Newbie to the Prius family - bought an auction car that should be delivered Friday. It has 139k miles so was going to ask for opinions on maintenance to do. Was thinking the water pumps? Has many records on Carfax but minimal details to know what was done.
Well, looks like car will need a head gasket. What would the group say about difficulty of diy? I have replaced suspensions, plugs, starters, alternators, etc. but never a HG. Is this something I should try myself?
The Toyota Owners website sometimes tells you more than the Carfax does. The thing is it will only tell you what has been done at the Toyota dealership, not anywhere else. I would start off with an oil change, engine air filter and cabin air filter replacement, and then inspect the suspension, the brakes, and the tires. After those things, I would check the record to see if the coolant, the spark plugs, and the transmission fluid have ever been changed. Both coolants are supposed to be changed at 100k. Spark plugs at 120k. I'm not sure about the interval on the transmission fluid.
With those miles, and up for sale, the odds do increase some, but yeah, jumping to conclusions? See first link in my signature.
Nope, when I got it coolant reservoir was empty and lots of white exhaust that smelled like coolant. Went to clean intake last night and after removing the throttle body, the bottom of the intake is filled with chocolate milkshake. Even the back of the throttle body is coated in it. Going to drain the oil tonight but pretty sure my initial diagnosis is correct unfortunately.
Haven't really driven it except driveway. Good thing considering the oil. Engine sounds pretty smooth actually, no knocks, etc.
It's at the dealer - blown gasket. Unsure yet if head is warped. No other shop around where I live wanted to mess with the gasket or engine replacement.
@douglasjre since you have way more experience than I do - have any recommendations for a 13 v head gasket inspection / replacement one state up from you?
Interesting for mine, when I made a Toyota Owner's account, I can see the dealer record where the previous owner brought it in last June with a cylinder 1 misfire. They replaced the coils/plugs - surprised that a head gasket wasn't looked at during that visit.
It's a common story here; guess replacing coils and plugs is low hanging fruit, and a money maker. In previous owner's shoes, I would DIY inspect/clean the plugs, and swap cylinder one and four coil, see if it made any difference to the code. Still, with 139K, and assuming no previous EGR cleaning, and cylinder one misfire...
i would search high and low for a mech to do an engine swap. it's not a big deal, and dealer is likely to be outrageous