas will not.
At a minimum, the gasoline you use
should meet the specifications of ASTM
D4814 in the U.S.A. and CGSB 3.5 −M93
in Canada.
NOTICE
Do not use leaded gasoline. Use of
leaded gasoline will cause the three
way catalytic converter to lose its
effectiveness and the emission con-
trol system to function improperly.
Also, this can increase maintenance
costs.
OCTANE RATING
Select unleaded gasoline with an Oc-
tane Rating of 87 (Research Octane
Number 91) or higher. Use of unleaded fuel with an octane num-
ber or rating lower than stated above will
cause persistent heavy knocking. If se-
vere, this will lead to engine damage.
If your engine knocks ...
If you detect heavy knocking even when
using the recommended fuel, or if you
hear steady knocking while holding a
steady speed on level roads, consult your
Toyota dealer.
However, now and then, you may notice
light knocking for a short time while accel-
erating or driving up hills. This is no
cause for concern.
GASOLINE CONTAINING DETERGENT
ADDITIVES
Toyota recommends the use of gasoline that
contains detergent additives to avoid build
up of engine deposits.
However, all gasoline sold in the U.S. con-
tains detergent additives
to keep clean and/or
clean intake systems.
Breakin period Fuel

150
If the engine becomes difficult to
start or stalls frequently, take your
vehicle in for a checkup as soon
as possible. Remember, your Toyota
dealer knows your vehicle and its
threeway catalytic converter and
Toyota HC adsorber and catalyst
system best.
 To ensure that the threeway cata-
lytic converter and Toyota HC ad-
sorber and catalyst system and the
entire emission control system op-
erate properly, your vehicle must
receive the periodic inspections re-
quired by the Toyota Maintenance
Schedule. For scheduled mainte-
nance information, refer to the
”Scheduled Maintenance Guide” or
”Owner ’s Manual Supplement”.
 Do not apply coating agent such as
for antirust undercoating to the
exhaust pipe (especially to the ac-
tuator to valve).CAUTION
Avoid inhaling the engine exhaust.
It contains carbon monoxide, which
is a colorless and odorless gas. It
can cause unconsciousness or even
death.
Make sure the exhaust system has
no holes or loose connections. The
system should be checked from
time to time. If you hit something,
or notice a change in the sound of
the exhaust, have the system
checked immediately.
Do not run the hybrid system in a
garage or enclosed area except for
the time needed to drive the vehicle
in or out. The exhaust gases cannot
escape, making this a particularly
dangerous situation.
Do not remain for a long time in a
parked vehicle with the hybrid sys-
tem running. If it is unavoidable,
however, do so only in an uncon-
fined area and adjust the heating or
cooling system to force outside air
into the vehicle.
Keep the trunk lid closed while
driving. An open or unsealed trunk
lid may cause exhaust gases to be
drawn into the vehicle.
To allow proper operation of your
vehicle’s ventilation system, keep
the inlet grilles in front of the wind-
shield clear of snow, leaves, or oth-
er obstructions.
If you smell exhaust fumes in the
vehicle, drive with the windows
open and the trunk lid closed. Have
the cause immediately located and
corrected.
Engine exhaust cautions

151
FUNCTIONS OF ENGINE OIL
Engine oil has the primary functions of
lubricating and cooling the inside of the
engine, and plays a major role in main-
taining the engine in proper working order.
ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION
It is normal that an engine should con-
sume some engine oil during normal
engine operation. The causes of oil
consumption in a normal engine are as
follows.
Oil is used to lubricate pistons, piston
rings and cylinders. A thin film of oil
is left on the cylinder wall when a
piston moves downwards in the cylin-
der. High negative pressure generated
when the vehicle is decelerating sucks
some of this oil into the combustion
chamber. This oil as well as some part
of the oil film left on the cylinder wall
is burned by the high temperature com-
bustion gases during the combustion
process.
Oil is also used to lubricate the stems
of the intake valves. Some of this oil
is sucked into the combustion chamber
together with the intake air and is
burned along with the fuel. High tem-
perature exhaust gases also burn the
oil used to lubricate the exhaust valve
stems.
The amount of engine oil consumed de-
pends on the viscosity of the oil, the
quality of the oil and the conditions the
vehicle is driven under.
More oil is consumed by high −speed driv-
ing and frequent acceleration and decel-
eration.
A new engine consumes more oil, since
its pistons, piston rings and cylinder walls
have not become conditioned.
When judging the amount of oil con-
sumption, note that the oil may become
diluted and make it difficult to judge
the true level accurately. As an example, if a vehicle is used for
repeated short trips, and consumes a nor-
mal amount of oil, the dipstick may not
show any drop in the oil level at all, even
after 1000 km (600 miles) or more. This
is because the oil is gradually becoming
diluted with fuel or moisture, making it
appear that the oil level has not changed.
The diluting ingredients evaporate out
when the vehicle is then driven at high
speeds, as on an expressway, making it
appear that oil is excessively consumed
after driving at high speeds.
IMPORTANCE OF ENGINE OIL LEVEL
CHECK
One of the most important points in prop-
er vehicle maintenance is to keep the en-
gine oil at the optimum level so that oil
function will not be impaired. Therefore, it
is essential that the oil level be checked
regularly. Toyota recommends that the oil
level be checked every time you refuel
the vehicle.
NOTICE
Failure to check the oil level regularly
could lead to serious engine trouble
due to insufficient oil.
Facts about engine oil
consumption

166
Improving fuel economy is easy−just take
it easy. It will help make your vehicle last
longer, too. Here are some specific tips
on how to save money on both fuel and
repairs:
Keep your tires inflated at the cor-
rect pressure. Underinflation causes
tire wear and wastes fuel. See page
214 in Section 8 −2 for instructions.
Do not carry unneeded weight in
your vehicle. Excess weight puts a
heavier load on the engine, causing
greater fuel consumption.
Accelerate slowly and smoothly.
Avoid jackrabbit starts.
Avoid continuous speeding up and
slowing down. Stop−and− go driving
wastes power.
Avoid unnecessary stopping and
braking. Maintain a steady pace. Try
to time the traffic signals so you only
need to stop as little as possible or
take advantage of through streets to
avoid traffic lights. Keep a proper dis-
tance from other vehicles to avoid sud-
den braking. This will also reduce wear
on your brakes.
Avoid heavy traffic or traffic jams
whenever possible.
Do not rest your foot on brake ped-
al. This causes premature wear, over-
heating and poor fuel economy.
Maintain a moderate speed on high-
ways. The faster you drive, the greater
the fuel consumption. By reducing your
speed, you will cut down on fuel con-
sumption.
Keep the front wheels in proper
alignment. Avoid hitting the curb and
slow down on rough roads. Improper
alignment not only causes faster tire
wear but also puts an extra load on
the engine, which, in turn, wastes fuel.
Keep the bottom of your vehicle free
from mud, etc. This not only lessens
weight but also helps prevent corro-
sion.
Keep your vehicle tunedup and in
top shape . A dirty air cleaner, improp-
er valve clearance, dirty plugs, dirty oil
and grease, brakes not adjusted, etc.
all lower engine performance and con-
tribute to poor fuel economy. For longer
life of all parts and lower operating
costs, keep all maintenance work on
schedule, and if you often drive under
severe conditions, see that your ve-
hicle receives more frequent mainte-
nance.
CAUTION
Never turn off the hybrid system to
coast down hills. Your power steering
and brake booster will not function
without the hybrid system running.
Also, the emission control system op-
erates properly only when the hybrid
system is running.
How to save fuel and make
your vehicle last longer, too

193
VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND CARE
Maintenance requirements194
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General maintenance 195
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Does your vehicle need repairing?? 197
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Emissions inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs 198
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For scheduled maintenance information, please refer to the ”Scheduled Maintenance Guide” or ”Owner’s Manual Supplement”.
SECTION 7