That’s amazing! I definitely plan to follow the maintenance schedule and not drive like a nut. I’m interested to hear if there are things you’ve done to maintain the car that aren’t necessarily part of the maintenance schedule. For instance, maybe something regarding the battery cooling fan, or protecting electronic/grounding connections from corrosion for folks who live in snowy areas?

In retrospect, I may have tried to clean the fan. FWIW, when I went to clean it at 275K+ miles after getting the hybrid battery changed, it wasn’t even dirty.

Granted your mileage may vary.

If I lived in snowy or salty regions, I might take more efforts against corrosion. I haven’t done much in that regard. The hybrid battery is self contained inside the trunk, so it doesn’t have access to the elements.

Btw, if you plan on doing any electrical work, make sure to disconnect the hybrid battery before doing so. The Prius had a special disconnect you can remove in the battery. And everything high voltage is marked in Orange or Orange cables. I surmise that the Insight has something similar.

The only other thing I recommend is to make sure your car gets weekly exercise. I find that higher mileage Prius seem to last longer before the battery needs replacing. They like to get charged and discharged. They don’t like to sit. (Mind you this is just anecdotal.)

Thanks for the advice. Admittedly I’m a novice at general car care, so I would definitely outsource any significant maintenance to a professional. But I love doing preventative care. Scotty has inspired me to look for small things I can do myself that will pay off in the long run. It’s empowering!

I don’t know if it will carry over to the Insight. It might.

I usually do my own air filters and cabin filters.

I check my oil regularly, but I take it in to the dealer to get the oil change. I can usually find a good internet deal at one of the local dealers. They will always try to upsell. They tell me what is “wrong” with the car, I use my brain, the forums, and the internet to see if it is legit. And if it is legit I see if I can do it myself or an independent mechanic that can do it at a fraction of the price of the dealer.

One of the things I learned to do myself was how to clean the throttle body and the MAF sensor.

They wanted to charge me upwards of $500, and it took me less than an hour and about $20 bucks of MAF cleaner and throttle body cleaner and some dirty rags.

Anyhoo. I’m fascinated by the hybrid tech on the insight. Looking forward to see how things go!