Hi everyone! My 2010 Prius is at the dealership and needs a new brake actuator, which is about $3000 - It's the same issue Toyota did a recall for, but of course my Prius isn't covered! I've been debating just seeing if I could trade it in and go with something newer and less costly to maintain - maybe a Corolla. :-/ I didn't realize when I first purchased my Prius how expensive maintenance and repairs could get with a hybrid. Fortunately when my hybrid battery needed to be replaced last month, it was just within the warranty. I was wondering what any of you might do in this situation.... I don't know if I should pay for the repairs and just keep the Prius, fearing that something else super expensive may go wrong, or just get a different vehicle as soon as I can. However, now with the hybrid battery and potentially the brake actuator being replaced, what other super costly things would I really have to worry about? Maybe with those two things fixed, I can get a few more good years out of this car. Opinions? Thanks!!
It depends on your pocket right now. If you got the money, go for the new one. But of you don't have enough dollars, you could get a used one from a totaled Prius, and have someone installed it for you, or DIY. Your fears aren't.... As long as your HV battery has being replaced with a new one already, you got no issues in the future. Inverter assembly don't fail that much. You may need to bear in mind that the inverter pump might be what needs to be replaced in future, since they too fail. Have done servicing your egr, replaced spark plugs, etc? Those are the only things you've got to detail with in future. Don't fret about the Prius. Its a nice, and reliable car. I don't know the mileage of the car though. Dxta
Thank you so much for your helpful response. The mileage is about 95,200! I'm going to go through with the repair at the dealership for now. Thanks for the heads-up about the inverter pump. I turned my Prius on one day two weeks ago and noticed that the air conditioning wasn't cold like it usually is for the short drive around town I was on - it was a one-time occurrence and it's been fine and back to normal ever since. I'm going to research symptoms and hope that that doesn't become more frequent. I wonder if there is anything else I can do to be proactive about the inverter pump - is that something someone can check ahead of time and tell if it's on its way out? Sorry if that's a dumb question. I really don't know much about Prius maintenance to be honest - I just faithfully take mine in for service every 5000 miles. But the issues of the past month or so make me really want to educate myself about my Prius a bit more, so I've definitely spent a lot of time on these forums this week! I'm admittedly nervous to post anything because I don't really know what I'm talking about.. hehe But anyway.... I had previously leased a beautiful 2013 Prius in California, and upon moving to Hawaii 2 and a half years ago, I purchased a used 2010 Prius and have to deal with all the issues of having a used island car now!
Get an independent evaluation from a third party mechanic. Some dealers take advantage of Prius owners. They know we’re used to conventional cars’ maintenance schedules. For example, I had a dealer want to put brake pads on mine at 30,000 miles. Another mechanic said, “Aw, hell, no! Come here!” I followed him to the garage. He showed me the pads, measured them with a micrometer, then showed me the specs for recommended changes. I had them changed at 110,000 miles or so... — Bill Burkholder
I don't know why. Bad luck? There was a recall for this issue on other Priuses as I mentioned, so it's obviously a common problem, and unfortunate that mine wasn't covered in the recall.
Great point, Bill - thank you! I did find an independent place specializing in hybrids on the island that I plan on using in the future after this experience with the dealership. Unfortunately we don't have many options on Oahu!
