Our 2006 Prius lost power last week while running and had to be towed. Our Toyota dealership said the engine needs to be replaced. Rates were from $3,300 - 7,000 depending on how old the replacement engine was. Seems like a big expense for a 14-year old car with 210,000 miles. I've called around to other local shops and none of them will work on a Prius. The dealership said they'd give us $500 as a trade-in value which seems pretty awful, but the only way to get it out of there is towing it again. What are our options? Few other items to consider: The heat shield fell off two months ago The trunk button piece is falling off (started this year) Otherwise, the car has run great for us. It's had regular maintenance and no major work. Two owners: my wife's parents and us. Must be 2020.
Welcome to PriusChat!! What symptoms did you experience when the vehicle lost power? (it died, bunch of lights on the dash, gas peddle did nothing, etc.) Did the stealership supply a receipt or a piece of paper with five digit OBD2 codes (ex: P0A93) that point towards a new engine? Did you pay them for their expert opinion, or was this a free vehicle inspection or "code scan" service?
Thanks for the welcome! My wife was driving it. She said at least the check engine and red triangle lights came on and the gas peddle did nothing. She said it moved again a few feet after stopping, but that was it. She said she noticed the engine making a rattling sound a day or so before. Stealership is a good name for it. I've been to them a few times because around here no one wants to look at a Prius. I called four local shops and they all said they wouldn't do work on a hybrid. In the past, the dealership has given me the codes with a price estimate of fixing the problems. They didn't give me any codes this time.
You can probably get a good used engine relatively inexpensive but you’ll still be in for a lot of labor. If you really love the car maybe, but likely the cost to repair will be too high relative to the value of the car (unless you DIY).
I've done some basic DIY; replacing the inverter water pump was the most I've done, so I definitely couldn't handle some of these other pieces. Is there a way to get better value out of the car than just $500 as trade-in?
If you can't do the work yourself I would not replace the engine, totally not worth it. The best way to get the most money out of it will be to part it out. Hack the catalytic convertor alone is around $1000 assuming you still have the original one.
+1 on what SFO mentioned, get a printout on why the dealer suggests a new engine. These engines don't fail that easily...unless you ran out of oil. There are many other reasons why a car will get disabled and it doesn't always lead to a new engine. If you join the AAA auto club, they will be able to tow your car. It takes 7 days for the membership to kick in for tows. So join now so you'll be able to tow the car if you need to (again).
Other states could be different, as this was from calstate.aaa.com : AAA Roadside Assistance & Towing Service 24 hours / 7 days Can I use AAA immediately? AAA Emergency Roadside Service benefits are available 48 hours after you first purchase your Membership. If you run out of gas or your car breaks down before then, however, you can pay a $75 fee to waive the waiting period and get help right away. Free immediate towing is limited to five miles; after the first five miles, a per-mile fee (that varies by location) will apply.
Did you pay the dealer an "inspection fee", if so then they're supposed to supply you with the "report" that you've paid for. You may want to consider scanning for OBD2 codes (DTCs) yourself, one approach is to purchase an OBD2 bluetooth adapter for use with an App like Dr Prius or Torque. If you want to scan for OBD2 codes using the same software the dealership technicians use to diagnose, service or repair with, then you would purchase a "mini-vci" cable ($20) and use a copy of techstream on a windows device.
Yes, selling multiple parts is typically more money than selling the whole vehicle but it is not the "best way" by a loooooooong shot IMO. Best has many meanings and for me (and I'd suspect most others) in this scenario "best" means the most money for the least effort. Parting out is easily the most effort of the selling choices. OTOH, donating it to a charity (they tow away) and writing it off on one's taxes is about the lowest effort. Selling on CL for $1500 cash is somewhere in between. OP, how much oil is on the dipstick? Get the codes. Since they don't fail much, used engines are fairly cheap IMO. GOOD LUCK!
