Hi Boys and girls.Just joined and have a question.I know it depends on a million things and I'm not sure of the model even.2012 belongs to my BIL here in the salt belt of Canada.I haven't seen it myself as it's about an hour from me but he has been told it's rotted under the back of the car to the point it shouldn't be driven.Car has 130 k klm's on it and still looks good otherwise.Other than parting this car out is there any real value to it anymore.I realize this question is very subjective but he's asked me to see if there's any value to it.In his 80's and doesn't do the computer thing.Thanks
Without seeing it and based on the "rotted under the back of the car to the point it shouldn't be driven", my guess would be to part it out. This is without pictures. But if it is rotted out, chances are the suspension, brakes and bottom of the car is suffering from severe rust.
Yeah having not seen the bottom myself I would agree.I realize that the batteries are 10 or 11 years old as well.Parting it out is not an option but a ball park value for selling the complete unit as a parts car would be great.
i would have a good shop take a look at it before parting it out. it's probably worth 10k if it can be repaired. gen 3 parts aren't in much demand because it is toyotas most poorly byilt vehicle. and the only good part of it is the battery, which rarely fails
pistons/rings, egr valve setup, head gasket, inverter and brake actuator. all prone to early failure by toyota standards, and expensive repairs.
I better watchout. I only have 286,600 miles on mine. So my original head gasket, inverter, brake actuator, master cylinder may not make it. I burn a whole quart of oil in about 7500 miles. What will I do???
I chuckle when new members posts here saying they’ve done researched and found this vehicle reliable and even bullet proof so they want to buy one. Or this is the most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned. And then I see this post, bam!
I asked the BIL about taking it to a good welder and repairing it.He said he saw how bad it was and there's no repairing it.He's a very smart individual and has always looked after his vehicles so I believe him.Up until this Prius he always used rustproofing but the Dealer specifically told him not to on this one.I was a Tech at Toyota when the Prius came out and always preached Honda before that but I've always said after working there that Toyota was a better vehicle.That is until I heard this from the BIL.
it is certainly very unusual. prius get a lot of superficial rust, but we don't hear of many taken off the road.
Rust is EVERYWHERE if the trunk is falling thru. The car is a total loss of course. Presume it unsafe
Have a look at the rear trailing links. They’re the arms that connect at wheel hub, run forward maybe 18~24” to a link. Check that whole area, very rust prone. Also just inboard of rear scissor jack points. Front suspension zone not much better. Also at the front there’s a quite low high volt cable to transaxle with wire mesh, probable a rust lump.
I'm sorry, but this post is utterly ridiculous and a textbook example of what happens when like-minded people talk only to each other in an Internet echo chamber. Objective repair-frequency data from Consumer Reports, Dashboard_Light, and TrueDelta all confirm that Gen 3 Prius is one of the most trouble-free cars of its generation, even as it ages. Am I saying these components never fail? Of course not; no machine is immortal. Am I saying that nearly all of them are MORE reliable and durable than the typical car? Damn right I am, and unlike this other poster, I've just cited three neutral sources to prove it.
