Common high-mileage issues?

I am going to start listing issues, and I expect additions, corrections and explanations. (I have owned two Prius and would buy a third if a meteorite strikes number two)

Some where near 12 years and 300,000 miles the HV battery will fail. (it is a bell curve, a trickle will fail well before then, a trickle will last much longer) When that happens, the most expensive choice is to buy a 'new' battery at the dealer. Several re-manufacturers make a battery for half that. You can go on ebay and buy one for half that again. If you are very technically inclined you can swap out individual cells for about half that. Each step has higher risks than the step before it.

The 12v battery, like many batteries will tend to fail near 5 years, Exide and Optima make aftermarket replacements.
I would caution you about jump starting the Prius from another car.* If you get the jumper cables wrong, even for a second, you can do over $3000 damage to your car. I would buy a a jump pack, $40 and much safer to the inverter electronics.

Those same inverter electronics have their own cooling system. Get used to checking to be sure that pump is still moving. (the coolant is turbulent) No cooling can mean a cooked inverter.

There have been no consistent issues with the engine.

There is a 'voodoo' issue with the transaxle, Toyota claims that the ATF is a lifetime product, but a few owners who never change it get short circuits in the Motor Generators. Some of us claim that ATF changes at 30,000 miles and then every 60,000 miles is good insurance. I am not convinced this is proven, but no one who HAS changed their ATF has had the short, either. not enough fail to make this a fact, it is hotly debated here.

*NEVER jump start anything from a Prius.

 

My 2004 Prius is now at 247k miles.

• The HV battery failed at 195k miles (replaced with a ReInVolt for $2k). As was said above, this is about what should be expected (only $0.01 per mile cost)
• The MFD is showing its age and intermittently going dark (can be repaired for $325 plus shipping to Indiana)
• The Engine (ICE) uses about a quart of oil between 5k oil changes. This seems to be a growing trend in long-lived Prii.
• The ODO on a 2004 or 2005 Prius will stop at 299,999 (I believe that this was fixed in later models). My Prius just won't want to admit its age when it gets there.
• My HSD (eCVT, Tranny) is fine, but I am the source of the 30k, 90k, 150k, ... ATF refresh suggestion and have tested ATF in my Prius at 60k intervals as it was drained and refilled (four times now) and I don't expect to see any problem.
• The brakes are still original and the dealer refused to do a brake job at 240k miles since they still had life.

JeffD

 

One of the coolest things about Prius is that it has no transmission. It's called eCVT but in fact its one planetary gear with NO clutch packs, and 2 electric motors permanently connected to the ring and satellites. The oil need to be changed periodically to ensure the electric insulating properties are ok.
- Alex

 

Prius since 2010 add a second planetary gear, primarily to slow down M/G1, but it is still very simple.

 

Great Post! I just changed my Transaxle Oil two weeks ago, with 10,000 miles. I will then change it at 30,000 followed by every 60,000 after that. I want to get any factory left overs out, as well as protect the most expensive part of the car... Good luck whatever you decide!

 

We traded in our 2005 (bought in late 2004) with 288k on it in exchange for a 2013 Prius v. It was a good car but it was starting to show it's age. The valves needed adjusting terribly. I knew that I would be replacing the traction batteries very soon. The electric motor or gen (I don't know which) was making a whining sound when in 'evo'. There were some other issues that I don't remember now but knowing that I would be sinking a lot of money into a tired platform, we decided to go with a new one. Service history on the 05...the dealer replaced the MFD within a month of ownership and that was it as far as warranty goes. Later on life I had to replace the throttle body assembly, both front wheel bearings, the big windshield wiper arm and the driver's side sun visor. It always felt twitchy on rutted asphalt (I95 in particular). I never replaced the CVT fluid and never had an issue with the CVT itself or any of it's components. All in all, it was a good vehicle. I hope to get the same mileage out of my 2013.

Jim (2005 Prius -traded in), (2005 RAV4) (2013 Prius v)

 

What is your spending limit? $10K, $15K, more?

IMHO you shouldn't consider any Gen 2 older than an '08. If you can afford it, buy a '10 or '11 Gen 3.

My '05 Gen 2 was 5.5 years old and had 134K miles on it when I purchased it for $6800 before tax. It's a package 6, with every available option.

I was lucky to buy one when prices were low because of that silly unintentional acceleration scare. Many owners took a big hit when they traded in their Prii in 2010.

It now has 206K miles and turned 8.5 last month. Other than the engine water pump (and HID leveling sensor), the car hasn't given me any trouble. I just replaced the 12V about a month ago just in case the OEM 12V decided to die on me on some cold winter day in '14.

Except for consuming about a quart of oil every 4K miles, there's really nothing wrong with it. I've been averaging 50 mpg since May (80% hwy, 20% city). I'm hoping to reach 299,999 before the HV battery has to be replaced. I should reach that number in about 3.5 years.

 

Mine was also using about a quart between changes (5k) and was averaging about 50mpg as well. Hated the gas bladder as I would have issues at gas pumps at times. I think it was also less stretchy towards the end and especially in the winter. The Prius v doesn't have a bladder as far as I know.

Jim (2005 Prius -traded in), (2005 RAV4) (2013 Prius v)

 

It is my understanding that no Generation III Prius has a fuel bladder.

This is a good thread; I am at almost 45K right now, and wondering what's in front of me. Usually I drive cars into the ground, but am unsure whether I will do this with the Prius. I'm curious to see what Generation IV is like.

 

The Gen 4 will be like.....eh.....30 large.

Save that $30K for a rainy day and drive your Gen 3 into the ground as they say.

 

Dude, I bought my 2010 with more miles on it than 45k and now i'm at 95k troublefree miles. Drive the heck out of your car! It will last a long time. Also looking forward to Gen IV.

 

thanks for the post! Do you remember how long the warranty is on the big battery? That might influence how long I keep the car.

 

Why is everybody so concern with HV battery? The BODY of the car is the most expensive part. Any collision damage other than a small scratch with probably cost more than a replacement battery (which is $2500, and warranted to 96 month or 100k miles in most states and more than that in CARB states).
- Alex

 

only problem I've had so far after 39k miles is the oil change access door falling off

 

Because the traction battery WILL fail. It's only a matter of time. Not all Prii get hit.

I doubt I'll bother with replacing the traction battery on my '05 when the time comes. It really depends on how many replacement Gen 2 batteries that Toyota has left on the shelf when mine dies. They will probably become more expensive over time. Personally, I won't buy a remanufactured one - unless the price drops to $1000 or less.

I had always hoped that some entrepreneur would have produced a better, cheaper HV battery for the Gen 2, however it looks like that will never happen.

 

Alex, I think it's because people tend to think they have control over whether they get into an accident that is their fault. (of course, sometimes they don't). But no one has control over whether the battery fails. People are much more tolerant of risks when they can control them -- a lot of research has shown this. Beside, HV batteries are new enough that people don't have a sense of what the risk is.

I went on line to answer my own question about warranty. it appears that in California-standard states (like New Jersey), the warranty is ten years or 150,000 miles. I also read that, for the Generation III, replacement cost is much greater than your estimate -- perhaps in the neighborhood of $4000. i wonder if this is correct.

 

You can, of course help your battery last longer.

1) Drive your car. You will see taxi's getting 300,000 miles on the battery. They run 24 hours a day. The computer can pamper the battery full time. Batteries that sit, are batteries that fail sooner.

2) Keep your battery cool. The battery is in the passenger compartment because it is cooler than under the hood or in the trunk. Keeping you cool will keep the battery cool. Use Sun Shades, tint your windows as much as is allowed in your area, park in shade. Avoid prolonged steep uphills on hot days

3) Do not run out of gas, and when you do anyways, do not try to limp to a station on battery. Normally the gas engine comes on when the battery needs a re-charge, if you are out of gas, it can't. Bad Idea.

If it were my used Prius (and it is at least over 8 years old or, in my case, over 100,000 miles old, perhaps more, or I would not be paying for it, Toyota would) I would buy a used battery and keep going.

 

great tips!