Looking at buying a Prius... question about high miles

If you buy it someone will be very happy. And that will probably not be you.

 

Good news: 226k miles isn't too much for a prius. Age hits them more than use.

Bad news: it's already old enough for age to be a serious concern.

 

I don’t have a source of published data on failure rates from which to answer your question directly.

On general principles (“The most reliable part is the one that isn’t there”), I’d advise anyone without a repair budget not to buy an older or high-mileage hybrid car. Compared to a conventional gasoline car, a hybrid has more parts—not only the hybrid battery, but also the transaxle with motor-generators, power control unit, and associated computers—that are essential for the car to run but can fail suddenly, requiring expensive repairs or replacement. The hybrid battery is also consumable: it’s expected to wear out eventually.

Even for skilled mechanics, it can be difficult to determine the condition or remaining service life of these parts unless they have already failed. I wouldn’t buy an older Prius without having someone use the Health Check function of a Toyota Techstream diagnostic system to look for diagnostic trouble codes. The absence of such codes doesn’t mean the car will be trouble-free, though, just that none of its computers has detected conditions outside the programmed limits over the last few drive cycles. The margin to failure isn’t known, however.

 

I agree about the reliability of parts that aren't there. And that's why I would recommend a Prius. The transaxle is super simple. Static gearing and MGs which rarely ever die coupled to a normal engine. No starter. No alternator. No transmission. No clutch. The only thing simpler is a full BEV.

To the OP, that's high mileage. You will need a battery sometime in the next year or two or three most likely. Budget $1600 if you're DIY, $2500 - $3000 if you're not. But the engine should last another decade, most likely will just start eating oil if it hasn't already. Not really a concern, just remember to keep feeding the beast. If you care about ride and such, you most likely will need struts. I'd check the brakes not just for wear but rust on the rotors. Usually these cars' brakes don't wear out from use, they rot from non-use since the regen braking does most of the work.

I believe a high mileage Prius would be more reliable than a high mileage most anything else. All my high mileage vehicles have had serious problems and you live with them. Subaru's, it's always the head gasket. Most of the big-3 cars, engine failures. Hondas like to eat transmissions, or usually just the first 1 or 2 gears if you can live with that. The Prius burns oil and has battery failures. I'd rather swap a battery and keep pouring in oil than do a tranny change or engine swap.

 

what are the alternatives besides 'rock' and 'hard place'?

 

dont buy anything that old no matter the miles... unless it runs and drives for $500 than you can junk it when it starts falling apart..
a 12 year old car isnt worth doing repairs on... you can find a newer base kia that gets almost 40 mpg and will have a lot lower miles for under $5000 ... avoid dealers they get the cars from auction and know nothing about them.... happy hunting

 

Creeks and paddles.

Or being on a creek and a shortage of paddles.

 

To me it's a basic math problem ($ spent/miles achieved) with a little bit of gambling probability thrown in to the mix.

Here's my experience with a high mile gen 2 Prius for what it's worth.

About a year ago I bought an 05 with 240k miles for $1k for my son. I put in another $1k (new tires, diy brakes, oil change and minor wiring issue) to make it what I considered roadworthy. It is a decent looking car no rust or dents and the interior is worn but clean and complete. I got a fairly complete vehicle history when I bought it. Traction battery appears to be in very solid shape.

Since then it's gone another 8k miles. I've done rear springs and shocks (preloaded quick set), an ac recharge and a new 12v battery. Roughly another $600.

He commutes about 30 miles a day in it. So all in that's about $220 a month and 33 cents per mile.

That said if a big $$ repair looms on the horizon we are totally ready to walk away from the thing and send it off to the junkyard.

 

If you have to pay for labor, don't buy.

1) What "looks" fine is only confirmed by checking w/ a tire pressure gauge. Consider investing in a quality digital gauge; useful tool BTW.
2) 12V air compressors are pretty cheap; $30-$50; BlackFriday is coming, so some stores will have sales on this item. A useful tool too.