Considering Buying Used 2016 Prius- Red Flags?

What area was the car in use? I'm guessing "FROZEN" is literal? Maybe he took the car through a car wash, and it froze up subsequently? Sounds like it was resolved.

Where are you seeing 36,000 miles?

 

The only other case we have seen of a shutter issue was related to the dealer running the optional Engine Block Heater cord obstructing it

If that car has an EBH, I would get a new cord and route it differently. The other user rerouted the cord & cleared the error. Apparently, the cord might have been damaged internally. The car caught fire one night and the cause appears to be pointing toward the EBH cord.

 

welcome!
one reason people are trading in 2016's is because the 2017 comes with all the safety features standard.

shutter problems don't matter, as long as it is fixed and operating properly. 12,000 miles in 4 months suggests a very long commute, or possibly a commercial vehicle. you may want to try and investigate that.
who is selling the vehicle, a toyota dealer? if so, is it cpo?

finally, what is the savings vs a 2017 with the same package? they are being discounted heavily right now.
all the best!

 

I don't see any red flags. Do you have oil change records? Oil changes are very important. Look for crash damage and care items like interior, door dings, etc. I drive 40,000 miles a year and keep my car in good repair.

 

I would be suspicious of a car that new not being sold by a Toyota dealer. Auctioned? Get a CarFax.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

There are 260 days in a work year. Subtract 30 for "holidays" and 2 weeks of vacation. That equals an 80 mile one-way commute. Very common in SoCal.

 

12,000 miles in 4 months suggests to me it may be an ex-rental car. Not really a problem as it has been serviced where necessary and although rentals are sometimes driven hard, the Prius has plenty of protection in the software to protect it from abuse. Of course it needs to be a good price with the mileage it's done, I'd expect it to be about the same price as a 12 month old Prius (10-12K miles).

 

12,000 in 4 months isn't that crazy. I have 13,000 in 6 months and I travel for work. Many traveling salesmen say 1,000 miles a week is their usual.

I haven't ever seen a Prius used as a rental car so I wouldn't worry about that. If the Carfax is clean and they have oil change records you're in business I think.

You'll probably get a steal of a deal.

 

Actually CarFax tells if it was auctioned and how it was used (fleet,taxi,rental,etc )

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

In NYC they are used as rentals (Enterprise) and as Zip Cars.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I've been wondering about the active grill shutter... how can you tell if it's working, or not working. Your post is the first that I have seen about an error code and related service. My bet is that the car is fine. It's under warranty. Personally, I would be wary of the dealer, any dealer, not the car.

 

I've got a friend who drives a Prius in San Francisco full time with Uber and probably puts in that many miles. Prii are everywhere with Uber and Lyft here.

Is there any chance of overheating if the grill shutter what frozen close? Or does the computer manage that somehow too? You can always check the oil cap I guess. But on second thought, the dealer might have just cleaned it out.

 

Second one for me: there was someone else, their block heater cord was installed so that it jammed the active shutter (@Prodigyplace made mention of that case): it also triggered a warning. Seems a valid issue.

 

Here are the threads:
Stuck shutter: Grille Shutter Inoperative and Check Engine | PriusChat

Fire: Prius Caught on Fire | PriusChat