What's the truth?

Like I said in the other one it looks like this company's bringing back the old way of doing this which I was quite okay with from the mid '80s through the early 2000s. So my question again is what was the 35K engine going to cost you to the mechanic shop door?

 

That sounds like a hybrid pit engine the California thing there's a company out there called hybrid pit and that would sound like something he might order from them built that is another option that was discussed further back here before we got to the JDM business that is a rebuilt engine I don't know what their process is I don't know that much about them whether they're using new center sections from Toyota or from some big rebuilder like A1 cardone or whether they are doing this all in house I don't have a clue they have a warranty but just realize when you're dealing with an engine like this the warranty does not cover your labor so no matter how much of a warranty they have if you have to change out an engine twice or thrice that's on your dime so in my world that's $800 a pop in and out in and out That's what I pay my guy and then you have to have oil spark plugs and so on all of that but after you do that once if it fails quickly then you can save your spark plugs and your coils and so on but you still have to take the engine out and get another one which they're going to send you but you have to pay the shipping and on and on so doing that with an engine that's already problematic just because of its design and build I have an issue with that personally for my stable.

 

This is a company in Japan who promises to send you an engine or other part by ship from Japan. After they remove the engine, dump it in a giant ocean going container with tons of other parts, largely unprotected from other engines and parts, makes it to the US months later and then your engine is unloaded out of the container and shipped by truck to you. Completely ridiculous.

You have three options short of trading the car:

1. A head gasket job with various qualities of head and block inspections. The least reliable solution is a used US engine with lots of wear already and low tension rings. $2000 for a reasonable job while bigger shops and dealers would charge up to $4500 which includes a head rebuild. Most of the better shops won’t even consider a hg job on these engines. Most of the better shops and dealers value their reputation and your satisfaction enough to refuse to do this option. DIY this is certainly the cheapest option, sometimes $500. First time DIYers often do it over and over just to get it running. Mechanics often do this when flipping a car.

2. Used engine, US or JDM already in the US. Either way they are used engines. A US used engine out of a 2016-17 Prius v is still gen3 and might be an option if it has vin matching numbers on the engine that could be checked against carfax or verified directly to the v in the junkyard. Often the vin plates are gone, an obvious bad sign. The JDM option is probably far better than a non-vin US engine but has no real guarantee of reliability. However swapping in a used engine can be faster than a quality head gasket job that includes a head rebuild. Plus it’s less money in most shops. So a JDM may be the best low budget option.

3. Rebuilt engine with new piston, rings, head rebuild including a complete teardown and measurement of other wear parts. Usually the most expensive option but a specialist rebuilder can save you thousands over a similar dealer rebuild.

To me a gen4 frankengine is not an option. It still keeps your intake, exhaust, and egr system while requiring cooling system and wiring harness modifications. All the work of a used, used JDM or rebuilt gen3 ending up with a car most dealers would not touch if you have issues.

If you had a quality local shop that had done twenty of these frankenengines, offers a two year warranty and you knew should be there for a few years, maybe.