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Replace Engine or Junk Car?

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by TLL, Nov 26, 2016.

  1. TLL

    TLL New Member

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    My 2012 Prius v wagon (bought new, 4 years ago) had its engine light come on this week. Took to dealer and they said engine needs to be replaced: oil & coolant were found in engine (due to bad gasket). Car is at 164,000 miles. I've taken it to the dealer religiously for all suggested maintenance, oil changes, etc., with most recent being just last month for the 160,000 recommended tune-up. Dealership quoted me a cost of $6,000 (which includes a used engine, at 14,000 miles for $2,500). Do I replace engine, or get rid of car? Only worth $1,000, in its current condition. Afraid to fix, and then have other parts give me trouble. Disappointed... never had car problems like this with any other vehicle, with at least double this mileage.
     
    #1 TLL, Nov 26, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  2. Bluegrassman

    Bluegrassman Active Member

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    I would get a 2nd diagnosis and estimate from another shop

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  3. TLL

    TLL New Member

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    Thanks. Thought the same thing: going to contact an independent shop on Monday, after holiday weekend.
     
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  4. eman08

    eman08 Active Member

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    That's very rare for a Toyota as they generally rarely ever break since they are the Benchmark in reliability. If this was a Subaru that would make sense. But yeah I would try around at other places. Was this a Toyota dealership? I'm clocked at 166,612 miles on my 09 Prius as only a recall for the water pump was replaced, other than that, it's never been in a repair for shop in its 7 years with the exception of scheduled maintenance according to complete service records.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #4 eman08, Nov 26, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
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  5. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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  6. ozmatt

    ozmatt Active Member

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    Why is this not warranty?

    There was a 2012 prius v wagon (ex-taxi) in bright yellow on ebay Australia couple weeks ago with 190 miles that had suspect blown head gasket, it sold for $4000

    couple months ago there was a 2012 XW30 prius (ex-taxi) with blown head gasket too is this a coincidence or is something up with some of the 2012 engines?

    Thought about buying the V and just doing the head gasket you can buy a vrs kit for about 50 bucks for these things then do the job standing up! but when it sold for $4000 I soon changed my mind, that's going to end up pretty expensive for a patched up bright yellow stinky old ex-cab

    very annoying, whole car effectively ruined over a $50 gasket kit job that no mechanic ever wants to take on, not even a hard job I would be getting quotes for the gasket to be done on original engine!

    Good luck with it
     
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  7. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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  8. TLL

    TLL New Member

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    Yes, it was inspected at a Toyota dealership. (Not the dealership I purchased the car from, but another one.) Agreed, one of the main reasons I went with a Toyota was their reputation for reliability. And what bothers me the most is that I just had the recommended maintenance last month, to the tune of $600. My first car, out of high school, was a new Toyota Celica that had well over 200,000 miles on it, before I traded it in, and never had any problems with it.

    Thanks for the info. Maybe there is an issue with the 2012 engines. Very frustrated that a blown gasket would end up costing me $6,000 in repairs. I'm hoping the independent auto shop will have better news.
     
    #8 TLL, Nov 26, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 26, 2016
  9. William Redoubt

    William Redoubt Senior Member

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    Sounds like a head gasket. That's a repair, not an engine replacement.
     
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  10. TLL

    TLL New Member

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    That's what I had hoped, but they said the oil & coolant leaked into the motor. When the 'check engine' light came on, I was still 80 miles from home, and continued driving . Would that have ruined the motor?
     
  11. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Unless they actually tore the engine down to assess the real damage, they don't have a clue what you need. Coolant in the oil *may* have caused damage and may not have. I'd have someone actually tear it down and only then decide what to do.
     
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  12. TLL

    TLL New Member

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    After dropping off the car at the dealership, they called me at home and asked for the okay to "go into the engine", which would be an additional $200+ charge (on top of the original $125 fee to look at the car). They then called back with the news, that the engine needed replacing. Will be picking car up on Monday, and getting 2nd opinion.
     
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    My understanding is it's just not economically viable to have dealership mechanics do this anymore. It's cheaper to swap in another engine, and the old engine may get rebuilt and resold by a third party.
     
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  14. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Yes, coolant leaking into the combustion chamber is a sign of a failed head gasket. White smoke out the exhaust and a low coolant level are two obvious signs. The head needs to be removed, a new gasket installed and the head checked and possibly milled by a specialized shop for straightness before reinstallation. This is done by shops all the time.

    Coolant (liquids) doesn't compress so a major leak into the combustion cylinder can cause hard parts (valves, pistons, con rods) to fail in a worst case scenario. That you were able to drive it 80 miles tells me the leak wasn't major.

    Dealerships like to quote worst case repair scenario ($$$$), convince the customer the car is now unreliable and worthless and get them to trade it in for peanuts on a new, "safe" model. Then, fix the trade in for cheap (this case a new head gasket) and put it on the use car lot for big bucks. How many times have we seen threads here about owners limping or towed into dealerships with a failed HV battery only to be told it's a $4000+ repair (plus anything else they've "found") and they drive out with a new Pri?
     
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  15. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

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    Call Toyota corporate, I had a timing chain go on a cobalt long out of warranty and GM gave goodwill coverage lowering my bill to $980.

    If Toyo feels bad they might help cover a portion of the repair.

    All that said I have found whole Prius engines for under $200, get an independent dealer to drop it and you may find your out of pocket drop to $1500 ish
     
  16. TinyTim

    TinyTim Active Member

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    My guess is your last tuneup was not done properly and the dealer mechanic may have screwed up your Prius. Had your Prius engine blew out 20,000-30,000 miles after the last significant work on your Prius. Considering Toyota's legendary status as the most reliable cars on the road. I highly doubt the engine would fail on it's own. Toyota's have a reputation of never even needing an oil change. Not recommended but that is how reliable they are. I know people who have gone 30,000-40,000 miles without an oil change on their Toyota and it never skipped a beat. I would recommend synthetic oil if you know any of those type of people.

    I would contact Toyota regarding your service history. I am not suggesting your dealer sabotaged your Prius. I am suggesting incompetence.
     
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  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Good points. Maybe more "luscious garage" outlets would help the situation? It'd be good if garages of that ilk were economically viable, and that's where the dealerships will help: driving owners to a more sensible alternative.

    I'm the first person to decry dealership service departments. Still, a lot of conjecture there, and I'm not sure how they would "sabotage" a head gasket. Not a big fan of 30K~40K oil changes either. I mean, you can do what you want, but glorify neglect??
     
    #17 Mendel Leisk, Nov 26, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
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  18. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    The other possibility is that coolant in the oil would cause lubrication issues, causing bearing damage in the engine, depending on how bad it was.

    Out of curiosity, what was the actual fault code?
     
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  19. William Redoubt

    William Redoubt Senior Member

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    What does that mean, "go into the engine"? You can't get very far for $200. What were the real issues they uncovered?
     
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  20. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Even so, you don't really know if they went farther than just looking at the gasket. I agree with others here that dealerships are not engine shops, and it might not need much to get it running. They just don't want to tie up a bay and man to do it. Also very likely that they don't have anyone who's competent/qualified to do it.
    My experience with stealerships is that they go just as far as they need to to determine they don't want to mess with it, or find any excuse to do nothing. They are essentially just in the business of replacing parts.
     
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