Hey all just stopped here to say, im loving the V I picked it up with some problems just for a project, something to do really at the time I did not know exactly what i was going to do with it once fixed but i have been driving it almost exclusively for the last couple of weeks since fixing it and really quite like it, its not as zippy as the hatch and uses a bit more fuel but i find it has much better road manners with the slightly bigger wheel base, wheels & suspension etc .. and it can haul bigger junk than regular Prius a noticeable difference. Also really enjoying the more colourful instrument cluster and the stereo bangs compared to my old gen3 Just a bit nervous about all the abs bits and lithium battery in the console (AU 7 seater) oh well hopefully it lasts a while before giving me too much grief but if something dies I will just have to fork out for parts and fix it V ery nice
They're nice to drive and the level of utility is astounding. They really nailed those parts of the design process. Sadly they became very expensive to operate later in life, but hopefully you'll extract enough value to call it fair dinkum. Good luck!
We bought ours back in late 2011 because of the improved ride and size. One feature it has is pitch and bounce control which makes it particularly smooth at highway speeds. However pitch and bounce is part of the brake booster/abs/master cylinder and makes that part more expensive on a v. Also the ac is upsized on a v and is very effective even 14 years later. Suspension and brakes are original at 523,000 km except rear pads changed preemptively with hub. One new oem nimh battery (no aftermarket fire starters for me), inverter, brake booster, three hubs, intake manifold, tpms sensors, one egr cooler and revised valve and many oil and coolant changes at 50% recommended intervals. Michelins last 145,000 km to 160,000 km. I can understand why Toyota sold them with gen3 engines until 2022 in many countries, especially after revised pistons/rings and egr valves/software took care of hg issues.
The v is a great road car, a worthy replacement for a Dodge Grand Caravan, at three times the gas mileage, even at highway speeds.
RJ when did you do the brake booster? I know about the revised piston rings from 2015- but what did they change about the EGR and software for the V to help with head gasket failure?.. do 2015- versions of v run the EGR plumbing post catalyst like gen 4 Mine has the lithium battery in console, I'm not sure how to feel about that I have heaps of good spare NiMH modules but no spare lithiums Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
No major change to EGR with third gen or v. There is a revised EGR valve, and a software update, but I doubt it is any sort of panacea. I’d stick with stock EGR, clean at least every 50k miles. Budget a weekend.
My brake booster was changed in 2019 I believe. The configuration of the egr cooler, valve and intake remain the same in the later v's sold overseas. Those parts and ecu software were changed. Overseas software is different than US versions but all were revised several times. In 2016 a second egr TSB in the US recommended egr valve updates and software for 2010-15 Prius' including plugin and v's. That kit is less than the valve alone. It recommends an ecu software update. This TSB is to prevent egr valves sticking open at low rpms with resulting misfires. The intake was revised several times as well. This 2015 TSB recommended this part. The attached 2014 European TSB specifically addressed head gasket fails and was considered a smoking gun by many. Note the US TSBs above came later. Regardless of local hyperbole, newer overseas v's have a clean record while still running a gen3 engine. Interestingly outside the US, engine and coolant change intervals were 50% of the extended US periods. I elected to follow Toyota recommendations rather than cleaning egr coolers that I could see with a scanner were flowing.
Interesting read RJ thanks for the info, I don't see any mention of a head gasket repair or replacement engine on your 500+km V ? We are currently running with thoroughly cleaned EGR components and manifold and a new head gasket so I won't rush out and replace the valve however will keep an eye on things every 50-ish K km .. I have seriously considered disconnecting the egr plug as others have suggested but haven't yet, I figure it's clean at the moment so why bother, also need to buy an oil catch can over the next few days and get that on there for good measure. Not much info on here about (factory fit) lithium battery models, it seems to be good at the moment anyway so I will try not to panic about it, would love to know if this car shares the same cell modules with any other Toyota hybrids like the early plug-ins just to get an idea of how reliable I should expect it to be We hear or read a lot of horror stories on here about abs booster and pump failures amongst other things but I want to hear from the ones with high kilometres that haven't had an issue. The way my brain works it has to know why things happen, it's seriously very annoying.. I mean does this happen more in hot/cold climates, vehicles used more in cities or freeway, people that jam the pedal or mostly feather the pedal, why? .. Been perusing the 4th gen forum lately as we also have a 4th gen in the family and it seems like those cars do not suffer with the same brake failures as their predecessors .. nice to read the EGR/ head gasket failure issues have been sorted on those also, it's just a shame literally 5 minutes in the driver's seat of the 4th gen has my back aching Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
