Hi everyone. Am a long time Lurker here and just thought I noticed something of a trend today. It seems like a lot of issues with the Gen 2 Prius seem to be isolated to 06-09 issues. Take the HID problem everyone points to 06+ with not a mention of 05 having the issue. Then I was reading up on the mg1 relay freezing which is an 06+ only problem as far as I read. This made me think, assuming that you get the inverter coolant pump fixed, would an older 04-05 maybe even with higher millage be /more/ of a reliable car than a similar 06+? If you have a proven say, 100k+ mikes car aren't the issues it will have likely to happen prior to the 100k miles resulting in a rather reliable and trouble free next 100k? Has any reaseach been completed suggesting that an 04-95 Prius costs less to hit the 200k mark compared to a similar 06+? I would be interested to see the data of failure rates between the model years...not only on major components but other more minor knew as well. SCH-I800 ?
I don't believe that the 04-05 model years have fewer problems. In fact, if I were in the market for a used Gen II Prius, I would prefer to get an 06-09 because of two reasons: 1. The Multi-Function Display screen on some 04-05's have been reported to be defective. This costs thousands to fix at the dealer (but less than two hundred to buy a repaired used MFD off eBay). 2. The traction control on the 04-05's has been reported to be overly sensitive and more problematic -- power to the drive wheels has been reported to be more prone to cut-off completely when going up slippery inclines (snow, ice, gravel driveways). In any event, all model years of the Gen II Prius have the highest reliability ratings from the surveyed readers of Consumer Reports. Here's the Consumer Reports reliability chart for Gen I, Gen II and the 2010 Gen III Prius. You should check it out: 2010 Prius Reliability Report.doc .
I would go for the 07-09 and skip the 06. That MY had more problems than the 07-09. Just my opinion... Prior to my current 09, I had an 04 and had zero problems with it.
