How do I know if my 2014 v vin has the updated rings?

The attached TSB spells it out, I think.

 

For Prius v the piston/ring transition is:

JTDZN3EU#EJ001475

yeah I think so.

Still, it’s a little presumptuous to label all previous to the cut-off VIN as “oil burning”, and to think post cut-off VIN’s are immune. I’d still consider shorter oil change interval than Toyota’s recommendation, and check level regularly.

 

Yeah the v's a very handy vehicle. And of course they discontinued it.

 

The 3000 mile interval might be excessive, unless you don't drive at least 5000 miles in four months. The "Maint Req'd" light comes on at 5k, so I change the oil when the light comes on. Makes it easy to keep track. I have driven my 2013 V in hard Uber driving, and 5K oil changes. Now at 96K, I have no oil consumption issue. (Crossing my fingers).

 

You won't get the oil burning till 150,000..... if it happens at all

 

hi Mendel, many thx for posting this! im a numbers guy - I think, so I'm delving into this by example:

Prius before this VIN are affected: JTDKN3DU#E1791355

But what does this mean? using the VIN decoder ring found here:
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/how-to-read-your-toyota-vin-code-80056.html

I see for the above VIN:
E = 2014
1 = a plant in Japan
791355 = the unit produced in 2014, sequentially from 1.

So starting with unit 791,355 in 2014, the rings/pistons are good. the guy/gal who bought unit 791,355 should consider themselves very lucky! anyhow, the problem I see: were there really that many units produced in 2014? Sales units for USA were 207,372.
So when you add up the rest of the world, does the US market only represent some 1/4 of the total sales volume that year for Prius?

Another problem I see by scouring 2014 VIN's by example on popular sales websites: there are two other minorly popular Prius plants: plant #0, and plant #3. I presume that the unit number is irrespective of the plant they made the car in. so for example

plant 0 - much lower numbers usually (<100k)
plant 3 - lower 100k's, like 300k
plant 1 - many in the upper 100k's, like 700k, 800k

• Position 10 - shows the car’s model year: V/1997; W/1998; X/1999; Y/2000; 1/2001; 2/2002; 3/2003; 4/2004; 5/2005; 6/2006; 7/2007; 8/2008; 9/2009; A/2010; B/2011; C/2012; D/2013; E/2014.
• Position 11 - indicates the factory where your car has been assembled: 0 to 9/Japan; A/Onnaing-Valenciennes, France; C/Cambridge, ON, CA; E/United Kingdom; K/Japan; M/Baja CA, Mexico; N/Kolín, Czech Republic; R/Lafayette, IN, US; S/Princeton, IN, US; U/Georgetown, KY, US; W/Woodstock, ON, CA; X/San Antonio, TX, US; Z/Fremont, CA, US.
• Position 12 to 17 - this shows the vehicle’s production number. They are usually used to show literally the unit’s number as it went out the assembly line. So this means 00004 is the fourth car of the respective year model produced. But sometimes this might not be the case.

 

My brain is full. Ask a dealership service department to decipher?

At some point they switched pistons and rings, they seem to know the VIN at which that occurred, and are able to determine which side of that line any VIN is. Hopefully...

 

Keeping a Gen 3 for many years won't save you any $$$$$

 

Working for us so far, albeit with low miles, and lots of preemptive stuff.

 

I don't see where you really save any $$$ with a older car with low miles........ u save $$ when you drive a lot...........
your still going to need a traction battery
brake system
head gasket
and maybe a new engine

 

One thing, it's the devil I know. Pretty well now. Yeah, $30~31K CDN, cash sale, coming up on 13 years now.

 

thx tim, I can see how one could conclude that, but I probably have this psychological addiction to 50+mpg. And I really like the gen3 body type - its the ideal size and form factor. regarding your line items, from a DIY perspective, some of that is doable. and with proper maintenance, I think you can get good life out of the Gen3. But it's probably highly dependent on someone's situation and DIY level. Also, new car prices aren't really helping skew the decision toward buy new.

My theory is that with the new G5, the Prius is continuing to push itself into irrelevance - too small, too sporty, too low to the ground, not much MPG gain, too pricey. The G4 started that trend but not in a big way. The G5 finished the pattern. I mean, how many 20-something "sports car nuts" care about MPG - not many? So there are no real new competitors to the Gen3 type car, unless you go to an SUV, which gets less MPG, and costs more.

Side note: I have always valued hatchbacks too, starting with my 1992 strongly-missed Honda civic VX, which got 55mpg+ on the highway without any hybrid monkey business. I almost wish Honda with start making that car again!

Side note2: if you live in the PNW (and many other parts of the world, like TX), you see the very real effects of climate change. My Prius registered 107F outside temp yesterday driving in Portland. the car cooling fan turned on when I started the car cold. We need to move to cars getting like 100+mpg IMO or a good portion of us are going to be dead way too early. I realize I may have just made a few political enemies or friends with that comment, but when I have to deal with temps like 117F in the summer, Houston we have a problem - no pun intended!

 

Yeah up here the gen 5 only comes with 19" rims (and AWD whether you want it or not), not exactly a good choice for mpg. Pricey too. See a stock Ford F150 comes with 18" rims...

FWIW, any 3rd gen short block Toyota's putting out now has the revised rings, and they're under $2K USD.

 

Great article on electric ? The other day, bemoaning the trend to larger wheels.
Made some good points about mpg’s and watt’s per mile.
Conversations he had with designers said they wouldn’t be going back anytime soon

 

Trends do subside. I saw what I think was a new civic the other day, and it had no (what I like to call) magic smoke “vents”, front or rear.

might be dreaming, can’t find corroborating images.

 

This one from 3 years ago, nothing has changed


Big Wheels Are Quantitatively Worse