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Transmission
CVT Type
"Planetary" is the type of CVT that Prius uses.
It has nothing in common with the other type of CVT currently available, called "Cone & Belt".
Design
Technically, Prius really doesn’t have a transmission since nothing ever shifts. There are no gears.
There are only power-carriers. All they do is rotate, and they are permanently engaged.
Operation
The physical components within the "Planetary" CVT bare a striking resemblance to those within a
differential (the power-transfer mechanism found on all vehicles). In fact, they even serve the same
purpose.
Lifetime
Due to the fact that the "Planetary" CVT is nearly identical to that of a differential, the expectation
is that it will last just as long too. So you can confidently predict it will last the entire lifetime of
the vehicle.
Information Sources
Toyota Website
Information directly from Toyota itself is available here... http://www.toyota.com/prius
Toyota Online
Repair Manual access & downloading for $10 per day at... http://techinfo.toyota.com
Toyota Manuals
Available via credit-card from 1-800-622-2033
• 2004 Prius Repair Manual, volume 1: RM1075U1
• 2004 Prius Repair Manual, volume 2: RM1075U2
• 2004 Prius Repair Manual, volume 3: RM1075U3
• 2004 Prius Electrical Wiring Diagram: WED555U
• Prius New Car Features, 2004: NCF255U
Recent News
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Prius&sa=N&tab=wn
Enthusiast Forums
Here are two very information forum where you can participate in online discussions:
http://priuschat.com
http://priusonline.com
Owner Webpages
You’ll find a variety of Prius owner webpages with photos here:
http://john1701a.com/prius/owners/owner-index.htm
Prius User-Guide 37 of 45 Last Updated: 2/07/2006