For those not familiar with that phrase, it means I'm looking for those hidden things that will bite me. Anyway, looking to buy (for my grandson's first car), a Gen 3, trim level lll, 125k, well kept that is being put up for sale because present owner needs something bigger. Generally, what kinds of problems should I look out for now and anticipate in the future. Battery? I wanted to get the opinions and experience of the experts. Thanks in advance, folks!
This is something you want to rethink immediately You're looking at cars that are now what 10 years old minimal or generation 3 stopped in 2016 or something 2015 and it's 2025 definitely rethink this for a kid teenager or 20 something year old a Corolla or a Yaris will keep your sanity and his a lot longer If you want calls everyday about a light coming on and another light coming on and something flashing and so on and so forth for the next five or six years until you can get out of that which is what that will become save yourself a bunch of trouble The Corolla and the Yaris have no batteries for traction and electric motors they have reliable engines and easily go two or $300,000 miles and get a few miles to the gallon less than the Prius with none of the maintenance issues and I mean almost none Read here for all of the gen 3 maintenance and nonsense issues and you will run very quickly from this particular series Gen 3 and 4 I wouldn't fool with personally there are many here who will and are It cost money for a few extra gallons of fuel mileage can be very costly You can be an a Gen 3 with $7,000 and still not be moving It is possible people have done it many times these things are boat anchors sitting around people's yards all over the east coast and then he will tell you they are just not worth fixing but you do what you feel is best remember this text when the time comes
*deep breath* The hybrid battery tends to last 12-15 years in that model, so count from the year it was made. The brake booster is a $3,000ish problem that can affect these cars at about the same age. Head gaskets are problematic on that model- there's a long running argument regarding the cause, but either way the early symptom is a rough clattery engine start. If you catch it quick a replacement gasket and a new Toyota water pump will probably keep it going a long time. If you don't catch it quick, a replacement engine rapidly becomes the best cure. This one is complicated if the seller either doesn't know that the head gasket is compromised, or doesn't know how long ago it started, or is not truthful with the buyer about the status and timing of the problem. And it's difficult to verify air conditioner function in a Maryland winter, but every bit as expensive to fix a non-functional one come summer, so watch for that. The very short version: A Prius is a very complicated car, and when complicated things get old they get expensive. Not a good choice for saving money, especially when gas prices are this low and many non-Hybrid cars are also getting good MPG. Corollas, Civics, Fits, Sparks, Accents and even Versas are much better choices for students.
This one might not be so difficult with a capable scan tool. The A/C will run with the windshield defogger. With a scan tol you can watch the watts consumed by the electric compressor, and watch the refrigerant pressure on the high side. I think I've seen where a later generation's A/C ECU will even calculate based on the wattage, pressure, and temperature, and report whether the refrigerant charge is correct, though I haven't seen that with my own eyes.
