Just curious, but how many miles can a typical Prius go for before retirement to the great scrap yard in the sky? I’m about 280k and that’s pretty ludicrous to me, yet I’m contemplating sinking money into it to replace the head gasket. Just not sure how long these miracle machines can go for.
When our first Prius reached 100k I was nervous and I asked the Service Manager at the dealership. At that time it seemed like everyone was dissing drive battery lifespans. He said to not worry about it until your well past 300k.
Probably not worth the money.....UNLESS other major high mileage expected repairs have already been done. Like the hybrid battery. And the CAT converter. And prior to the head gasket failing, how was the oil usage ??
A lot depends on your other $2,500 exposures given 280,000 on the odo. Inverter, brake booster, hv battery. If several have already been updated then the engine expenditure makes better sense. Especially if the car is otherwise solid. Buying anything else right now is expensive, so that is a factor as well. On a hatchback the inverter may be less of a concern but it is a common failure on a gen3 v.
typically 150-200k. it just depends on how much you want to sink into maintenance and repairs vs the cost of moving on. everyone is different
There are delivery drivers and taxis that have made 500,000 miles. But you dig deeper and find they have replaced two head gaskets, one engine, a brake booster, three hv batteries, a catalytic converter, four wheel bearings and two sets of brake pads. Along with a handful of 12v batteries and water pumps. Generally the body still looks good and the ac works. Usually commercial fleets can stand one or two cars out of service for a week. Since these owners can write off repairs and routine maintenance, they make volume pricing deals with quality mechanics and roll up the miles. For most owners, the escalating frequency of major maintenance outweighs high mileage bragging rights. Exception: 2021 and empty new car lots.
Great info! I've only ran into the brake booster issue thus far. Hard to judge, I never wrote down my mileage and oil changes. I roughly do 100 miles per day and use roughly a 5 quart jug of Mobile One a month. I'm pretty sure my CAT is toast. That's insane and incredible!!! I've heard myths (maybe?) about million mile Tacomas.
For any car I'd agree 100%, but for the prius? Those numbers seem a little low given all of the 300k+ machines people keep touting on these forums.
Assuming a 6 day week, that is about 2400 miles a month. 5 quarts in only 2400 miles is a pretty good sign that your engine is "toast" too. Note: Paying for synthetic oil just to have it pumped out the tail pipe is kind of silly. So far, you have provided NO good reason to keep the old girl. Pull the plug.
But, of course, you have no gauge of how many other brands/models have 300K+ vehicles still on the road. Forum reports tend to magnify the real situation.......both bad and good.
For second gen prius yes. And probably for fourth gen as well. But third gen has an Achilles Heel. My hypothesis is that it's due to the newly implemented EGR system clogging, which ultimately causes head gasket failure. Info on that in my signature.
My experience is some service managers are just good ol boy ex service advisors who never understood hybrid technology. Service advisors are good at making you feel good but a complicated diagnosis is simply relayed from their service mechanics. A battery life projection of 300k on most hybrid batteries is not supported. What he really meant was don't worry about it until it happens to you.
Truer words never spoken. Typical milage? Is there even really such a thing. I'm sure if you due preventative maintenance and stay on top of it you'll get 200k miles easy. On the flip side people seem to trade their cars at an average of 150k miles (? Saw it here somewhere, don't quote me on that) and I've also read a few people anecdotally saying that after that mark the major repairs start to pop up. It's a balancing act like any car. When the repairs exceed the value get out. I think the main culprit here is that hybrid system repairs can become expensive in a real hurry.
I’ve seen a lot of correlations here, ‘tween clogged EGR and head gasket letting go. And when you check on a fundamental component, see it’s near-completely clogged with carbon, you think “that can’t be good”. Yeah that’s what my money’s on.
That is putting it mildly. The cause and effect link is pretty shaky. Typically, there is no "cause" for head gasket failure except poor design or rough use with overheating. And maybe just age. These other things found to be "wrong" on the high mileage engines with failed gaskets may have nothing to do with each other.
Rust is a bigger concern than miles. Part swapping and engine fixes are easy compared to body/frame work. What does the underside look like? If it clean with minimal surface rust, it should be fine. If it's on the heavier side for rust and corrosion, it is done.
