GEN 4 VS GEN 3 Which one is better.

Guess a lot has changed, since I was there 30 years, ago. Nissans are prevalent probably because of their factory in Aguascalientes.

 

Most cars & trucks in Honduras were also Nissan or Toyota during my years there.

 

Gen 3 has the blown head gasket problem but Gen 4 has a cracked windshield problem. Do all the Gen 4s have the cracked windshield problem though? Or was that ever fixed in later years?

 

Gen 4 early 2016 was fixed in later years. 2019+ do not have the issue

 

No cracks on either our 2017 Prius (24k miles) or our 2017 Prime (65k miles). And the Prime took a shredded tire to the windshield on the Interstate in Colorado without damage.

 

Whichever is more fuel efficient is better considering the cost of said fuel at the current moment, IMO.

 

Might be, but I prefer the simplicity of a beam axle as really cheap to repair. All those rubber bushings will drgeade with age. Any damage to those sheet metal drawn pressings will be expensive and difficult to repair or replace.

All that electronic technology becomes obsolete with age. All those sensors and cameras are very expensive to replace and realign. There is or will be a black market for them as the parts on the on road base ages. No exposed expensive easily stolen parts means no theft of those parts.

My simplest 2012 2 level Prius v is 10 years old and functions with the same efficiency as the day it was driven off the showroom floor.

10 years old means that a pay a minimum of property taxes and insurance cost.

 

Buy and hold.

 

Fair enough. I’m just saying. I’m happy with my 2020 Prime, especially now that fuel is $5+ a gallon

 

Stay away from Nissan especially the jacko transmissions and the CVTs. 4th gen Prius is definitely better than the third gen. Oil burning issue in the 2010 through 2014 destroyed the cats. Third gen is not what you want at this point unless you like putting in engines catalytic converters battery packs brake booster accumulator and ABS control valve assembly and radios and shocks and struts and sway bar bushings And cleaning out the EGR cooler with the coat hanger

 

To make a valid comparison, we must consider cars of the same age, mileage and equivalent service history.

Sure, the 2010 Prius will not have a better service history as a 2016. There are currently no 10 year old Gen 4's.

All cars have issues like head gaskets, egr cooler clogging (excepting those with no egr) and oil burning with high mileage.

We, here, hear a lot of issues about Gen 3 problems, But, if you lookk at the Consumer Reports customer survey ratings, the particular issues are rarely reported when compared to vehicles of other models and of other manufacture,

So, any Prius of either generation is a good choice, when compared with other cars.

 

gen 3 began having rattle engine issues early on. egr presented shortly thereafter. head gaskets followed long before the current age of a 2016. brake actuators got their tsb, but is now over for the unfortunate.
ipm recall left many stranded on the highway, others have been sent home in limp mode due to inverter pump failure.
you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. my own 2012 with only 20,000+ miles on the engine displays erratic idle ad times, and hesitation during accelleration on other occasions.

gen for after 6 years (and some high mileage vehicles) looks pretty good in comparison. yes, all cars have issues.

 

Gen 4 has been getting coolant leaks in the exhaust heat exchanger, which necessitates replacement of that whole section, including catalytic converter if I'm not mistaken. Maybe not in the same league as 3rd gen engine failures (due to coked-up pistons rings and failing head gaskets, due in turn to Mark I EGR system...), but not trivial/cheap either.

I believe Toyota's ackowledging the issue and fixing gratis, BUT currently the exhaust components are hard to come by, and dealerships (and Toyota) apparently refuse to do interim fixes, specifically to bypass the exhaust heat exchange system, due to pollution control regs. Very "noble" I guess, but this leaves owners in the lurch, needing to DIY bypass fixes.

Where have I heard this before...

 

agreed, that is an issue, and may become worse. so far though, it seems to be few and far between?
or is it a ticking time bomb

 

Why sort of mileage do these Gen 4 coolant leaks occur?

 

Not sure. Pretty sure there's a more recent/populated thread, but a quick search I found this one, has a (North American) TSB:

TSB: Coolant leakage at front exhaust pipe (Prius & Prius Prime) | PriusChat

There's this too, misnomer title:

2019 40k Head Gasket Failure!? | PriusChat

Still, think there's a more extensive thread. 4th gen owners may chime in.

 

Hmm. I did 52k in my 2016 and there was no hint

 

Everybody loves a new car. They praise it because it's shiny and they paid so much for it and they take such pride in it because they work so hard for that. When it gets older and they don't have to pay much for it and then it needs a repair they bash it and they talk about what a piece of crap it is. But they forget that they got it for a song and a dance and it's serving the purpose. People trade in an old car to get another old car that's shinier. It's just the habit of the common man. If you want a third gen get a 2015. I can't speak about the 4th gen other than it's better technology more efficient better suspension slightly better design inside and out and you won't bash it because you paid so much for it and it won't break down much because it's new

 

I have a Gen 3 2010 with 248.000 km now. No oil usage and no other problems after cleaning whole egr system. MPG is over 50 now.

Debating upgrading to Gen4 because eventually my 62% battery will be gone. Gen 4 is a nicer car sure - or using the money to installing a solar roof.... I guess in norway you can get a 2016 from $14.000

 

^^^ With the next gen Prius about to come out, I would say holdout and get the 5th gen. Even if you don't like the 5th gen, its release will no doubt drive down the cost of the 4th.