Reinvesting in Prius 3 with 187k

Jose, I would ask, have you been using oil between oil changes?
If it has been using oil, I would get the new Prius

$5000 transaxle very reliable, change the ATF WS every 90,000 miles to keep it reliable
$4000 inverter, very reliable, never jump start another car, and avoid jump starting your Prius to keep it reliable.
$2000 engine, there are issues where it burns oil then blows the head gasket. If you are not using oil, great.

I hope this helps.

 

Welcome to Prius Chat .

In addition to Jimbo’s question, Some additional questions:

• What are your long term plans for your Prius as in if you fixed it, how long would you want to keep it?
• Have you done any preventative maintenance on your Prius like cleaning the egr circuit?
• Are you the DIY type?
• Would you be buying a brand new battery from Toyota?
• Have you looked at independent shops like @Hometown Hybrids in your area?

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

Personally? I wouldn't. I've got 145k on my 2010, bought new, and if it needed a $4000 fix now, I'd buy a new car. There's been a lot of technology and safety improvements in the last 8 years, my car has been paid off for many years, and I'll be ready to move on when the time comes.

My car is running just great right now and I hope to get many more years out of it before replacement.

Just my opinion.

 

you can get a battery for less than $4000.00 . try houston hybrid battery 1-800-217-7793. they have batterys for $1398.00 for prius 3

 

Aren't third gen batteries, new Toyota batteries, retailing for somewhere between $1500 and $2000 US now? And factor in $1000~1200 for the dealership install (basically 1/3 for labour, and 2/3 for the 3 year warranty that comes with dealership install).

With those numbers, you're looking at $2500 to $3200, plus tax. Maybe shop around all the dealerships first, and let them know what you're doing; maybe that'll bring them down a bit.

 

Your situation sounds just like mine. Mine went bad at 192k and I didn’t want to spend 4K for a new battery or 2k for a used with only 18k mile warranty. So I decided to just drive until the battery completely died and then get a new Prius. Well, it’s been over 9 months and 13k miles later the car is still working although the mileage is down a bit, maybe 3, 4 gallons per mile. I just have to turn off the check hybrid system light every so often with OBD2 scanner. My Prius has been perfect on the highway as the battery level always stays around 6 or 7 bars. It’s driving around a crowded parking lot looking for parking spot that turns on the check hybrid system light.

 

All good advice, but speaking as a diy person, the option of going deeper by investing in some easily to come by software apps (torque or fusion) and seeing if the batteries individual voltage values are way off or is it a lot of them giving the trouble might be worthwhile. There are a lot of utube videos out there of those who have diagnosed the problem, used their own labor and fixed the problem by installing new modules for only 30-40 dollars per module. Not for everybody, but doable.

 

As the battery gets further out of balance, can more serious stuff start happening if you ignore it, say venting, swelling cases, leaking? I wouldn't leave it too long.

 

What do you mean by "the oil light kept coming on" Has it come on? Do you let the oil get so low that the light comes on? If yes then I would just get rid of the car and be done with it.

 

Not recommending you do what I do at all. After the check hybrid system light came on I took it to a dealer to confirm the problem and they confirmed it. They said I should change the battery soon and rest the error light. I drove for a few hundred miles after that and read about the OBD2 scanner and ordered it to reset the light each time it came on. As I mentioned, I will drive it till the battery dies. The car is too old for me to spend more money. It’s at almost 209k miles now and it feels like it.

 

My opinion is that it is not "normal" for an engine to use an excessive amount of oil...especially to the point where the check engine light comes on.

My 2012 Prius has 186k miles on it. I just checked and cleaned the EGR system and the intake manifold. There was definitely oil in there, but I have never once had to add oil between oil changes. I suppose I have changed the oil 20 times over the life of the vehicle, so it's not unreasonable or inconceivable to think that it maybe used 1/8 of a quart every 10,000 miles, but if you are getting a CEL between oil changes, I would consider that a problem.

If my battery went out tomorrow, I would surely buy an AM one, but of mine was using oil like yours, I would think twice. I am hoping to get another 3 - 4 years out of mine ($120k) take it to 300k before I replace it...most likely with another Prius.

Best of luck!

 

Yes, it is a 'feature' of the Atkinson cycle, fuel and air enter the cylinder and are pumped back out, with a little oil from the cylinder walls.

 

No, Gen 3 batteries are still at same prices as last year. They did not decrease and are not $1,500-$2,000 now.
Only Gen 2 batteries dropped in price as of the first of the year; not Gen 3.

I have generally seen Gen 3 packs around $3,500 give or take a few hundred.

 

The safety features alone justify a new car every 10 years.

 

Don't spend $4k on a new battery. You can shop around, but beware of prices that don't include installation. If the price is very low, then you have to pay that particular dealer to install. The lowest I've seen is in KC at $2,200 installed- but you have to find a way to get the car out to KC. In Vegas, it would cost ~$2,800 installed. Again, it has to be installed at a particular dealership in Vegas. I'm confident you can do better than $4k in Texas.

One caveat to consider: There is a ~$1,350 core charge for the new hybrid battery. You'll get that back if you currently have the original battery. But if you open/tampered with your OEM traction battery, or install an aftermarket battery, then you'll have to add $1,350 to the cost of a new OEM traction battery. (I don't know how Toyota would know if the battery was tampered with.)

Good luck and keep us updated on your plans.

 

If my bad hv battery can last just a few more months, I will probably get another prius. No car like it. Today I got over 60mpg over 40miles of driving. Not too shabby for bad hv battery.