Thinking about getting a Prius V

There is a write up containing 27 of the things people liked about the car and also 39 they disliked. Here.

I have one, my DIL has one. She is a very sharp shopper. She had read the write up.

I've had one problem that required three trips before Toyota corporate got involved and a part took 3 days. (a very rare problem, so rare that it occurred nowhere on Priuschat but in threads started by me. Google didn't find it elsewhere. That was an almost never replaced part, by the way.) So compared to how difficult to maintain my previous 40 or so cars have been, I rate the v highly maintainable.

I have the first year, a 2012. 50k miles. Tires replaced because of age (Michelin both sets). Windshield wipers replaced. 12v battery replaced because of age. I do over maintain and change oil every 5k. 90% of trips less than 15 miles one way. 80% of miles interstate at 65-70.

 

Most maintenance is the same as any Gen 3 Prius with the 1.8L engine. Spark plugs are a pain because you have to take off the windshield wiper assembly. I have had recalls on the inverter water pump (proactively) and the inverter (after the fact). 205k miles now (delivered seven years ago in Nov 2011), on second set of Michilens (100k miles each) and original brake pads and rotors (still good). Have changed headlight bulbs a few times because I use headlights as pseudo DRL by leaving the headlights in auto mode. Original 12v battery but just this week bought a lithium usb rechargeable jump pack to carry. Had a satellite antenna amp fail which I bought and changed myself (during warranty period) because several dealers were clueless. Now they have a test procedure and tool. Generally a very good and reliable car. I would not now buy a 2012-2014 because of the safety ratings but would seriously consider a nice low mileage 2015-2017.

A few have experienced blown head gaskets in older cars, many experience oil consumption in higher mileage cars.

Selected input on the "mikefocke" link above:

Prius v Likes and Dislikes
Things I (mikefocke) like and dislike about my 2012 Prius v option level 3.

1. It’s a wagon and has gobs of trunk room. Seats down, 6 foot Xmas tree, check. Seats up, 3 months of groceries and house supplies from Costco, check. 2 adults and 2 kids and all their stuff to the beach for a week, check.

(Agreed. Really has similar room as many suvs. I can get 10' pipe and lumber in there by folding the rear seat and passenger seat)

13. The reclining and sliding rear seats. And they are far enough back the kids don't kick the backs of the front seats. My NFL lineman sized son can sit back there.

(Agreed. Had a couple in the back seat who were amazed. Makes for a great Taxi which are common in big cities and Europe).

19. The clarity and display of the heating controls settings.

(Agreed. Better than many cars and the Prius v's capacity is enhanced over standard gen 3's)

Dislikes

1. Noise level. ... On certain roads, the tire noise is significant. I just got back from a 1,000 mile trip and starting the car this morning I turned on the radio only to be startled at how loud I had left it trying to overcome the road noise at speed.

(Agreed. Road noise on certain roads and a high speeds, primarily because of a lack of noise deadening. Engine noise is not really a factor and usually is dead quiet except during hard acceleration)

8. The lack of high marks when offset crash testing. This is fixed in the ’15 models and the v is now an IIHS Top Safety Pick with "good" in every category. The pre-'15 v cars had good marks everywhere else. The criteria change and more features are demanded to meet the new standards each year. The 2016 standards will require more automated crash warning and avoidance features.

(Agreed. This is an important fact that would keep me from buying a 2012-14 these days)

9. The lack of standard minimal sized mud-guards to shield the wheel well sheet metal from stones thrown up by the tires. But no stone chips in the paint at 45k miles.

(Agreed but I added some factory mud guards easily and relatively low cost)

11. The lockout of some GPS functions when moving. My navigator controls the GPS on long trips and it is perfectly safe for her to change settings while underway. I do understand the need for the driver to not use it at speed. (There is a kit sold that, with some rewiring, removes this lockout.)

(You can still use voice commands which work well IF you understand the correct way to use. I have a post about it here. Otherwise pull over for two minutes and enter. One nice thing is you can directly command a destination without going through a voice menu or sequence like a lot of cars. Cliff notes: "Destination 300 Alamo Plaza San Antonio Texas" will guide you to the Alamo from anywhere in the US. Fan on Medium to reduce noise, speak fast (it does not like slow) and don't worry about zip codes. Sometimes it will give you a list of two or three streets if the street name is common.

15. The comfort of the seats isn’t what it is in a plush-mobile. I have back trouble and I don’t have any problem taking 5 hour trips driving the v. My wife prefers her Avalon. Individual bodies vary. Try before you buy.

(Buy a cheap lumbar pillow. Works wonders.)

29. The cost of GPS software updates and map updates. Toyota uses the same map data as the TomTom portables. Toyota charges ~$170 for once a year updates that are a year old when made available and then the dealer charges to install it. TomTom charges $25 for a year worth of 4 updates issued quarterly via download. But the only way to update the maps in the v is via the Toyota dealer service. Toyota does not detail the changes in the map data base it sells. TomTom does. You can sometimes get that info from Lexus. Considering that the map data changes 15% year to year, this is a big gripe on the Prius forums. Every once in a while, I'll need to resort to google maps on my phone. Particularly irritating to me as the salesman said it was just a download

(Agreed. You can get Entune updates free which includes fixes for the underlying map software. The map database is pretty well locked so you can't just get a second hand file.)

32. The lack of a high mounted light which illuminates the luggage area when the hatch is raised. There is a low mounted one but it can be covered by luggage or grocery bags. It can also be switched to off so you can leave the rear hatch door open and not deplete the 12v battery.

(Agreed. This light WILL run down a battery if the hatch has not closed 100%. I changed my bulb with a LED and still leave it switched off. The front map lights, if manually turned on, will also run down the battery. As will the headlights if manually turned on and if in Automatic mode and you don't exit by opening the driver's door. As in any Prius, know how to jump start from the hood because the electric rear hatch won't work. And don't keep your lithium jump start in one of those rear hatch cubbies)

39. Toyota has announced as of November 2017 that there will be no more Prius v's imported into the US. Sales numbers in the US dictate their decision. The RAV4 hybrid is a nice SUV but not 42 MPG like the v. The RAV4h's MPG is more than 20% less and it also has less horizontal trunk room. The 2019 Rav4h will be available in the first quarter of 2019.

(The new Rav4 hybrid will meet or beat the Prius v in mpg. The Asian and European CRV hybrid already does. I would agree a lithium battery Prius v with the latest technology would be a killer car with higher mpg. By the way lithium battery Prius v's are available elsewhere.)

 

Where did you see the RAV4h will get better than ~42 MPG?

 

The rav4 chief engineer stated the hybrid will have over a 600 mile range with the same gas tank size as a standard rav. Their press release indicated it “will have class-leading fuel efficiency“. The CRV hybrid is rated at 44 mpg. Meanwhile the 2019 Camry hybrid with the same hybrid setup gets 52 mpg. So the 2019 rav4 should easily get 42 and will likely be better than 44 to beat the crv. Your mileage may vary.

 

Cruise on down to the Honda site and see if you find a 44MPG CRV. I didn't. Their Accord hybrid gets 37. I'll wait to see what real world figures are for the new RAV4h.

 

My 40K average is 42 mpg. I call the Rav 4 hybrid mileage BS. 35 is the best I heard of.

 

Got to stay up on the news...

 

We now have a Prius V and an Eco, guess that would be a Gen 4.1.

The 2013 V purchased used with 30K is now a two seater utility wagon since I removed the rear seats (removed about 200 pounds) and built a flat cover over the area. We can get our suitcases and most of traveling paraphernalia in there so all that is left is the cooler on top.

Installed the 4.5" X 8" AirLift bags (measure your coils just to be sure of the size) in the rear coils to help the wallow, Toyota's great design would have included independent suspension but they didn't. (The Eco has the double wishbone rear, two thumbs up for that) Even with all the idiosyncrasies I like the V, the 1.8L has about as much pep as the 1.5L gen 2 had but 42.5 MPG is the best overall efficiency we can get on trips.

We live close to sea level, the V performed well at 14,000 feet in the mountains of N Colorado, in Power Mode it really scoots. It is not a high performance car but that's why we own Prii.