High Mileage Buyers Checklist?

Some Gen 2 and 2010 Gen 3 owners have had issues with oil consumption. My 05 was burning a 1 qt per 1200 - 1700 miles after 240K miles depending on how fast I drove it . The engine was burning oil when I bought it with 134K miles but the consumption then was 1 qt per 3000 miles roughly. So there is a fairly good chance that most 200+K mile Prius' from 2004 - 2010 will burn some oil. As long as the consumption is 1 qt or less after 1000 miles it's not a problem other than needing to top off often. When consumption is worse issues with the catalytic converter or oxygen sensors can occur. I hate driving cars with illuminated check engine lights. The main reason is you need to keep checking for other codes often to be sure no new ones are present in addition to the ones you already know about and haven't corrected. You commented that Toyota engines run forever. Not in this car (your experience may vary though).

If you can find a 200+K mile Prius that has had the HV pack replaced with a brand new one that is the best possible one you will be able to find. If not, plan on replacing/repairing the original in a couple of years or less. Personally, I struggled with the decision to install a new pack in a 11 year old car with 254K miles on it and since I was no longer driving it daily I decided to sell it instead. Chances were good that my Prius would have made it to 20 years old but chances also were that the ICE would have needed to be replaced at some point too because of the oil consumption. It's not difficult at all to swap out the HV pack by yourself, it is heavy though so help with removing the pack from the car is strongly recommended unless you're a body builder. Swapping out the gas engine is a "little" more challenging at home.

The transaxle and transmission were outstanding. Never had any concerns with the drivetrain at all but if fluid changes had been neglected I have no idea if the transmission would have been as reliable then. I changed the ATF-WS twice during the 120K miles and 6 years that I owned it.

The brakes were also the best in any car I've owned. The only concern I had with the brakes was the accumulator which has been known to fail at some point and replacing it can be costly. The accumulator was making a lot of noise when I sold it.

The A/C was excellent too. Never any problems with it but if it had failed that might have been a costly repair because of the electric compressor.

So, you can find a Gen 2 for cheap that will be more reliable than a comparatively priced used car. However, HV pack replacement/repair will be needed - DIY repair, a used drop in unit, or brand new. The only option that makes sense for five years and longer is the last one in my opinion.

 

Welcome. Recent fuel efficiency is a good indicator of hybrid battery health, but not a guarantee. It may be low for other reasons or the battery may seem strong, but be close to failure.

Unless it's a PiP or a Prime, the total mileage will be close enough to the engine mileage that it's not worth trying to differentiate.

You can check that with a PiP or a Prime, but a press of the reset button (at least on the PiP) will clear it, as will disconnecting the 12V battery. I don't know if the regular Gen 3 & 4 track that. The Gen 2 does not. Failures of MG1 or MG2 are very rare, but not unheard of. I probably have a better chance of getting hit by lightning twice in one day of having a failure there.

Not that I ever heard of. Electric motors get weak with heat, not age. For every 10°F it runs above its max rated temperature, its life gets cut in half. These motors run very cool.

Toyota considers the transaxle oil to be a lifetime product, but it's quite common for the enthusiasts here to change it every 60-100k miles. But failures are very rare with these transaxles.

Not sure it makes a lot of difference. If it's been sitting a long time, it may not last long either.

You can take the cells from a Gen 3 and put them into the battery of a Gen 2. I have one like that. Since you're moving to FL, if you'll be near Tampa, check out Home - Tampa Hybrids Inc.. Todd is a member here and knows more about the Prius than almost anyone on the planet. That's where I got four cars and the battery I mentioned. If you want to grid charge, Prolong Grid Charger Product Guides – Hybrid Automotive is the place to go. Another member here. I own one of Jeff's chargers and it's a great tool.

The Prius does not have an alternator. The 12V boots the computers and closes the relay to connect the HV battery to the system. After that, the 12V gets charged and the accessories get run from the inverter. I'm not sure how many watts the inverter puts out to the 12V system, but it's not something you can just swap out for a more powerful device.

 

it's a crapshoot, mostly crap. be prepared for a lot of headaches.

 

FYI, new batteries cost at least $2000 for the part, even if you install it yourself.

 

Dog person, eh?

 

Once upon a time one could buy a late model low mileage HV pack from a wreck for next to nothing but that was many many moons ago. Packs like these now retail for $1000 and up no matter where you look - I know, I tried finding one cheap last year and had no luck. And if you lack the necessary knowledge, you might get scammed when you do buy a used one.

If you're going to get a Gen2 for less than what it should cost you should just install a new pack and have it over with. If you see a fork in the road, take it.

 

If you can wait till you get to FL and it's not too far away, go see Todd at Tampa Hybrids. In the meantime, he gives a nice explanation on his web site:
Hybrid FAQ - Tampa Hybrids Inc.
He offers new or rebuilt with all matched cells from totaled cars.

 

I saw your suggestion about the Prolong Hybrid battery charger - discharger kit, and followed it to their site. It sounds like they're claiming it can discharged a failing battery, & then keep recharging it to have near perpetual life?
how many miles could I expect to get out of a original battery pack using this device? is age or mileage a better indicator of remaining battery life?
I'm considering buying a very used 3rd gen, and trying to find a workaround for buying an OME replacement drive battery.
Thanks, Russ.

 

We have a 2007. The battery went at 470k miles. It cost $3200 to have it replaced with a new one from Toyota. I explored the options and the "rebuilt" batteries are $2000 and then there is labor.

 

Todd's batteries are put together using all the cells from a known good battery, not just replacing one bad one from some unknown source. Mine even came with a Carfax report from the donor car. So, there's the "cobbled together, whack-a-mole" rebuilt, and the "complete transplant from a Gen 3 to a Gen 2" rebuilt. For about the same price.

 

If I lived near Todd, I would have gone there. I'm in PA/NY. It's nice to see a shop like his.

 

Why were they cheap long ago? My assumption was that they were always expensive being as the HV battery pack is a critical component of the Prius.

 

When the Prius was a new model, there was no demand for used batteries. So the price was low. Now that more and more batteries are failing, there is a demand. Simple economics.