Hello everyone. First post here. Well, I pulled the trigger on a 2010 Prius with 132k miles. I had been wanting a Prius for some time, but have not found any luck finding one with a decent history and good overall shape. I paid $6500 for it, which is a bit more than I had planned to spend. What sold me was the way it drove and its history. It's a 1 owner car. The Carfax is several pages long showing all maintaince done at the Toyota dealership. No major damage, just several dings and minor scratches here and there. The vehicle overall looks in really good shape. Despite all those positives, I'm started to worry, after reading forums on high mileage Priuses, that perhaps I made a mistake in buying it. I worry about the car needing major repairs based on age and mileage. Should I worry?
They're great cars... Enjoy it... Learn about preventative maintenance you can do to limit problems...
Welcome. I would not put a Toyota with 132,000 miles in the high mileage category myself. Some car brands I would but not a Toyota.
welcome! no worries, you purchased a highly reliable vehicle, but time to take action. the 2010 is susceptible to clogging in the egr circuit and intake manifold. consider cleaning these, or taking it to someone who can, before you blow a head gasket. keep a close eye on the engine oil level, until you are comfortable with the burn rate. also consider adding an oil catch can to prevent further clogging, and change the tranny oil. all the best!
Thanks all. Makes me feel better about my purchase. I always take good care of my cars. I plan to keep up with all maintenance on this one too. I've never spent so much money for a used car, so it's important for me to keep it going for as long as possible. It'll be my daily driver
Just thought I share some pics of my newly acquired Prius. Not too crazy about the color, but I guess one gets to a certain age where that doesn't matter much!
Btw, doesn't anyone know where I can buy replacement center caps for those rims? Not sure what size or type to look for.
Assuming 2010 Base Prius, original factory wheel, Center Cap, $13.42. 2010 Toyota Prius Parts - Camelback Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Parts - Free Shipping A magnetic transaxle drain plug would be a good idea for the a Gen3 Prius, as they do not have one. Read Post #473 to see what an upgraded one looks like. ATF fluid changes ARE Required. | Page 24 | PriusChat
yep you paid top dollar for one of the worst Prius' made.. Sorry be on the look out for massive oil consumption due to bad rings in the motor (requires the top end of the motor to be rebuilt) ABS actuator pump failure no longer covered under the extended warranty (over $3000 to replace) HV battery out of warranty (another $2000 or more to replace) nearing the end of its lifespan and a bunch of other problems with the early gen 3's you can find on line.. sadly old hybrids are just money pits where one repair can exceed the value of the car.. you never get back the cost of repairs in fuel savings.. Our other car is a 2013 Accent automatic (bought it used with 90,000 miles for $4100 and its getting 39 mpg without the hybrid problems, my 08 prius is getting 45.. when it dies we are getting another accent. 6 more mpg isnt worth it IMO
As BISCO stated, I, too would recommend that you remove and clean the EGR valve and cooler as this is a major issue with Gen 3 Prius models in the mileage range of your car. Installing an oil catch can will be advisable too. Having a spar EGR cooler (about $100 used) is a good idea. I'd buy one, clean it and install it. Then, I'd clean the one that you removed and keep it as a spare. It might take several weeks of soaking to clean it to like new condition. There are numerous threads on the Gen 3 EGR system and the Oil Catch Can.
Thanks for your input. With proper maintenance and taking other preventive measures, I can only hope mine will not give me those problems for a while. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Don't agree. Gen 3 Prius have always been highly rated in Consumer Reports by their owners. With proper maintenance they live a long life into the 200k plus mileage area. Rodney King drove a Hyundai Excel. Hyundai's and Kia's (same manufacturer) have always been the third choice among car buyers behind Toyota and Nissan; a lot of "bells and whistles" with less reliability than the previously mentioned two. Personally, I own a Gen 3 Prius and my husband owns a Nissan.
The Korean brands (Hyundai/Kia/Genesis) have come a long. Out of curiosity, I inquired w/ CR (Consumer Reports) about car brand reliability, and was surprised. Car Brands Reliability: How They Stack Up - Consumer Reports 2018 Dependability Manufacturer Ratings and Awards | J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study | J.D. Power
Rodney King drove a Hyundai Excel??? What does the kind of car someone drove 25 years ago have to do with anything??I think your info is sorely outdated.... Nissan is total junk that why you can find 2014's with bad transmissions for sale for under $3000 on line.. and to be clear I said EARLY gen 3's.. 2010, 2011, 2012 have many reports of the defects I describe and the cost to repair the totaling out the cars value
I owned my 2001 from 2008 @125,000 until 2016 @234,000 and it was a peach ... lowest total-cost-of-ownership car I've ever had. Part of that even involved a known expensive potential problem with the 2001s, that Toyota realized was a problem and created an extended service campaign to fix. My 2001 actually did develop the problem, at 192,000 miles, and so as a result of the service campaign, I ended up paying nothing for brand-new steering in an 11 year old, 192,000 mile car and enjoyed it for four more years. I now have one of the 2010s subject to the possible problems discussed here, though it has been a peach so far, with none of those problems so far developing. Meanwhile, Toyota has more than one of those extended service campaigns open for some of the reportedly common 2010 problems, so if lightning strikes twice I might even someday end up with brand new somethings in a superannuated 2010 and continue enjoying that for several more years. So far, "money pit" hasn't been my experience with these cars, -Chap
Why? My understanding is JD Power contacts consumers who have purchased/lease the vehicles JD is measuring. Granted JD Power does NOT contact ALL of the consumers of said vehicle (ie, Toyota Corolla whatever trim), but they get a representative sample size, and pull that data for comparison across brands/vehicles. You know something that I don't. PLEASE SHARE, why JD Power's findings are not trustworthy.
Don't let Buyers Remorse ruin your potential enjoyment. Now you've got one. And you did at least some homework, it sounds like it has at least a descent pedigree of maintenance history. The future of ANY used vehicle, can't really be guaranteed. However, Toyota's and Prius are well made vehicles. My advice is, it's your vehicle now. Allow yourself to enjoy it. 2010 Gen 3, you do want to keep an eye on oil consumption. I agree with Bisco's maintenance recommendations in post #4. But really? Just enjoy it, maintenance at any level MAY become necessary, but that's the truth with any 8 year old vehicle. Buyers Remorse is wasted energy. Sounds like you have something you've long desired.....a Prius. Sounds like it may be in above average shape for it's age and mileage. At this point? IMO the best decision is to allow yourself to enjoy it. Hopefully a few months of enjoying your Prius, will quiet your fears. Nothing is really written in stone...IF problems start to manifest...you can make decisions about how to react at that point. But don't fight the Dragon, until and unless you feel the heat.
I've seen many early 3rd gen Priuses for sell with well over 150k miles. Some with even 200k to close to 300k miles. So, obviously not all 3rd gen Priuses are lemons. Looking at repair history stats for those model years, it doesn't look bad. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
