just got a 2010 Prius - need advice

Any idea if the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system's been cleaned? Assuming not, I would get on that ASAP. Start by inspection the pipe between EGR valve and intake manifold:

Just to get some idea of overall condition.

See first two links in my signature for more EGR cleaning info (on a phone turn it landscape to see signatures).

Optimum cleaning (my opinion) would be every 50k miles. Even by that mileage the EGR cooler is carbon-coated enough to reduce cooling efficacy, and the overall system is clogged sufficient to hinder the EGR valve operation and unevenly starve cylinders of exhaust gas, starting at the cylinder one end.

3rd Gen Prius, particularly with neglected EGR system (clogged with carbon) tend to blow head gaskets, around the miles yours has. Unscrupulous owners will dump in a stop-leak product and put it up for sale.

 

I would hate to give you this news but a 2010 is one of the worst years you can buy for a 3rd Gen car. Depending on the service history, there are 3 major failures that can (and will) happen on this car (especially after 150k miles and over 10 years old)

1. HV battery failure
2. Brake pump failure
3. Head gasket failure.

Even if those 3 expensive items have been addressed, there could be some other issues with the car (especially oil burning). So get that car checked out ASAP and do whatever maintenance you need before sending your kid off with this car.

 

just got a 2010 Prius - need advice

Sell the Prius and get a Corolla?

Failing that:

Buy the kid about $100 worth of hand tools and consider a AAA membership.
Get the car inspection that you didn’t mention above.
+1 on the EGR!!
Read 25 threads on this forum that have Head Gasket in the title and familiarize yourself with the Prius Death Rattle.

 

you can do a battery health check with the dr. prius app, but idk how helpful it is. no point to replacing the battery before it's necessary

 

Telling: that all of the responders have or have had a third gen (2010~2015). We know the damn foibles.

I would say any of the 3rd gen years are equally vulnerable to EGR clogging and ensuing* head gasket failure.

Maybe ditto for the brake booster, but not sure; Toyota might have "woken up" on that, maybe commencing in 2012~2013, made some revision?.

The hybrid battery longevity is on par with any gen I'd think.

Another factor is oil consumption: 2010 till partway through 2014 have "low tension" piston rings, and are prone to excessive oil consumption, commencing somewhere around 150K.

If you stick with it, some other services worth doing:

1. changing the transaxle fluid (Toyota says nothing about this, so often never been done)
2. change brake fluid (Toyota USA says nothing; Toyota Canada, as of ~2014, says every 48k kms (30k miles) or tri-yearly)

^ Info on those two in my signature

* FWIW, my theory...

 

After reading all the replies, I’m sorry for your loss Ed. It was a great car for the super short term.

 

By dealership? I'd tread cautiously: if they're typical, they'll likely charge you an hours "assessment" labour, tell you there's no codes/symptoms, and send you on your way.

There's a few independents that know what they're doing:

Tampa Hybrid (Florida)
Hybrid Pit Stop (Los Angeles. Like the name infers, they're more performance than maintenance oriented)

Hopefully someone will chime in regarding the northeast US. DIY is what a lot are doing, almost necessity unfortunately.

 

some people have had very good luck. and then, there are all the people who don't have trouble and/or don't come here for advice. you may be one of the fortunate ones. all the best!

 

I still have a 2010 and have had good luck with it. I’ve cleaned the EGR circuit at 90k miles and will soon do it again at 180k miles. I’m currently at 165k miles.

I’ve replaced the hybrid battery, water pump, and all the shocks and struts. Everything else seems to be holding up well except for the exterior paint and burning oil at 1 qt per 1000 miles.

 

I've got 235k miles on mine (bought it at 207k) and it is running fine - no major problems yet.

Have replaced brakes, tires, wheel bearings, wiper motor, blower motor - these are things that would fail on any car with this mileage.

Have cleaned EGR and replaced water pump.

 

First, the hg issue is the worse and sometimes is hidden by unscrupulous sellers through the temporary use of sealant. On these engines the only real solution once a hg fails is a replacement rebuilt engine. But some escape that fate until higher miles than yours. Some don’t.

The dealer, Toyota and most master mechanics don’t correlate the clogged egr cooler to hg problems. As a result they only replace egr coolers and valves if a specific code appears. So the advice of the Priuschat egr believers is to remove the system yourself and clean, often over a period of days. It is a bit of work which the dealer will only do on request by changing parts for ~$1000.

Same story as above, the dealer will recommend a change for new if it codes.

The paid upgrade to Dr Prius will give you an educated guess and a push to buy their aftermarket cells. Resist the temptation.

I would try to find an independent hybrid shop which can often give you better options on an gen3 Prius repair than a dealer. A dealer has high overhead and Toyota repair procedures to follow which are intended to return the failed component to a long term reliable solution. The diy’ers and small shops here try to fix it for the lowest cost unless they are trying to sell you on an aftermarket part using a discount code.

 

Yes. Toyota's stonewalling on this, and the dealerships go along.

We true "believers" all wear tin foil hats. Mine's just invisible.

 

350,7++ miles today.....
Replaced head gasket at 301,000 miles. I had planned on doing it within a week or two
before I got the knocking once or twice. So I did it sooner. It wasn't too bad to do.
I did a LOT of cleaning. And had 1 valve that was leaking ever so barely. So I seated them
all in and replaced the valve guide seals.
I also did the egr system cleaning.
I just did another one this past Friday. I have a spare cleaned cooler so the job went fast.
4-6 hours depending on how you clean the cooler and how fast you want to work.

If you are concerned about the hybrid battery, get the Prolong system and run the full 4 charge 3 discharge
cycles with the last charge going for 8-10 hour after the voltage levels off. This will "balance" the pack.

I got almost 3 extra years using it. In May i replace the hybrid battery with the lithium one. I'm happy with it!
A lot of this stuff you can do yourself, if you are semi mechanically inclined and have to tools.

 

Yeah to keep a third gen past 150K, it helps to live in Tampa or LA, or be able to wrench. Dealerships and Toyota are a cruel joke.

I've never taken on anything that arduous. I'm hoping EGR cleaning (twice so far), frequent oil changes and periodic extensive drives, will keep it going. Our kms are piling on ever slower, might never get into the danger zone. Miss all the "fun".