Buying advice?

A 2015-17 v would be the only one I would consider due to the bad ring and piston design of the 2012-14 models.

2012–4 v’s have poor crash ratings as well which was reengineered for the 2015 models.

More of the later models have advanced safety systems and are less likely to have inverter and brake by wire “brake booster” problems. Obviously the newer cars will have better hybrid batteries, some still in warranty (in carb states) with 10 year 150k hv battery coverage.

Clearly a downside of a 2015-17 v is they still have gen3 engines while the newer 2016 hatchbacks came with much improved gen4 engines. These were used until the 2023 gen5 Prius came out. Derivatives of gen4 engines are commonplace in RAV4 and Camry hybrids even today.

If I were forced to buy one of your choices, it would be the 2014 as it has two less years on the systems and it would take a bit longer before the $5k-$10k worth of repairs started accumulating in my ownership. But you are gambling with a 2012-14 v; many owners have to replace the engines. Some buyers are scammed with temporary sealers to mask head gasket fails.

Because people fall in love with a Prius anyway, I would certainly find a highly qualified independent hybrid shop for pre-purchase inspection (difficult to do on the expensive hybrid parts). I would have them ready for the engine oil burning, brake booster, hybrid battery, head gasket and other smaller maintenance expenses like the water pumps and coolant systems.

In reality the best value in today’s upside down car market are new cars. Perhaps a Corolla Cross hybrid with the new Prius engine and hybrid system.

For the first time, power and mpg in a value priced hybrid. Lower interest rates on a new car can often provide competitive monthly payments. I would never finance a 2014 v for more than 18-24 months especially at today’s 8-10% used car rates.

 

12-14' all junk with stock engines with who knows what kind of maintenance...save and find a 15-17' and get the revised pistons and face lift..

 

i'd go for the 14, hope it got the revised pistons and rings, and jump on the egr

 

Piston ring update on the Prius v "might" be a little later, not sure. See linked for VIN number when the change occured:

 

Prius v pistons and rings 5 yr 60k

 

NO..................! You have already found out several of bad things that happen and cost thousands....and there are more..... I would not pursue it... do yourself a favor and get a Non Hybrid........... or go a head and do it and rember my post as you watch it being towed away with thousands in repar bills.

 

Wow all the FUD around here. Maybe I'm just lucky so far, but our 2012 Prius just crossed 100k miles and is so far doing great. Uses zero oil as of yet. The brake booster was replaced under recall and the A/C needed a repair, but otherwise so far so good. I did notice it doesn't use the traction battery much if it's very hot outside and the car has been sitting in the sun (I'm in S. Florida), but it's back to normal as soon as things cool off.

 

Your not at 150,000... but you already had the brake problem and AC... but traction battery getting pretty old. Have you changed the trani fluid and cleaned the entire EGR system and intake manifold?

 

I did change the transmission fluid some time ago, have not touched the EGR system. Have spark plugs on my ToDo list. What is the symptom for the EGR needing to be cleaned?

 

Anything over 100k miles on the odo. Head gaskets start blowing around 150k.

see top 2 links in my signature; on a phone turn it landscape to see signature

 

It gets more irritating when you are stranded 100 miles from home with a sudden inverter failure, hv battery around 150k, oil burning starts around 125k with major engine work by 175k and maybe a cat by 250k.

 

What is the cause of head gasket failures?

 

Leaking seal material on the metal gasket between a coolant passage and one or more cylinders. Traditionally caused by overheating and warped surfaces. Toyota revised the sealing material in replacement gaskets. They also revised gen4 cylinder cooling strategies specifically for hybrid engines with wide thermal swings due to frequent engine off periods. Gen4 also reduced carbon introduced by the egr system (not used in gen2) by taking exhaust after the cat. Overall a flawed design highlighted by low tension rings, revised under warranty for 60k in gen3 and all gen3s mid 2014.

 

I think the primary cause is clogged EGR.

 

You sure seem to like posting this all the time even though there's evidence on the contrary that says it's a small factor, not the primary cause. Primary cause is old coolant, old waterpump, driving style...then on down the line.

 

Let's see THE (your) evidence....... links...technical toyota papers...others?

 

Toyota doesn't talk about EGR cleanings, which would assert I am right. But they do mention coolant change intervals..which you can read about anywhere and in your owner's manual.

 

If corrosion caused by old coolant is a potential cause of the head gasket issues, then that's an easy preventative, time to change the coolant!

 

Take a look at this thread:
TSB EG-0127T-1014 (SW update to avoid cylinderhead gasket failure)