My beautiful 07 Camry got totaled by a man who was not paying attention. I'm considering getting a Gen3 Prius as a replacement, and there are a good amount of options in my area. Anything to look out for? Is high mileage (200,000+) a no-go? I read about head gasket problems at that point in mileage, so I thought it'd be good to ask. I live in the southeastern US so frame rust is not an issue.
oil burners head gasket brake actuator hybrid battery clogged egr circuit the are possibly toyotas worst used cars, and very difficult to diagnose potential or existing problems when buying
...another way of saying people love them so much they keep them until everything has gone wrong. Which is a problem because many buyers don't recognize the problems until they've signed the deal and driven away.
If I were looking for a used Prius, I'd look for a Gen 4 and preferably not one from the first couple of years due to some small issues later worked out. Also check to see if the infotainment system supports Car Play as the early years didn't. (My wife's old 2017 Prius doesn't support Car Play OR have a satellite radio antenna)
Early 2016 Prius could not be changed to metric which was an issue for those driving to Canada. In 2017 Prius, they added some no-charge "optional" features halfway through the year.My 2017 was an early one and I really wanted the blind spot safety feature that was initially unavailable on my trim level.Although CarPlay would have been nice, satellite radio has never been a priority for me. I do not know how you would tell if the exhaust heat transfer TSB was done. The changed to a different part that is continually on backorder.
I know in 2023 when my son traded in his 2015 Prius V it was in such demand he got $2K over book value and they estimated they would sell it within a week.
Don't pay more than $5k for a gen3 that is clean and under 125k miles. Start saving $10k for the repairs at ~$2,500 per unexpected downtime.
Time tends to be as much or more the enemy of these cars in comparison to miles, so high mileage is usually not a big deal, but you want one that's less than 10 years old if possible. The best Gen 3 Prii will generally be sold by Toyota dealers that took them in trade for something newer. The worst will be put up for auction and ultimately sold by a discount shop that knows nothing about them. I'd also recommend asking for a full repair and maintenance history, if available. That will tell you if the previous owner took good care of it.
Nimh batteries in turd gens are typically good for 10 years, then deterioration sets in. You’ll have to do the math then see if you can set 2-4 grand of rainy day fund on day one after purchasing one. The coolest thing is that you’ll be a egr cleaning member, were always accepting new members.
Im from Alabama too Tuscaloosa . Please do not make this terrible mistake. Don't do it . For go and get anything with Toyoda 2.5 hybrid.dpnt make poor choice for you and family.its tough enough man
This is the only car-related forum I've been on where the owners are so obsessed with all the potential problems their cars might have!
I own and drive a Gen 3 Prius, one that I got used about a decade ago. It's been a good car for me, so far. A couple days ago, I took it on an interstate road trip, and if I needed to, I'd do it again tomorrow. That being said, I'd stay away from the Gen 3's if I were you. The EGR and head gasket issues are too problematic for that generation, and unless you find the unicorn in the bunch, you'll likely end up with one that isn't going to last that much longer. If you absolutely have to, look for something with less than 100K miles. At that point, there still may be time to start servicing the EGR system. Anything with more miles, and I'd want to talk to the previous owner and see that they've taken care do do the proper maintenance on the system. Anything with more than 150K miles and it's still a crap shoot. If you're looking for something where you aren't looking to drive that many miles each year, maybe. But at that point, you're not going to take that much advantage of the high MPG. At that point, just about any car will do. Find something cheap. If you're needing it to last, get high MPG, I second what @ColoradoBoo said and go for a Gen 4 (not of the first year or so either). There are some significant drawbacks to the Gen 4 Prius Prime for some people, but there are some significant advantages to buying one of those too. Some caveats though. Look into the Federal Tax Credit information on used plug in hybrids, and if you qualify, and you find a used Gen 4 Prime for less than $25K, and if you can find a dealer that will fill out the IRS forms for you to qualify, you could get $4K from the government to get you over having to buy a more expensive car. I wouldn't count on that federal tax credit lasting past the first year of Trump's second term though.
