Hi there, Original owner of a 2013 Prius III w/ solar roof here. 82k miles on the clock. Car has been trouble-free so far. Oil changes every 10k, new set of tires last year. I averaged a solid 48mpg on the car for the first 5 years or so, then the dealer performed a recall on the ECU and my mpg has never recovered. I struggle to get above 45mpg on a tank when I hypermile it (55 mph on the highway, minimal braking, etc.). Average mpg for the last year is about 42. I've been lurking the forum here now and again, and I see quite a few individuals who are having major mechanical issues with 2010-2012 models, and some on the 2013-2015 models. I'm considering jumping ship while the car still has some value and hasn't had any issues. Anyone care to talk me off the ledge?
it's probably a clogged egr circuit. serious diy, or a grande at a dealer. important to do or sell, otherwise, you might need a head gasket. does she burn any oil between changes? no need to sell from my perspective. i'm not a long term owner, but at 74k, i will be holding on to mine until something amazing comes along.
I wouldn't sell it for at least another 30k miles if it has no problems, but that gas mileage is disappointing. Don't fear the headgasket terror, even if it does happen, and it might not, they don't usually fail until well over 100k miles. There are thousands of 2010-2015 Prius owners out there that have never heard of an egr cleanout and have had no problems with their cars on up into the 200k miles. They just don't come here to post that.
Well, I just sold a 2010 Prius III with solar roof at 106K miles. Never had mechanical problems. My mileage decreased about 5%-7% over time, looking back at 2010-11 versus 2020-21. Also, tires may have an effect. I saw 1-2mpg. Did you switch tire brands? On the other hand, trade-in values are high now. Carmax gave me $6500 which is about $1500 more than what I expected.
without knowing your financial situation and current other cars owned, you sell this car how will you drive around? Will you take public transportation? If you have a tree that money grows from (metaphor) sure sell it and move up to an electric vehicle. Why stick to a prius when your loaded.
Thanks for the reply. No oil disappearing between oil changes. Hope it stays this way! I switched from the factory Yokohama tires to Michelin X-Tour Michelin X Tour A/S T+H Tires | Michelin. I'll head down to Carmax and see what they offer. I haven't sold a car to them in the past, but I was tempted because of their high offer. I'm pretty frugal, so I tend to hold on to things as long is it makes sense. However, if I sold the car I would turn around and either buy a new RAV4 Hybrid or Prime, or potentially look at what is available used in the 2-3 year-old market.
Jump! Are you still on the ledge? OK. That means you're not really serious...otherwise you would not be trying to have somebody talk you down rather than relying on gravity. So.... If you're hypermiling with an 8-year-old gas burner that tells me that you're price sensitive because if you were a dedicated tree-hugger you would have upgraded to a PHEV or a BEV by now. This means you probably live where gas is expensive enough to be worried about fuel efficiency. I also deduce that you maintain a closed-hood maintenance philosophy.....maybe throwing the keys at somebody every 10k to "maintain" your vehicle, since you only mentioned changing oil and tires. Your car is maybe in pretty good shape mechanically and so you're getting close to the point where you're either going to have to start maintaining THIS car....or getting into another one before something icky happens. Statistically, you have about another 40,000 miles or so before your car starts needing more regular maintenance and repair. I disregard the notion of the word "value" with "car"....because unless it's something like a '70 'cuda AAR, it's not "valuable" but rather a transportation expense/convenience item that has to be managed. So.... This isn't a 'math' problem but rather a function of economics...which has about as much to do with math as politics does. You can express SOME things with numbers, and going by raw numbers the Prius isn't a BAD car to own....BUT(!!) if you value some things more or less like early or even on-time retirement....college for you or your children.....healthcare expenses....your time.....income to debt ratio....what other people think about you...how much time you spend in traffic...then you begin to see that we need some more information about you other than Prius Driver.....2013 G3.....82k miles.....marginally maintained.....probably lives in California. Or? Stay on the ledge. This is an exceptionally bad time to buy a new car. There's a year's worth pent-up demand, and lingering supply and distribution issues. The economy is trying to digest more money than has ever been "created" in human history, and fuel prices although low....are getting more volatile. Your call. Good Luck!
there are tons of new cars to choose from. buy whatever looks like it will make you happy today, keep it for a month or two to be sure you like it, then sell your current "trade in" is highly suspect. pay cash or don't buy
You did well. Bought the car for the gas mileage, worst part of the car is the "tree-hugger" appearance As far as maintenance, I'm no mechanic, but outside the included 2 "free" oil changes from Toyota I've been taking care of it on my own. I follow the maintenance schedule that came with the car as far as air filters, topping up coolant, etc. Haven't lost more than a small amount of coolant over this time as well. DIY at heart. How involved is the EGR cleanout? Is there a thorough set of instructions of a video of the process? No interest in a "trade-in" here - just looking for the most effective way to sell the car if I need to. Having a price from Carmax sets the bar for what I would consider "low-ballers" in a private sale.
^In that case I offer a genuine apology for the presumption that your car was 'marginally' maintained. I would clean out the EGR proactively....do a (real) throttle body clean and inspect, and maybe change the transaxle fluid proactively and then drive it until you knock down about 120,000 miles and then reassess. If you're in a CARB state, you're covered for "hybridy" type stuff for another couple of years anyway. If not....you're probably covered by fairly good engineering for more than that. In addition to the below video, our own @NutzAboutBolts has some other vids that will keep your car on the road and reliable as heck for probably another 10 years in your case. Oh....and it will still be pretty fuel efficient too! Good Luck!
It's the perfect time to sell that car. Demand is strong and you've retained value in it thus far. You've had a proper car's worth of service out of it and you can get out with a perfect record. It is far from the perfect time to get a replacement car. Demand is strong and you will face competition, particularly for that RAV4 plugger. Consider both sides together for your best move.
And she’s gone! You can thank the insane used car market - CarMax offered $11k, almost KBB private party value for my area. Sold it and picked up a new Mazda CX-5 GT - I get to enjoy driving again! Toyota’s lots are half-empty and dealers are adding markup on anything worth buying, so RAV4 became unattainable. Mazda had plenty of inventory which made negotiating a great deal very simple.
Toyota's lot was half empty, Mazda's was full.... Makes ya wonder who's buying what and what isn't being bought????
