What’s the Best Way to Evaluate a Potential Prius Purchase Especially the Battery?

dr. prius can tell you the % of battery life left.

but a good crook can rebuild the battery so that it tests fine for awhile. then days not long after you own it.
history is important, as well as the seller. one ower is best, etc. service records are best, etc.

a lot of high mileage gen 2's are oil burners. that's a hard thing to test for.

gen 3 has myriad weak points, and unless they have already been taken care of (with proof) they are potential 'gotcha's'
one thing you can do is test drive a new one to get used to all the different sounds hybrids make.

then reset the mpg meter, and take long test drives in potential purchases under varied conditions with radio off and see what it returns for mpg's
test all the functions, a/c, radio, heat, lights and etc.

pull a car fax and make sure all recalls are done, no accidents.

make sure you get 2 fobs. new ones cost $400.

 

Both are a poor choice at this point in time.
All your future gas savings will be eaten up in repairs.

Gen2 has many malady’s the hybrid battery the abs actuator and the constant threat of cat theft and oil eating engine from poor maintenance.
And it’s a very complicated car to fix if it gets a weird issue.

G3 with its egr issues and possible head gasket failure and abs actuator,

Most people flog the shite out of these cars then get a big repair bill from the dealer then trade it in next stop is the used car lot on the corner.

Unless you can use a DVM second nature and have real strong electronics and mechanic skills these 2 cars will be a hassle.

 

To discover if the traction battery is doing well, take the car on a 20-30 minute drive and look at the efficiency. The car should be getting above 40 miles per gallon. If it is not, or if the battery charge is rapidly going up and down from full to empty, then there is likely a battery problem.

You should always check maintenance and repair records on any car you buy. If it was regularly maintained, then it is more likely a good buy. If there are not regular repair and maintenance records, you really don’t know what kind of shape it’s in.

Another thing to consider is age. The average age of all cars on the road is around 12 years. That means that all 2nd Gen Prii are older than average. And older cars typically start to have more problems crop up. For instance, the multifunction display on my car went out last month and I had to find a way to fix or replace it without spending a fortune. Also, 3rd Gen Prii tend to have, on average, more problems than late 2nd Gen Prii.

So if you can find a well maintained 2008 or 2009 Prius with no signs of battery problems, then it can be a good vehicle for you. But if not, you might be better off looking for 2016 or newer (4th Gen) models.

 

Moving is right….there just 15 year old cars now. But with a really good reputation of a great car and they are. Or were. Now when they have an issue it’s usually much more complicated than a car with just an engine.