I am scared

Did you miss a digit?

 

"Cross posting the cables, even briefly, can cost $500."

This varies by Generation, but Gen 3 and the v have a serviceable DC to DC converter. Admittedly $500 is just the part, labor will set you back as well.

In earlier Generations, the entire Inverter needs to be replaced, which can be $3000 in parts alone.

 

When I was looking, I only cared about mileage and condition- who cares if it's a 2012 or a 2016?

 

If your state taxes personal property, with the car of equivalent condition, the 2012 would be a better deal.

 

There are several reasons people might care.

The 2012-2014 miserably failed the IIHS "Small overlap front: driver-side" crash test earning the lowest "Poor" rating. That has become one of the most common real world collision types that causes injury. The 2015-up was redesigned and got the IIHS highest "Good" rating in the same crash test.

A power driver seat became available beginning with the 2014 models. The driver seat is my #1 complaint about our 2012. I've verified that the newer power driver seat addresses the problem.

The optional Pre-Collision System (PCS) on the 2012-2014 failed IIHS tests and got zero points/bars. The redesigned PCS on the 2015-up was found by the IIHS to be much more effective and got a medium (2-bar) effectiveness rating.

While the standard incandescent headlights on the 2015-2017 are rated Poor by the IIHS and people on this forum have often complained about the incandescent headlights on the 2012-2014 being bad, the revised bi-LED headlights on the 2015-up Prius v Five got the 2nd highest rating ("Acceptable") from the IIHS. The 2015-up Prius v Five with the Advanced Technology Package which has "Auto High Beam" was the first vehicle that earned the IIHS highest "Good" headlight rating.

The quad LED headlights on the 2012-2014 Prius v Five "seem" to be reasonably good but they don't have the Auto High Beam feature.

Our 2012 Prius v Five/ATP reached 44,000 miles yesterday. If it was a 2015 or newer Prius v Five/ATP we'd likely keep it for a few more years instead of planning to replace it in mid-2020.

 

Don't do it......... Gas is cheap... Get a Good MPG ECE................. way lower cost if you plan on keeping it a long time....

 

That crash test was introduced almost exactly the same day as the car, so they had no time to plan.

About our tests

 

Being on a forum will always highlight all the negative experiences from a car, being it’s a small concentrated group of owners posting about similar issues (good or bad) in the same place. What you have to realize is this community is a small percentage of the pool of Prius owners; there is a good amount of non car enthusiasts that just drive their car and don’t ever have a problem on their pri.. even with poor maintenance. You will just be way more informed than those owners being here.

 

hey..................Merry Christmas!
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Don't do it.................