Head Gasket Replacement Story

Longtime lurker, second-time poster. Original owner of a 2014 Prius v (Three).

Recently, I started experiencing misfiring. When it first happened last fall, I took it to a local repair shop. They diagnosed a problem with the spark plugs and replaced them. Problem solved.

It started happening again in late January—the dreaded cold-start rattle (but I didn't know what it meant at the time). The check engine light came on, then went out two days later. After a couple days of the check engine light being off (and a 550 mile road trip), the check engine light came back on. Took it back to the shop. This time, it was a blown head gasket. They wanted over $4000 for the repair. I asked them to look into replacing the engine—over $7000. Time to sell the car, I thought.

Some sleuthing here taught me just what I was looking at. As many people know, the Gen3 engine in the 2014 Prius v is prone to blowing the head gasket at around 150k miles; mine was at 147k miles. Sleuthed some more on YouTube, where I discovered a Gasket Masters video on blown head gaskets.

Lucky me, I live relatively close to one of Gasket Masters' shops. I took the car in, and five hours later, paid $2150 for the head gasket replacement. The work comes with a one-year, unlimited mileage warranty.

I'm glad I didn't have to dump the car—new cars are expensive! Since I replaced the hybrid battery recently (under warranty), this car should be road-worthy for at least a few more years. Or should I be expecting another problem to pop up in the near future?

 

Incredibly helpful comment, as always!

I am not a DIY guy, but I really appreciate the suggestion about HybridPit. I'll call them and figure out a time to go to LA and back. Not my favorite kind of road trip, but doable.

I might let my local dealership clean the intake manifold if I can't swing a trip to the HybridPit in the immediate future.