Gurgle, weak heater.

Gotcha. Well, in regards to that 2007 check for oil consumption (just pull the dipstick yourself, it's not like the selling dealer will have done it)

It's about the right age to have hybrid battery issues, and this time of year most people forget to check the air conditioner, which makes it the right season to dump cars that have climate issues.

 

I haven't owned that model of the car, so for the most part I'll defer to others with more specific expertise.

With regards to the dipstick- some generation 2 cars had oil consumption issues, and that's certainly the kind of problem people like to trade-in. So pull the dipstick and see if the car is grossly low- if so that's the kind of red flag where you just walk away right then, it just isn't worth another minute of your time. (There are many generic youtubes showing how to read a dipstick. Bring a bit of paper towel or rag.)

Running engines without sufficient oil levels accelerates wear, sometimes dramatically and/or suddenly. Also the oil going out the exhaust causes the catalytic converter to work doubletime+ to clean up the mess, and it can be overwhelmed and clogged. So when you find it low, it probably isn't the first time it has been low, be suspicious.

If the oil level is normal? well possibly they just changed the oil. Some dealers just do that to all the cars, and if so this could mask a problem, but it could also be fine. Can't make a determination in that case.

Nobody offers useful warranties on cars that old, so you do need to check some of the basics yourself. That's the same on any car.

I know that the battery ECU looks for a voltage differential between cells as the primary determinant in declaring "this battery is dead" but there's more to it than that. Again I'd let others give you better details.

There must be some youtubes out there with some generation 2-specific buyers guides, but I couldn't say which ones are the good ones.

I wish you even more luck.

 

What he means is this engine is worn out like most $3k Toyotas.

More likely a fuel tank sensor failing.

Is it over 225,000 miles? With the interior wear it sounds like a 300k or higher car. You usually don't see faded paint on these cars except for the rear spoiler.

Codes are not routinely reset because they don't routinely come up. I might be afraid of a failing or clogged catalytic converter due to the oil burning.

Have you called ISH Hybrids and asked what they would do for your gen3?

 

You have another blown hg and clearly it was bad when put in. The fact you can stay under 204f on the highway as long as it has coolant in it means the cooling system is ok BUT the hg problem is advanced. It is pushing combustion gasses into the coolant causing over pressure and air bubbles. I would skip the 2007 Prius as well.