2010 Prius - brake booster - Sell or Keep

I bet you could get 3-4k for it as is. You can get $1k for the cat alone. Keep it and fix it and when the battery fails swap in gen 4 nickel cells for around $1k.

 

Head gasket failure just around the corner too, if intake manifold and EGR system have never been cleaned.

 

talk to @ericbecky in madison

 

I've got a similar car that I replaced the head gasket on and am doing other work, including now the booster and actuator. I think it's worth me keeping the car. I'll have to replace the battery soon too, and will decide between the DR Prius upgraded batteries or the green bean ones.

But I am going to do the work myself on the brakes, since that's been the theme. And that's what is making the car worthwhile.

I'm about to start doing the brake actuator/pump job, but looking to find the Toyota service docs on that. Is that something I could get through the short term tech stream subscription? I wouldn't have tech stream, so could I look that info up via the engine error code and the year of the car?

I may not be using the right term for the docs, but would love to read that before only following the YouTube guides. I believe my scan tool will do the bleed and relearn, but also saw there was a non-TS way to trigger the relearn.

(Trying to work with an appropriately similar thread rather than starting a new one.)

 

I have a 2012 Prius V that I bought new in March 2013. Unfortunately, just under 5 months past the expiration of the cusstomer support program notification, all brake warning lights came on and surprise, surprise it's the brake booster and brake pump assembly error and Toyota will do nothing to help me with the repair (should have gotten it looked at before the 10 years expired). Now the question becomes - do I just get a new car (hard to do as hybrids are bought before they even get to the lot and I don't think I should keep driving too much long with this problem) or do I pay the 3500 - 4100 to get it repaired and hopefully get a lot more life out of this car?

I just did the 120,000 mile service (replacing spark plugs, oil change, and replacing filters) and about a month ago had to replace the 12V battery for the first time.

 

That's low mileage. It's worth keeping. A LOT cheaper than another used vehicle.
That might have the exact same problem happen....

 

What about Toyota battery, or are they not available? They were around $2K USD last I heard. Dealership was installing them for upwards of $500 extra, which at first blush seems a little extravagant, but it did up the warranty from one year to 3 IIRC (not sure if miles was a factor). Also, if there's any fitment issues, it's their responsibility. And of course, no core charge.

 

I may be in that situation myself. I'm at 180k 2015 trim 5, and I don't think it's ever been done to this car. I did buy an EGR valve but looks like I'm going to have to wait a few more months before I have the opportunity to do this. It's our only vehicle, running fine. No codes, averaging about 46 miles per gallon. A mechanic told me that the bigger rims will drop your mileage a little. Would you just change it out and clean the manifold and just wait for an error code? About 150 miles away is a place that changes these gaskets, they want $2500. Thanks for your reply.

 

I don't see why the 3rd get brake booster would cost $4k. Can a DIY do it? I don't see the parts anywhere near that expensive.

 

It's never a bad idea to clean the EGR, but at 180K yeah, head gasket could be deteriorating. In other words, a long overdue cleaning won't reverse head gasket deterioration. But yeah, don't delay. The bear too: it'll be tough to clean after this long, specifically the cooler. See top two links in my signature for cleaning tips (on a phone turn it landscape to see signature).

I'm solidly in the camp that 3rd gen head gasket failure is in lock-step with neglected EGR cleaning. The other camp should be along shortly, with rebuttal.

 

2010-14 strategy? Fix quickly and sell unless you willing to go all in with a rebuilt engine replacing your low tension rings and pistons. Since no one does that proactively, be ready for head gasket repair (often neglected through denial long enough to force an engine), brake booster, hv battery, water pumps and inverter.

2015 hatchback and 2015-17 v wagon? Less likely to cost you an engine. I would not buy any gen3 used but those later versions might be worth keeping as a second car.

Even if you have plenty of money for unscheduled expenses, the loss of reliability for you and your family can be significant. Especially if this car is your daily driver. You do need to plan for egr cooler, intake and head intake carbon removal - another sad state of affairs for a port injected engine.

Finally you will find most shops don’t understand much less work on these cars. A few may have access to one of the few quality independents. Californians have some value options. Leaving most of us who are not ready for major diy at the mercy of dealers and their 100% higher prices.

 

Bought a new EGR. I did meet a guy who never cleaned his at all and just replaced his head gasket and EGR valve at 405k miles.. So I'm hoping I'm lucky. Have also heard EGR cleaning is not as critical an issue for 2014-2015. I have no idea, and can only proceed with a sample size of one.

 

So I'm sort of in that other camp. I won't say the EGR cleaning won't help not have a HG problem, but here these guys pretty much guarantee you that it WILL happen somewhere around 120-200k. I'm sure there are plenty of Gen 3s out there that never had a cleaning that are well over 200k, maybe 300k and in your guy's case 400k. It's like saying if you have high cholesterol and you're a certain age you WILL have a heart attack...the odds may be greater but it's not a fact that you will. So to me EGR cleaning is a preventive measure you can take to lessen the chances...but it's not a guarantee you will blow a HG if you don't.

 

Yep, I definitely plan to do it. Also preparing to be ready to change the head gasket. It is a lot of work, but you can putter through it in a couple of weeks and save $2400. Figure if I do it at the first sign of any problem, I won't have to have to machine the head. A Toyota mechanic told me if you do it immediately, you will not need to machine it.

 

You just ramdomly bought the valve? Is your original one bad?
I have over 312,000 miles on mine, no problems....

Changing the head gasket before it fails is a good idea, since a lot of 3rd generation head gaskets
fail, for severl different/combined issues.

I was gathering parts and decided on a weekend do replace mine, at 301,000 miles ,when I had a
small quick knock when the engine started after sitting for 15-20 miles after it had warmed up.
I looked at the coolant level and it didn't seem like it had gone done.
The next day, same thing happen. This time I did notice the coolant was just a little lower than where
I knew it had been.
So I changed it that weekend. It worked out because it was a long weekend and my original plans were
canceled.
I have almost 11,000 miles since changing the head gasket and no issues.

 

Did you get any pictures of the gasket?

 

I wouldn't say randomly. I want to have an extra one to keep clean, so it's easier. I got an incredible deal on this one through a Toyota mechanic who had changed many out under warranty. Forgot what I paid but it was around $140, new in the box. Bought on line through a Toyota dealer. For some reason, they had it packaged differently, but it was the same part they sell for considerably more. He told me the part number to buy.

You're better than me if you can change a head gasket over one weekend. I've got to wait and really plan that out. Did you get a gasket kit or just a single gasket?

 

I took 3 days to do all the work. I removed the valves an used valve grinding compond
on them. 1 valve was leaking slightly, so I did them all since I was replacing the seals also.
I worked in the morning until it got too hot to work, then evenings until the mosquitos came out.
I have a spare cooler, but I had forgotten to clean it... so I cleaned both.
I purchased the engine gasket kit from Toyota.

I am antique, it was not as easy as it used to be for me. But it needed to be done. And I don't trust
anyone else with the work. They won't do as good of a job as I did.

 

@ASRDogman was a pro mechanic in past, with a dealership IIRC.