Ready to join the Prius world

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by Mechanic-01, Jul 20, 2026 at 4:38 PM.

  1. Mechanic-01

    Mechanic-01 New Member

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    Location:
    Charlotte
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    As the title says. I am ready to buy a Prius, my main year I'm looking at is 2017 and 2018, right now I do not own a car. I sold my two previous cars and I've been shopping online to find a solid Prius to buy for my family.

    A little about me. I'm in my late 30s, I have a one year old daughter and I'm a mechanic. I trained at community college in automotive CAN systems, High voltage systems, Inverters, Drive units and much more. I've worked on ICE / Hybrid systems and purely EV systems. I've worked for two different manufacturers and now I am deciding on a career change. I brought my tool box home and now just work on my own. During my career I've done countless contactors, pyro fuses, isolation resistance diag and much more!

    I have been looking at buying a Prius for a while now, I like the technology used in the transmission and the Hybrid systems, very cool stuff. I've always been a fan of EV but I do see that EV has some shortcomings, mainly the battery technology and it's harder to charge for some people living in apartments or other living situations. This is why I really like the Hybrid side of things because you get the best of both worlds. Electric motors and gas engines.

    I'm ready to learn more and meet with members of this community who can share some insight. If you know anyone selling a good 4th gen in North Carolina or the surrounding areas please let me know. Thank you.
     
    bisco likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome!
    one word of caution on early gen 4's. some had defective exhaust coolant heat exchangers, leading to loss of coolant and blown head gaskets.
    1016163610
    all the best with your search!
     
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I think you mean 2010-1015 Prius has that problem, but not 2016-2022? Or maybe you have a link to prove otherwise?
     
  4. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Best of luck, and welcome aboard!


    No.
    He means the G4.....
    There's a flaw in the exhaust heat exchanger than can cause a loss of coolant condition.
    This is a known issue documented in Toyota TSB T-SB-0135-19, according to the Googles.

    Because it is an ill wind that blows no good - California emissions warranty covers it for up to 150,000 miles or 180 months, NOT that you can count on Toyota USA to inform their victims about these types of things 100% of the time. ;)
     
  5. ColoradoBoo

    ColoradoBoo Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Monument, Colorado USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I agree....look for models that were built in late-2017 and later.....they fixed the heat exchanger issue around that time.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
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    2012 Prius Plug-in
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    Plug-in Base
    there's already a link in my post, try to keep up man! :D
     
    ColoradoBoo likes this.