2014 Prius: Is 84K considered high mileage?

High Mileage · Jul 22, 2020

Thanks Montgomery and ASRDogman. I hope that Eugene takes the time to find a reputable shop that can help him, or maybe even another Prius member in Southern California. I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Raytheeagle and some of his friends in person, but I know he has offered to help other members in the past. Possibly someone in Southern California can make the same offer to Eugene. As noted many of these tasks are not overly difficult when you have done them before with the right tools. This is a great group we have here that always seems to be ready to help.
If anyone needs help in my area of Northern California it would be my pleasure to pass on what little knowledge I have available.

Eugene Park · Jul 22, 2020

High Mileage said: ↑

Eugene Park, sorry to hear about your experience. I will say I was a dealership mechanic for 16 years, and I tried to do the right thing for each customer.
I will tell you that when most dealerships are slow they will offer low cost oil changes, and free "Safety Inspections" to get vehicles in the door so they can try to sell work to keep people working.

Each person will read this a little differently. Some will say the dealership (stealership) is trying to find work and fix things that are not broke, and some are right in this statement. Sometimes things can be found that are in need of repair. IF the service writer takes the time to really inform the customer, and the customer is really listening then everyone understands and all is well.

For instance, "Hi Eugene we looked at your 6 year old prius with 84K miles on it. We noticed the rubber strut boots are breaking down due to age which is fairly normal. These boots help to keep dirt from getting to the top of the strut seal, which can eventually cause the seal to leak and the gas and oil to leak out from the strut. The seal is a cheap part but the labor to take out the struts is where the cost is. If we were going to do the job we would suggest replacing the struts based on age and mileage. But Eugene understand this is not a safety issue we are just trying to honestly point out what we saw when we looked at your vehicle."

Instead you heard or were told, "The service advisor said front struts need replacement because the cover is broken."

Either way my 2010 strut boots were both torn and failing. When I sold my 2010 with 280K miles the struts were still in good condition. When I say good condition I base that on the fact I had no abnormal tire wear, and good ride control in the mountains.

As mentioned by others and in my opinion the EGR maintenance is something to be done based on past experience. The problem with this repair is it is a preventative maintenance item that is not in the manual. It is not something Toyota ever setup. It is an issue that has been experienced by many Gen3 owners and has some history to it. But if you are a customer of the dealership and don't have a high level of trust with them, then selling work like this is hard. Many of the customers I do work for have a level of trust with me. I can take the time to discuss and explain what I have seen, a lot of it based on past experience, and experience related to a specific manufacturer/model and its strengths and weaknesses.

I have said this on many of my other posts, some are tired of hearing it, and some will argue it. But I think the Gen3 Prius was a pretty good vehicle. It had some issues, it wasn't perfect. I think some of its issues were impacted by how people drove and maintained the vehicle. If you maintain the vehicle properly, drive it wisely, and find someone who knows this vehicle and how to maintain it to minimize issues it can last you a very long time.

Just my 2 cents.
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Appreciate your 2 cents. I worked for a few service oriented companies - cellphone, customer service, distribution.. And it's tough working with people when some are just bent on complaining until they get what they want. Also, flip side is some of people I worked with didn't care about the customers or the company that was paying them. So, having seen both side of the line, I always thought I don't want to just complain to get something - I wanted to correct a mistake that they make and move on.
One time, this is probably 7 years ago, I had a Hyundai Elantra Touring. I took it in for a recall issue and they lend me a rental car for the weekend. I picked up my car a few days later and noticed a bad stuffed inside a cup holder. I came home and opened it and it was a pair of men's underwear. I was pretty disgusted. I complained and told them this is something that should not have ever happened. And I left it at that. But I did appreciate what the service manager did - he started with an apology and wanted to make sure this won't ever happen to me or anyone else. He offered to have the car cleaned professionally with commercial grade disinfectant. I didn't want it, besides I did enough cleaning to kill just about every known germs and bacteria known to men.
This Toyota dealer did the opposite - they ignored my emails to service manager, customer service manager, and to their dealer website. Upon complaining to the Toyota directly, service manager did response to me, but completely ignored all the issues I had directed at the service advisor and how things were not handled properly. Service manager just responded to my concerns with their policy and not a single apology for wasting my time, money, and advising me to fix 1300 dollars worth of repair without explanation and what I am now assuming as a lie/trick to get me scared to pay for repairs or upgrade to a new car.
However, the silver lining of this story is that there are still many good people out there.. like the ones who responded to my initial inquiry and gave me their honest opinions and advice. I am happy to say that I guess for every car lot full of dishonest people, there are some who will remain honest and have integrity.
So, thanks to all of you guys for your input. I will just continue to live life and look for a good mechanic around me.. hopefully, I'll find one soon.

orenji · Jul 23, 2020

Hi - just wanted to let you know that Hybridpit in Buena Park offers some of the best and honest service you will find and their prices a extremely fair. Highly recommended. They know Prii inside and out, plus offer parts and modifications that can only be found in Japan. Please check them out, you won't be disappointed. Cheers!

2014 Prius: Is 84K considered high mileage?

High Mileage Active Member

Eugene Park Junior Member

orenji Senior Member

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2014 Prius: Is 84K considered high mileage?

High Mileage Active Member

Eugene Park Junior Member

orenji Senior Member