Unhappy and Disappointed in my 2012 Prius C

i'd say you got a lemon. unfortunately, some prius have bad squeaking problems, not sure why. a lot has been written on finding and solcing with different types of padding between the plastics.

dents and scratches from other cars are pretty normal imo, most cars won't do well with being whacked.

the rattling noise is a concern, does it happen every time?

if cleaning the brakes eliminated the squeal, the answer is to put the car in neutral and brake gently now and then. that eliminates regen, and allows the pads to scrape the rust off the rotors. this is a common prius problem because the friction brakes are rarely used.

headlight and taillight splits are less common and unfortunate.

all the best!

 

How is it even a lemon when there is basically no issues with the car running at all? lol

Other than that sounds more like buyer's remorse

1) cheaply designed - duh, it's a econo-car and didn't you get a peek at it before buying? there is a lot of plastic inside, but why do people hate plastic so much? I guess MFG's should make interiors out of glass (like phones nowadays for "premium"), so people can oggle at the shiny premiumness of their econo-cars until the first drop/break?

2) rattling - don't think I've been in a econobox that didn't rattle ere and there

3) easily damaged - lol, ALL cars are easily damaged unless you park in the middle of no where 1000 miles away from any other human/object that can touch your car...how was this even a argument?

4) loud rattling start - you're in New York, cold starts = rough starts no matter the car

5) brake squeal - I've heard brake squeal in almost all used cars (made worst in snow belts)

6) light - I guess this is the only valid lemon/defect...since my tail light (and seems other members) seal did go bad and there was condensation build up in one of the tail lights (though lights still worked)

So the only maintenance you did was still just tire and oil/filter change...apart from the taillight/headlight seal issue - Buyer's remorse and I think you should move to a less populated warmer state

 

true, but some cars rattle, and some don't.

a loud rattling noise under the hood can't be normal.

 

120k miles in the salt and snow... that in itself is rather impressive to have nothing replaced at this point...

 

Hi Czhuang,

Sorry to hear you are having issues with your Prius C. I think the quickest answer to your question aside from the rant is Yes for the most part you are experiencing things that are going to pop up from owning an older econo Prius. This is probably not something you want to hear, but most of what you describe are pretty normal things that you can run into with any vehicle let alone a used one. (aside from the light situation)

Hopefully aside from the noises your finding the car is giving you good gas mileage and reliability? I know what it's like to want a vehicle really bad and then once getting one finding my enthusiasm slowly dying over the months of ownership. Not sure if it's buyers remorse or failed expectations. This has certainly never happened with any of my Prius vehicles though. Best of Luck.

 

I recently had similar episode, my car was making such weird noise on cold start that i thought it was bad bearing in transmission.
However, it turned out to be loose "exhaust pipe shield" matter of tightening few bolts. From what i have read this seems common.

 

A good, trustworthy independent mechanic + doing what DIY repairs you are capable of is the most economical way to keep a high mileage vehicle rolling. As a vehicle owner, you do need to have some knowledge of car components, common problems / wear items, and very basic troubleshooting to at least communicate effectively with mechanics. Many owners with none of that get put in the trap of describing extremely vague problems to a dealer service writer, and in turn, not having the problem fixed and / or being raked over the coals for unnecessary services.

I don't want to sound dismissive of the issues you have had, but they all seem pretty minor. It's an economy car this is mostly plastic, and the rattles might be exacerbated by worn suspension components or poor riding tires after 100K miles. The brakes might still be original rotors and pads that are toast, or cheap after market parts, and certainly rusty from Northeast winters. The rattle from the engine area might also be exhaust heat shields that are rusty as another member suggested.

Cars that go 200K+ miles without major problems achieve that with proper maintenance. Virtually no one achieves those numbers just changing fluids, a few sets of tires, and greasing the door hinges .

 

Some sacrifices were made in the C to hold the weight down for maximum gas mileage, one of them being a sophisticated suspension system. Hence the more pronounced effects when going over bad pavement, squeaks and creaks among them. Mine is the same. Many of them seem to come from the area around the glove box and right side upper dash panels. I have wedged a few business cards and rubber gaskets into key spots to minimize the noise but have never been able to get rid of all of it.

The rattle under the hood is of more concern and I would definitely have that checked. It could be simple or serious. The cracked plastic in the tail light assembly sounds unusual however. I wonder if the previous owner may have done something to cause that, and it didn't effect the bulbs until later.

All rotors rust pretty quickly these days. Have seen new cars still on the dealer lot with seriously rusted rotors. As someone else mentioned, due to the regenerative braking system in hybrids, it doesn't get cleaned off as quickly in normal use. The upside of that is that you won't need brake pads as often. I just had a state inspection at 116,000 miles and was expecting to be told I needed new pads, or would before long, but it passed with flying colors. And they are the original pads.

I think you have mainly just had some bad luck. Other than the squeaks and creaks, my 2012 C with similar mileage hasn't had the other problems you mentioned, and I live in the cold northeast also.