1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Don't Buy a 3rd Gen Prius! - Blown headgasket at 233k

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Absalom, Feb 13, 2019.

  1. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,103
    4,032
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Like the original poster, I want to roll the entire odometer on this vehicle before the entire car rolls over.
     
    Absalom likes this.
  2. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    5,884
    3,486
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    And it will, with a new head gasket.
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  3. Absalom

    Absalom Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2018
    42
    42
    0
    Location:
    Denver
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    And a new HV battery, inverter, EGR cooler, etc.

    Not to sound like a broken record, but HGs aren't a consumable and shouldn't blow unless the motor is overheated. And a quick Google search will show that my experience is far from rare.
     
    Grit likes this.
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,463
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I also like how they hang around jawing, after applying the form-in-place gasket (are we talking about the same thing?): the clock is ticking, lol.

    Maybe Toyota exaggerates, but they recommend to have the cover back on by FIP application +3 minutes, and all bolts torqued by +15 minutes.

    Sniping aside, a lot of good tips in the video, by guys that have done a few.
     
  5. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    5,884
    3,486
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Well if you do a search you will also see there are plenty of Gen 3’s that have gone 300k miles with no major problems. Toyota builds some of the best cars out there and getting to 230k plus miles, with very little cost for repairs is amazing.
     
  6. 4est

    4est Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2017
    207
    121
    0
    Location:
    Romania
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Excel
    Egr cooler causes most hg problems I think

    You must clean it every 100k km
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  7. Maarten28

    Maarten28 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2014
    414
    222
    1
    Location:
    Netherlands
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Have you had it since new? 233k is a respectable age. I would not complain if my car reaches that. Still 117k and some 10 years to go then.
     
  8. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2016
    11,251
    15,474
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    You say you’re all about maintenance, so when did you swap out:
    • engine water pump?
    • Inverter water pump?
    • Thermostat replacement?
    • Egr circuit cleanse?
    • Hv battery maintenance?
    • Trans axle fluid drain and fill?
    Some of the above apply to non hybrid cars and would have been required to be done well before 233 k miles. Every car has quirks and things that need to be done to it for it to last;).

    Before we got the wife’s 2017 RX450h, we had a 98 4runner with 263k miles when we sold it:).

    But it had valve cover leaks and I had to replace one of the rear axle seals. It didn’t burn oil, but there were things that I did off the maintenance schedule and still got good life out of the car;).

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
  9. Borninblue

    Borninblue Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2018
    233
    158
    0
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    We need to know if you cleaned the EGR cooler, intake manifold and valve. This seems to always be the culprit. Also, how much oil was she drinking at the time it blew?
     
  10. Dr.Nerd

    Dr.Nerd New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2019
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    America
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Yep I agree with bisco " ... times are changing"
     
  11. Absalom

    Absalom Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2018
    42
    42
    0
    Location:
    Denver
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I never got the chance. I had the car all of 2-3 weeks, and spent the majority of that time trouble-shooting and diagnosing the failing HV battery. And trust me, I was extremely excited to tackle the above list. In fairness to Toyota, I can't speak to the maintenance schedule realized by the PO. But in the wake of the blown HG, it doesn't stop me from irrationally annoyed with anyone or anything that ever had anything to do with the vehicle.

    The posted video makes doing a HG look fun n' easy on these cars! So since I was planning on scrapping the motor anyways, I've decided to order OEM HG, straight edge, and feeler gauges. I'm fully expecting a squashed rod in cylinder 2, so I imagine I'll just end up yanking the motor anyways.
     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,463
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    There's a little more prep involved, but not bad. You'll want to pull off the wipers, their motors/linkage and the metal cowl below, the engine underpanel, and the plastic panelling in the front passenger wheel well. And of course drain coolant.
     
  13. Absalom

    Absalom Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2018
    42
    42
    0
    Location:
    Denver
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Cool, so an extra 20 minutes. The thing that worries me most is my local Toyota dealer having connecting rods on hand.

    Also, is it an acceptable risk to reuse the TTY bolts just once? :)
     
  14. Borninblue

    Borninblue Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2018
    233
    158
    0
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Boom—you will likely find your cooler and valve blocked. There lies your head gasket likely failure.
     
    Bay Stater and Mendel Leisk like this.
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,463
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    And Toyota's pretty quiet on the subject. :rolleyes:

    They have a too-little-too-late TSB on the subject, with the phrase "While the majority of vehicles will not experience this problem...".

    IMG_0037.JPG
     
    #35 Mendel Leisk, Feb 14, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2019
    Robert Holt likes this.
  16. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,103
    4,032
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    He didn’t respond to my reply regarding to maintenance. Just wondering if even with proper maintenance, will the head gasket go bad to the bone.
     
  17. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,103
    4,032
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Long as car is out of warranty and no one will die or safety is not jeopardy, they ain’t budging.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  18. Absalom

    Absalom Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2018
    42
    42
    0
    Location:
    Denver
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Sorry, I should have been more specific, I cleaned out the EGR (the entire pathway) about 1,200 miles before the HG blew. BUUUT, the EGR was nearly completely occluded, and I know for a fact that there was some blockage remaining even upon reassembly. This time I'll try the #20 AWG copper wire in a drill trick before completing the HG replacement.
     
  19. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    3,193
    2,315
    0
    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Other than coolant replacements, maintenance has zero impact on this issue. Oil changes will not affect the lifespan of the headgasket.

    The EGR issue is heavily debatable. I don’t want to sidetrack this discussion too much more than it already has...
     
  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,463
    38,101
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Try Oxi-Clean soaks, use the hottest tap water you can get, dissolve powdered Oxi as much as possible, cork one end of the cooler, fill it with the solution and let soak about an hour. It'll work on the carbon, bubble it off. Rinse and repeat about 1/2 dozen times.

    upload_2019-2-14_12-51-46.png