2012 Prius engine blown at 179.000 miles!

Its not an unusual story according to one of my more honest dealers who will let you talk to the mechanics. In 2016 the hatchbacks got a redesigned 1.8 (but not the Prius v). Gen3 head gasket failures and high oil consumption along with brake actuators and clogged egr coolers take the shine off good mpg. A car pushing 200k will need a hv battery soon making it hard to justify a new engine. The car would barely sell for more than $7k with the new motor. There are good used 50k mile 1.8s from Japan for ~$1000 plus labor that would make better sense in gen3s. You executed the best advice, trading it for a new, much improved hybrid. Consider selling it around 150k which is also the 2020 hybrid battery warranty.

 

Check your oil frequently on your new ride, which pretty much guarantees you'll never have a problem. It has essentially the same engine, but pistons and rings that are supposedly less prone to resulting in oil consumption*. Wouldn't hurt to go back to 5k oil change interval too.

* 2010 through 2013 Prius model year, plus partway thru 2014, have pistons and rings tailored for mpg, but pushed too far, more prone to end up with excessive oil consumption problems.

Was is Prius or Prius v btw, I'm not clear. Same engine anyway.

 

How often were you pulling the dipstick prior to the Denver incident?

Even when a car is under warranty, most carmakers don't care/won't react to a 1qt per 3,000 mile burn or loss rate. If you aren't pulling the dipstick at least every 3k that's bad.

Now, once a low-oil situation has happened, it's a whole new ballgame. That engine is going to need even more frequent level checks to keep up with it.

It outlasted the warranty, indeed it did 179,000 miles across 8 years. This really isn't a terrible result. Not long ago those stats would have gone out with a cheer!

I would have wished for more too, but I can't say you didn't get your moneys' worth.

EDIT: thought of a better summary

Your faith was apparently not shaken; you say already bought another Prius.

If there's a real complaint here, it's your experience buying that replacement car. I'm actually quite sympathetic to that, I really did not enjoy the experience of buying our 2018 c.

 

idk how what year your other cars were, but toyota's likely don't go 400k anymore

 

Second gen had a relatively rudimentary EGR, did it's job, didn't iimpose. Third gen, to achieve cleaner and more fuel efficient standards, introduced a more elaborate (and in hindsight, very clog-prone) EGR, and lower friction pistons/rings (in hindsight etcetera, etcetera...). Both those intro's were rushed to market with insufficient testing, and are killing the engines.

 

I bought a couple of Toyotas in the 80's but I got shanked by 2 different dealerships, and haven't owned one since.....so I HAVE no loyalty to defend here, but I think that Yota held up their end of the bargain.
I am not aware of a car manufacturer that guarantees their product to last more than 8 years or 180,000 miles - even if it were being properly maintained by it's owner - which yours was not.
The warranty and maintenance guide specifically states that you should check your oil every 30 days/1k which obviously was not happening otherwise you would not have run the car out of oil.......twice.
Those two events didn't damage your engine nearly as much as the days and days and days that you drove the car BEFORE the 'change owner' light came on.

You may want to get a second opinion on your car's diagnosis.
No....you're not going get another 220,000 miles out of that engine but I've always been amazed that people DRIVE cars to a repair facility and then accept it as an article of faith that they can not, or at least shouldn't drive them back home.
You have a 2012 with 180,000 miles and a knackered engine, but it's still worth more than $1,000.
The dealership was trying (lying) to sell you another car WHILE cheating you out of the much of the remaining value of the car that you DROVE there.

If you've done ANY passing research in this forum for G3's (2010-2015) you cannot help but to have noted that they have 1 significant design flaw - which is the EGR cooler, and one medium-significant design issue which is the aforementioned piston rings.
Curiously...people who do not maintain a closed-hood maintenance programme manage to get 200-400k out of these 'defective' Priuses and even the abused and neglected cars (like those in our fleet) are managing to hold together for upwards of 200,000 miles.

You didn't get a lemon.
You turned lemonade into a lemon.

The GOOD news is that your Prime has the G4 engine which has the newer pistons and a rejiggered EGR circuit.
4 years in....this power plant has proven to be pretty reliable, and I'm not hearing of very many problems with this car.
The other good news is that even with its very humble EV range, the Prime will place fewer demands on this engine.
HOWEVER (comma!!!)
Filters and fluids are still going to be just as important for seeing a Prime go from 399,999 to 400,000 miles as they were for the G3s.

Good Luck!

 

After getting our 2010 we went to an New Owner's night, shepherded around by the Service Manager. At one point he proclaimed "our goal is to make it so you never need to pop the hood", or words to that effect. I felt like a mole...

 

If you're a car SELLER....that's a lofty goal.
Teaching people how to properly maintain their cars means that in some cases they KEEP them a lot longer.

 

nice one!

Shankadelic, baby!

awesome post btw

 

A Prius is really only effective against fuel costs when fuel is expensive or travel needs (in miles) are extreme. 179k / 8 years = 22k miles per year. That's only what, 50% above nat'l average? Yeah, a hybrid won't really pay for itself until you're driving a good bit more.

That Prime plug-in changes the game a bit, or at least creates potential for deeper savings if your electrical rates are low enough and individual trips short enough.

Good luck with the new one!

 

250,000... 10 w 40 T6 close to 1 quart every 6,000.... Mobile 1 Synthetic oil filter
I check the stick 2 or 3 times a week..... ad a bit every week.... keep it topped off. 2 or 3 minutes a week time spent. Car does have a Oil Catch Can. I have 5 vehicles and this car is the biggest oil user..... and the lowest miles of my 4 wheeled vehicles. It's possible that it wouldn't use any oil if I was the original owner....

 

That's why I tell people don't buy a used Gen 3. Russian Roulette, I have never bought a new car.... get a ICE if your buying a used car unless it has pretty low miles. If any repairs pop up it will much cheaper and a lot simpler.

 

I use 5W30 Castrol Titanium Extended Performance,and I change my own Oil Every 3K Miles Regardless Of Anyone's Opinions.I Also Recommend Wix XP Oil Filter Over the Other Brands.Motorkote Has Also Been A Great Oil Additive For Me. Good Luck With Opinions On Oil Changes And Oil.

 

Yes I would agree. My 2012 Prius also blew HG and consequent bent rod at 177K. Too bad, it was at Toyota dealership just two weeks before for severe shaking issue at startup and they "cleaned" EGR for $1000 to no avail. Hybrids in general with electric power train adds possibility of very expensive repairs such as broken generator, inverter, high voltage battery etc. But even worse for gen3 prius is that much of the serious problems with gen 3 prius seem to be mostly in the engine, which is nearly identical to corolla engine in design (except for atkinson cycle).

 

That severe shaking was the bad head gasket.... I'd go there and tell them u want your $$$ back.
They should have known better.

 

I replaced the engine in my 2012 Prius V at 171k,this past December. I just purchased the traction battery today as my Prius won’t get over 30mpg and the traction battery is constantly charging instead of doing it’s full job at helping make the car move. The car has 187k on it now. I’m basically married to it after the engine install which I did myself and purchased a remanufactured engine instead of used.