IN 10 months Used 2011 Prius Four - HUGE EXPENSES IN 1st Year!

Sounds like flush refill, I had mine done at 100,000. Ask how I know.

 

Easier said than done.

OP said car was purchased from private car dealership, they won't know the history just carfax, and carfax won't have everything in details either.

When spending is limited, $150 is a lot just for an inspection. Personally I wouldn't pay that price for a mechanic to inspect, I learned to inspect myself and bring an OBD2 that can also scan for offline monitors.

And as for DIY, not everyone lives in a house w/garage or driveway so you won't be able to DIY in parking spaces or road side, you'll get evicted.

 

coolant replacement.

 

I would never recommend a lease. Years ago when we were in the market for a new car I found a book about leasing written by a former car salesman who said that dealers love leases because (a) customers don't understand leasing, and (b) leasing is not nearly as well regulated as selling/purchasing.

 

hello?

 

Finance guru Dave Ramsey says “Fleece” because when you lease a car, you get fleeced financially. All my beaters and current vehicle were one time payment.

 

Tyler, we can’t help you with the prices you paid for the work that was done. You should bring your car problems here first, not after you pay for repairs.

I looked up the spec for the headlights on your car. They’re standard halogen headlights. There’s no reason why it should cost $165 to replace the lightbulbs. There are some headlight types, such as HID, which can be very expensive to replace, but you don’t have those.

I think the sheer number of issues you’ve had is extremely suspect. In my opinion, either the repair shops lied or the car was badly mistreated. But as I said, we aren’t a consumer watchdog group, we’re a bunch of folks who know how to repair and maintain these cars.

I’ve owned my 2012 Prius since it was new, it has 140,000 miles, and it’s required none of the repairs you’ve mentioned except for the headlight bulbs and scheduled maintenance. No brake pads, struts, wheel bearings, etc. For all those things to hit at once, I’m very suspicious.

The first thing is to drive the car properly. Have you ever seen the Indy 500? Those cars cost millions and use the most durable materials available — yet they’re driven so hard in 500 miles that half the cars fail. If you accelerate, steer and brake hard, you’re using gravity to tear your car apart — any car. Drive as if there’s an egg on the gas and brake pedal. Press lightly. Anticipate stops and coast/brake to a stop.

I’d be happy to explain more, if you reply to this thread. We haven’t heard from you.

 

That's not normally needed that early, so Tyler was likely ripped off on that item.

 

Coolant is due at 10/100K.

 

tyler?

 

My Maintenance Guide booklet and under-hood sticker both specify 150k or 180 months for first change of inverter coolant. (But more frequently thereafter)

 

Nutzaboutboltz video says 120K miles.

 

Toyota says 150k.

 

Toyota also said lifetime ATF

 

Would I be wrong if I said I think there is room for optimism here?

Nobody likes to buy a used car, and then shortly get inundated with various repairs.
But looking at that list, many of the items seem like rather reasonable things to expect for an 8 year old vehicle with 100,000 miles on it. Some of the prices for the services seem high.

But assuming the work done, was done well, you could be reaching a place where you could reasonably expect a degree of reliability. However, there can never be a guarantee with any machine.
Despite this experience, I do believe Prius are well designed, engineered and built vehicles.

Things like seat belt failures, headlight failures, happen.
I'd be more concerned about the mechanic I'm using. The exact details aren't there, but some of the prices for the services/repairs rendered seem ridiculously high.

As far as MPG? If the struts. wheel bearings were in need of repair and replacement and the vehicle needed an alignment, those previous conditions could really impact MPG negatively.
I'd take all the usual advice about improving your MPG, but not panic, and just reset, and calculate your MPG manually at the pump yourself, for a few tanks to be SURE of what MPG you are actually getting.

Machines are machines. Even a "Lemon" can be usually be repaired. So far none of the repairs or "problems" have been from IMO the 3 most important parts or heart of the vehicle, which would be core engine repair, transmission, and Hybrid Battery.

I understand frustration with unwanted or unexpected repairs. But....with this much investment to this point? I think there is room for optimism.
Despite all the problems, no really "end of life" or devastating problem has yet been discovered.

I'd continue to give the vehicle a chance. Unless or until a problem that really made ownership untenable or unreasonable. SUPER CAVEAT: I could be wrong. But, I think there is room for optimism going forward.

 

please stop derailing a thread about toyota service intervals