.:: Hybrid Pit • Buena Park, CA | Gen 3 to Gen 4 Engine Swap ::.

Just want to give a shout-out and very big thank you to Roger and Andrew over at Hybrid Pit! These are the go-to guys if you are looking for a quality hybrid shop in Southern California. They gave our 2011 Prius a second chance at life with a practically new Gen 4 engine.

Backstory — My sister's 2011 Prius had been consuming more and more oil over the years as the mileage rose up and over 200,000. No biggie... I figured I’d just keep an eye out and check the oil level more frequently for any needed top-offs. I changed to a slightly thicker 0W-40 oil from Ravenol to slow down the consumption rate from about 1.5qt every 5K miles to about 1.0qt. As it approached ~211,000 miles, the car began consuming a little coolant as well. I’d top it off about once a week, and about ~1000 miles later, it ended up needing to be topped off every couple days. MPGs dropped to an all time low of 32-33. A couple hundred miles after, the engine had finally given up and had a constant rattling/shaking as the ICE fired up. The head gasket was officially done.

At this point, I figured it’d be best to park the car and weigh out our options. We could sell the vehicle for pennies on the dollar for a newer Prius, rebuild this current engine, or swap in a used lower mileage engine. My sister isn’t too fond of the Gen 4 styling so she definitely wanted to keep her Gen 3. I looked on Craigslist for used 2010-2015 engines for sale via dismantlers and part-outs. To my surprise, the Gen 3 engines still go for a good chunk of change even with higher mileage. I also visited a few different hybrid shops around the LA/OC area, inquiring about engine swaps/rebuilds, and looking to see the quality of workmanship being done to these Prius’. At the end of the day, I was ultimately disappointed at the quality of work by these well-known “professional” hybrid shops. The final products looked messy and rushed, to say the least.

Finally, I gave Roger at Hybrid Pit a call. I’ve been to his shop before and have been a previous customer for a sway bar and coilover install. Being a smaller facility, I figured they only service regular maintenance and aftermarket installs... they don’t want to deal with an engine swap. Turns out they’d done a few swaps already for other customers in the past! I asked for Roger’s advice, what route to go with... and he mentioned he’s been looking for a candidate to swap in a newer Gen 4 engine.

After crunching some numbers, we set out to look for the new heart of my sister’s 2011 Prius. It wasn’t long before we found one with only 8,000 miles! Coming from a rear ended 2016 model, it was a no-brainer to go pick it up. Shortly after, I towed the car over to Hybrid Pit and the masterminds began tearing apart the engine bay. Within a couple days, I received a text message that the new engine was already nestled inside. Now we just had to finalize which route to go for the EGR. Do we backtrack and re-use the Gen 3 components, or do we utilize the Gen 4 EGR for max efficiency? As far as we knew, no one else had successfully utilized all Gen 4 parts without any issues or CELs. The team at Hybrid Pit was determined to be the first.

As we scoured through the forums, it seemed like much of the swap info posted was incorrect and only led them to more issues. With some troubleshooting, they were able to get all of the quirks sorted out and have a fully functioning 2016 Gen 4 engine without any CELs or hiccups. The team at Hybrid Pit took their time to ensure the swap was done properly, and not Mickey Moused to rush the car out of their shop.

Finally, we were ready to take delivery. Right as Roger popped the hood open, I was shocked. To the naked eye, this Gen 4 swap could pass for factory. Sure, if you comb over the engine bay, you’d start noticing a couple differences here and there. Most engine swaps I’ve seen in other platforms have had some sort of wiring mess and other giveaways to notice it right away.

Here’s the best part... the car passed CA smog the next day! No issues at all. With close to 1000 miles driven since picking up the car, we are very happy with the outcome of the Gen 4 engine swap. MPGs are consistently in the 50s, even with A/C blasting in this warm summer weather. The car also feels a lot quicker, with much more pep than my 2012 Prius. Looks like we’ll be keeping this car for a looooong while! I would definitely recommend this swap to anyone having head gasket issues on their Gen 3 Prius.

 

Thank you all for the kind words. As far as pricing goes, please give Hybrid Pit a call for all inquiries here — (855)492-4440. I will let @RightOnTime mention what they have done EGR-wise as I was not there for the entire process.

Mileage-wise, my sister would see an average of 41-46 MPG with the old engine, depending on A/C usage and city/hwy routes. Now, the car is averaging 50-54 MPG with heavy A/C usage lately. Great improvement across the board!

I would bring it to the dealership, but I simply do not trust them. I try to do all of the regular maintenance myself — oil/filter changes, coolant/cvt fluid drain & fills, etc. One time, the dealership did not completely tighten a friends oil filter housing, which ended up with the car needing to be towed after leaking many quarts out. Yikes!!

I too, was surprised by the increased pep of the Gen 4 engine in the Gen 3. Although the output is lower on paper, I suspect it has to be related to the ECU programming. I have driven a friends 2018 Gen 4 and it definitely feels faster than my Gen 3. Wizardry!