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

Looking at a used Prius V need advice

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by iLikeTurtles, Sep 23, 2019.

  1. iLikeTurtles

    iLikeTurtles Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2018
    11
    3
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    2014 Prius V five, $13,975 95,800 miles, from the pictures the interior looks very clean and well cared for. Exterior looks good in pictures and no major dings or scratches. The dealer selling it has a great reputation and my sister in law purchased a used vehicle from them which I helped her with and the staff was very upfront and non sleazy.

    I was wondering what any concerns should be for this year and mileage. How long do the batteries from this generation usually last? At nearly 100k miles what major maintenance or repairs should be expected soon.
    Thanks
     
  2. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2018
    1,416
    1,525
    38
    Location:
    Evansville, IN
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three

    The EGR circuit needs to be examined, if not completely cleaned. Watch the coolant level for loss of coolant. Watch oil consumption. Those items are more worth watching then the batteries(12v and hybrid). I may be one of the outliers but I am closing in on 230k and the battery has not given me any issues on my 2010.
     
    iLikeTurtles likes this.
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    the biggest concern is a potential blown head gasket the near future. at 100k, idk what you can do about it one way or the other.
     
    iLikeTurtles likes this.
  4. iLikeTurtles

    iLikeTurtles Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2018
    11
    3
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    It's been serviced at a local toyota dealership that is well regarded regularly according to the carfax. I'll have to check out the basics during my test drive tomorrow and I can inquire about what they did in their pre sale check in greater detail.
    Thanks for the solid info!
     
  5. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2018
    1,669
    546
    3
    Location:
    SE Texas
    Vehicle:
    2011 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Don't do it................!
     
    bisco likes this.
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,473
    38,105
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Chances are the EGR has never been touched. Still, that's not a lot of miles; now is an opportune time to clean the EGR cooler, valve, and connector pipe, AND the intake manifold. And consider and Oil Catch Can install.

    Watch @NutzAboutBolts videos, pinned in 3rd gen maintenance section.

    Toyota doesn't seem to care that this is a 3rd gen Prius right-of-passage?
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Nov 27, 2019
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2019
  7. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I have a 2012 v Three with 123,000 miles and no issues at all, third set of tires. i changed the ATF WS at 100,000 miles. I changed the 12 volt battery this Fall, but that was just an abundance of caution. (7 years)
    I plan to have the dealer clean the EGR system 'soon'.

    There were issues with head gasket issues with the 1.8 litre engine if the EGR got clogged, they made changes in both 2014 and 2015 to remedy that.
     
    iLikeTurtles likes this.
  8. iLikeTurtles

    iLikeTurtles Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2018
    11
    3
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Why? I purchased the vehicle a while ago.
     
    scona likes this.
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    see post #2
     
  10. iLikeTurtles

    iLikeTurtles Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2018
    11
    3
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    So your advice is don't ever buy a used prius?
     
  11. Ronald Doles

    Ronald Doles Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2019
    230
    280
    0
    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    It was just dumb luck that we bought a 2015 Prius V. There were changes in 2015 that may reduce the complaint of premature oil burning. Most modern engines should go 200,000 miles without abnormal oil consumption but some of these engines start using oil at 100,000 or before.

    In 2015, Toyota changed the piston and piston ring part number to hopefully address the oil burning issues.

    I learned about the second major issue after joining this site. That is head gasket failures. This may be a poorly designed head gasket or there is a secondary issue with clogged EGR coolers which may contribute to head gasket failure.

    The Exhaust Gas Recirculation or EGR system helps reduce the amount of the nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the exhaust gases. Nitrogen oxides are normally formed in the process of combustion in the engine cylinders. However, their formation increases dramatically at higher combustion temperatures above 2912 °F. Introducing exhaust gasses back into the intake manifold reduces the peak combustion temperature in the cylinders. There is an EGR valve that closes the exhaust passage when the engine is idling and opens when the throttle is opened.

    All ICE vehicles have an EGR system but this 3rd generation passes the exhaust gas through a cooler before it is introduced into the intake manifold. The cooler is a heat exchanger (radiator). It circulates engine coolant through one side of this small radiator and flows the exhaust gas through the other side of that radiator cooling the exhaust stream. The tiny radiator passages get clogged up with carbon over about 100,000 miles reducing the volume and raising it's temperature before it is introduced into the intake manifold. The lowered EGR flow and increased temperature would not dilute the fuel charge as designed and increases the peak cylinder temperature. That may contribute to premature head gasket failure. Dealers charge about $700 for the EGR cooler service. My guess is since this is flat rate, they don't clean, they replace the heat exchanger.

    A picture of a dirty EGR heat exchanger from another story on this site is shown below. The small honeycomb like tubes get clogged with carbon.

    [​IMG]
     
    #11 Ronald Doles, Nov 28, 2019
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2019
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,473
    38,105
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    If you really need to get through it quick, or have a mechanic do it for you: pick up an extra cooler (used) and pre-clean it, ready to go. If they're really primadonnas about not cleaning ANYTHING, get and clean the valve too. The pair of them are commonly for sale on Ebay, used.
     
    Georgina Rudkus likes this.
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    not at all. my advice is to follow post #2 advice to hopefully save you major headaches down the road.
     
    scona and Mendel Leisk like this.
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,473
    38,105
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Looks like the cheap, used EGR components on EBay are drying up, due to increase in demand?
     
    Georgina Rudkus likes this.
  15. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2018
    1,669
    546
    3
    Location:
    SE Texas
    Vehicle:
    2011 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    ----USA----
    For people reading this at a later date......
     
  16. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2018
    1,669
    546
    3
    Location:
    SE Texas
    Vehicle:
    2011 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    ----USA----
  17. iLikeTurtles

    iLikeTurtles Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2018
    11
    3
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I was being sarcastic, I know about the egr issue and am going to install an OCC before the new year.
     
    bisco likes this.
  18. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2018
    1,669
    546
    3
    Location:
    SE Texas
    Vehicle:
    2011 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    ----USA----
    I have the Catch Can (and new PCV valve)...... I did it when I had the intake off....... C Can cheap but the one I had came with super low quality hoses..... get new hoses ( at least 3' long) and quality clamps...... and the can takes two different size hoses.....
     
    iLikeTurtles likes this.
  19. bostonbruins8703

    bostonbruins8703 Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2018
    178
    101
    2
    Location:
    Brewster, Ma
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    Did you change the ATF or you have the dealer do it? If you had the dealer do it, how much was it?