I'm looking at a 2012 Prius v 5 with 130k on the clock. It's a private party sale and the seller is asking $9500. He shared the vin number with me and I was able to look up the details for the car. First thing is that I'm in California, and the car is an out-of-state car, so I assume no more battery warranty. Second is that at 118k, the car blew a head gasket. The car was dealer maintained up to that point. Between the battery being out of warranty and knowing that the car has already had major engine work done, I'm inclined to walk away and keep looking. On the other hand, this is basically the only v5 I've seen for less than 10k so far. Any advice is appreciated. Cheers!
One of the major reasons for a blown head gasket is overheating. The higher the temperature the greater the chance of blowing a head gasket. It would be nice to have more details. In my opinion a private party rarely gets the same price as a dealer. It would be nice to know what machine shop work was done on the car. Was the head checked for cracks, was it plained and checked for flatness etc.
Yeah more information would be good. Here's the details from the Toyota website. Sorry for the all-caps At 118,495 the car came into the shop for this... MINOR DIAGNOSTIC ~|~C/S CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON TODAY AND STAYED ON - C/S HAS IN THE PAST HAD PROBLEMS STARTING - PREVIOUS IT WOULD SHAKE NEAR THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE - UPON TURNING OFF AND RESTART ITS USUALLY GONE - TODAY THIS DID NOT WORK AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON ~|~ ~|~118492 P0302 P0304 REPLACED SPARK PLUGS WITH SERVICE, CLEARED CODES AND ROAD TESTED CAR. MISFIRE CODES DID NOT RESET AT THIS TIME. At 118,701 the car came into the shop for this... SKILL LEVEL 2 DIAGNOSES, NO MDT, NO HYBRID TECHNICIAN, AND OR SHOP FOREMAN REQUIRE ~|~TEAR DOWN AND INSPECT AND REPLACE HEAD GASKET AS NECESSARY SUBLET OUT CYLINDER HEAD ~|~ ~|~118701 REMOVE CYL.HEAD AND INSPECT FOR FOUND HAS BLOWN HEAD GASKET SEND OUT MACH.SHOP FOR INSPETION NEEDS TO RESURFACE AND VALVE JOB\REINSTALL CYL.AND RECHECK\TEST DRIVE CAR OK AT THIS TIME\CLEAR CODE OK
I would walk away even though the price is ok. Find a California car with the 150,000 mile hybrid warranty. Preferably under 100k miles. While these cars are reliable in general, inverters and high voltage batteries can cost many thousands each. Some of the 1.8L engines burn oil at that mileage. The 2012 has a less than desirable crash rating which they fixed in later models. Apparently, Toyota is not selling new v's in the US anymore other than what is in inventory. I would consider finding one of the new ones and finance as long as you need to since it will easily last through the financing period, especially with the California warranty.
There are a number of CARB states, and a variety of years they became CARB states. The 2014 list of CARB States in the US | PriusChat If it was originally purchased in a CARB state and is now registered in a CARB state, you have the 150,000 mile / 10 year battery warranty. I am betting that is what "SUBLET OUT CYLINDER HEAD ~|~ ~|~118701 REMOVE CYL.HEAD AND INSPECT FOR FOUND HAS BLOWN HEAD GASKET SEND OUT MACH.SHOP FOR INSPETION NEEDS TO RESURFACE AND VALVE JOB" implies. They sent the Head out to be inspected and repaired and the machine shop resurfaced the head (planed) and did a valve job. They got experts to do a job a dealership is not able to do.
I would be more inclined to buy this prius, the other prius you buy will eventually blow its headgasket too. At least its already done, and it's had a valve job.
This is my thinking too. This generation of Prius is notorious for blowing head gaskets. If the work has already been done that would be a plus in my book. HV battery life is more a function of time vs mileage. You should be able to get a good 10 years out of the battery regardless of mileage in most instances.
There might be something to that, and of course if no one ever addressed the underlying problem for this headgasket failure it too will most likely fail again in the future. Would be more concerned with the EGR and the poorly designed cooler, has either been maintained or replaced? Is this vehicle for sale locally?
I'd guess the v is mechanically very similar to the 3rd gen Prius, same engine, EGR, PCV. Is it just revisions in the transaxle, and maybe something like ignition timing changes in the engine?
It is possible to read this paragraph to mean the v is different than the gen 3 or just that the feature was new on Gen 3. "Mechanically, the v shares its basic hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain with the standard Prius. New features include a Cool-EGR system, cool exhaust gas recirculation enhancing fuel efficiency, as well as liquid cooling for both of its electric motors in the car's hybrid transaxle (hitherto, only one had liquid cooling)." 2012 Toyota Prius v - Prius v Hatchback Review
They appear to share the same part #'s Egr Pipe - Toyota (25601-37010) | Camelback Toyota - EGR pipe Egr Valve - Toyota (25620-37120) | Camelback Toyota - EGR valve
Doesn't the ' v ' also have larger brakes/rotors, including wider spacing on the lugs? Besides wheel base and length, what else if different from the gen3? Would also be curious in knowing if the flat area length is the longer when one folds the rear seats down?
The wheels are 5 x 114 while the rest of Prius are 5 x 100. The final drive ratio is lower(higher numerically) limiting top speed to 103 MPH, but improving acceleration from a stop. The rear seats do not quite fold flat. in this picture notice the slight incline over the rear seats.
Back in the 60s, I owned an Alfa with an aluminum engine and one of the things you were supposed to have done periodically is to torque the head bolts and especially after any head work. Is that still done today?
I do remember at least one Prius v headgasket failures on here. everything is the same beside the power split device.
Good information Jimbo! The car was purchased in Indiana, which doesn't appear to be a CARB participant, so no warranty on battery.
Yes, local to me in Humboldt. Just found a 2015 in the Bay area with similar stats, so there are definitely California cars out there in the same price range. The 2015's are appealing for the enhanced small overlap crash rating.
How much were you looking to spend? None of these are a 2015. Guessing this post is probably fake or no longer available : 2013 Toyota Prius v Five 4dr Wagon - cars & trucks - by dealer - vehicle automotive sale or try 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS V 5, 4 DOOR WAGON, BLACK,, NAVIGATION, LEATHER ,CAN - cars & trucks - by dealer - vehicle automotive sale or try 2012 Prius V, Five trim, red, 125k miles, excellent condition - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle automotive sale
