Should we swap our beloved Gen3 for a 2017 Prime? (also posted in G3 Forum)

We have a 2011 Gen 3 and a 2017 Prime.

As an elderly homesteader I use the Gen 3 mostly for hauling stuff [livestock feed, building supplies, and sometimes pigs]. But honestly I would be far better served by getting a pickup truck.

As for your issue though, I would encourage the swap.

 

Is a rear wiper or a spare tire important? The Prime has neither. The space behind the rear seats is quite a bit less than your Gen3. The Telematics system tends to drain the 12v battery if you leave it unused for a while.

 

The GPS can be updated, just plug in a new micro-sd card under the dash. It works well enough, and I've owned multiple GPS models by megellin, Garmin, Toyota, Cadillac, and Jaguar. In 75,000 miles of driving a 2017 model I've been blinded by the sun reflecting off my wife's cell phone screen more often than I've have problems with reflections off the big screen.

I have not used the i-phone with the 2017 model, but it should act like any other bluetooth connected music player. And from that viewpoint, we often play the Android (Galaxy S22) over the built in sound system. We also used the Sirrus-XM music player while on long trips, and that works well too.

Note that I'm not a soundophile.

 

Gen3 engines have some serious design flaws that lead to blown head gaskets and early failure of piston rings. It's the only Prius that doesn't consistently make it to 500K Kilometers with only basic maintenance. All the problems were fixed starting in 2016, so if you don't make the most of this opportunity, you'll regret one day when mechanic diagnosis comes in on your Gen3. As in your Gen3 is at its peak value and you'd be wise to sell.

As for the big screen, you might be able to get an aftermarket system eventually because Gen4 Prius have a screen glitch that sometimes comes up and there's no easy solution so far and somebody is likely going to figure that out soon and sell an aftermarket product to resolve it.

But best of all, based on your driving habits, you'll likely only have to fill up the tank at the gas station a couple of times a year!

 

The only down side I can think of is finding a dealer service dept. but as a current owner you should already know about those possible issues.
If you're really interested in doing right by your good friend and you have any time to spare while thinking about the major drawbacks the car might present you as it's possible new owner just make a list and learn to search this and other Prius forums, there are solutions to most if not all minor annoyance issues. Unfortunately, many minor annoyances are turned into major annoyances, kinda like this one I'm writing. haha!
Shop around, if you haven't already. See what a comparable car is selling for on the open market, if you can find one or two still out there sporting those kinds of Kms/(Miles). Than see if you can find one a dealer is selling, I'll bet they are in short supply both in the lower 48 and up north.
I could be wrong about the supply of aging used Primes, plus in a few years from now, markets might turn up for grabs but last time I looked around used Gen 4 Primes were still selling at near there release date MSRP's . Hell, your Gen 3 might still be selling for a pretty penny.
Is the infotainment system, the dark interior color (up north?) and lack of an OEM spare donut even entering into your decision making process? a hatch wiper, REALLY?
Someone please STOP me
And I digress, sure, a prime is not a right fit for everyone and I'm guessing your good friend is one of those people.

 

At only 40K on the odometer, I would strongly recommend getting the Prime. If your driving does not exceed the 40KM official range rating then it is quite likely your yearly gas bills will be almost 0. There is simply no way for a Gen 3 that is expertly driven, to even come close to that owner experience. Also, for many Prime owners, 40KM is the lower range limit.

On a more apples-to-apples note: Even if you were to drive the Prime in hybrid mode all the time not only would your fuel economy be arguably better but you would have a more mechanically sound and reliable power train experience than that of a Gen 3 (i.e: EGR clogging -> blown head gaskets -> misfires, etc).

The insurance rates tend to be the same (at least in my area) and IMO, the prime is also a better riding and handling car. The reduced cargo space and lack of a 3 seat arrangement and a spare tire is something to consider if that matters to you.

Lastly, the GPS Maps can be updated for $250-$350 at your local dealer. Chances are they'll need a few of months to bring it in in a form of an SD card that you can easily use to upgrade the head unit yourself. I order one every two years and even though the maps are not the best or most accurate, they are very reliable and will always work even where cellular data connections are weak or non-existent (Canada , eh?).
Once paired, wireless bluetooth works very well to control and play music on any number of mobile apps.

 

While I prefer the g3 interior space, in light of the potential problems coming at your mileage, I would go for the prime, if it is a better deal than what is available on the market.
Just be aware of the exhaust heat exchanger issue

 

As long as they are driving at least once a week, I think this is probably even better for the battery health. It means the battery is not being fully charged and discharged, so it's barely being cycled at all. The 2019 prius prime in the video below now has over 500,000 miles on it and has only needed scheduled maintenance. The owner rarely charges the car because he is constantly on the road driving it.

 

I haven't watched all of the video yet but the Prime in the video had 340k miles at time of the recording.
Also, before watching any of the video I thought that using outliner (high mileage predominately hwy miles ) vehicles to make assumptions about how a car behaves under other less specialized conditions might not be how the car responds in other more normal driving scenarios.
Beyond all that AMD loves his high mileage videos and misses or brushes over a few important details IMO.
For example one important detail is that the car is rarely charged. OK, but that can mean a lot of different things to different people. It could mean charging to 100% SOC before every weekly or monthly hwy trip, or leaving SOC with no EV miles available and just using the 330 to 335 volts that the car normally uses when there are no EV miles shown on the gauges.
Normally, if charged to 100% SOC and switched to HV mode at the beginning of a long hwy trip, SOC rarely drops below 90% for most of the hwy miles driven. And when there are no EV miles showing on the gauge the Gen 4 Prime rarely if ever charges enough on it's own to show any EV miles for the duration of any (long or short ) trip that I've ever seen. And that doesn't mean that the car always behaves that way, it just mean that's what I've observed driving my Prime.

 

If you go to the pinned comment up at the top, and then scroll down to the bottom of the replies to that comment, you will see the owner updated the mileage eight days ago. He says it is now at 535,000 miles.
Yes, I agree his situation is different, mostly highway miles. I think I remember him saying he uses charge mode, so he probably drives it in HV mode on the highway until he reaches the city close to his destination and will put it in charge mode to give enough EV miles to drive around the city.

 

Color me surprised ! Like AMD keeps saying all original - 3 windshields and 3 sets of tires. If someone told me this car has 30K miles on it I'd believe um !
I'm out !

 

Better for plug in batteries not to be charged, lithium prefers it

 

That's not quite accurate.

The key is that they (lithium) should not be stored long term at 100% of capacity. They should not be stored at zero percent either. To the best of my knowledge, the battery management system (BMS) of the gen 4 Prime will not run the battery all of the way down and it will also not allow it to overcharge.

It's kind of difficult to explain to the average car buyer that their the one traction battery in their car is used in 3 different ways at the same time. 1) Power the EV mode, 2) buffer the HV mode, 3) store energy recovered from regeneration mode.

The most common killer of lithium batteries is overcharging or excessive discharge. Combine that with extremes of temperature (hot or cold) and you end up with batteries that have lower capacity. By the time that you need to replace the Gen4's traction battery the next generation of battery packs will be available at a reduced cost.