New Vehicle Shopping, Considering Prius V

Honest question: Why not do that?

They aren't terrible, the newer ones are better than the older ones with specific regard to oil consumption and transmission wear, and by now you know them pretty well- you know when it's time to trade it for something else.

 

That's the root of my suggestion: don't keep it until the miles are that high.

Trade it earlier, which would mean a larger trade-in on whatever is next after. You don't have to use it all up- it is possible to own a car for a shorter window of time and not waste money. Heck, sometimes it gets you further ahead to trade earlier.

I loved the old Outback, when they were still real wagons. Ever since they started with that big SUV body in 2010 they've been dead to my dollars.

 

If you need a reliable budget 10 year old car I would get a conventional Honda CRV or if a hybrid floats your boat, I would get a Prius c which had none of the gen3 problems.

You don’t want the 2017 up Honda CRVs with the 1.5L direct injected turbo. Fuel dilution and direct injection carbon plus a conventional cvt tranny. 2017s and up also have the new r1234yf refrigerant which is $49 for a small 12 once can.

 

congrats, all the best!

 

Just piping in that I recently tested a 2012 v hybrid battery with Dr. Prius paid app. The car had 135k miles on it and the hybrid battery tested at over 85%. Car was mostly driven in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Don't count them out just because a car hit some milestone. There must be other factors at play and some will go a fair distance.

 

For those recommending the 2016 and 2017 v, is that just for lower miles? Or is the 2015 inferior somehow as it was a slight design change year?

 

Toyota revised piston rings (and pistons to accommodate them), on Gen 3 and the v. For the Gen 3 it was at a particular VIN, in model year 2014, and I believe the specific factory is a factor too. Similar story for the v; I’ve got a pdf here “somewhere” with explanation; will try to find later, if I get a chance (turkey day here…).

I think it’s a safe bet the last production year of v would have the revised rings, and “possibly” the next to last model year as well.

the older style rings are described as “low tension”, used due to lower friction. Toyota’s motivation to use these was undoubtedly to gain a few tenths of a mpg, which wears thin when you’re having to dump in quarts of oil every 1000 miles.

 

Some 2014 gen3s received the new rings and pistons. The last gen3 hatchbacks were 2015 while the last gen3 v’s in the US were 2017.

If I had to buy a used v today it would be a 2016 or 17, even though the production numbers were small and their current availability is low because of the better Rav4 hybrids from those years. I might buy a 2016-17 v because of lower miles allowing 5k oil changes earlier in its life and less chance of the brake booster problem which still existed. Plus most had advanced safety features by then.

Design issues in a gen3 engine still existed even though one factor, the rings and pistons, were updated. The gen4 engine revised those parts again along with significant changes to the cooling system, cylinder wall temperatures and egr take off points. Along with revisions to the egr* valve, intake and more.

The gen3 problems were multifactorial and required a complete redesign of the 1.8L engine used in Atkinson cycle. Problems that were not issues in the earlier conventional ICE applications of the engine without stop start and thermal cycling.

* For more egr information see the “EGR Fanatic” above

 

Attached is a pdf of the info @rjparker has supplied in past. It's basically this jpeg:



I've just incorporated into pdf, maybe more portable.

 

Thanks - I've seen that before. Is a Plant J any different from Plant 3 in terms of preference or reliability??

My next car to visit is a J039225 from 2015. Two other vees I considered were Plant 3.

 

No clue, but wouldn't think so. It's necessary to note that "plant" digit/letter (7th from the end) to determine which sequence number (the last 6 numbers) is applicable.