How does not driving a 2010 Prius for long periods affect the hybrid battery?

You're going to push your luck again that is almost laughable I wish you luck with that I would tell you not to push your luck because something will snap and it will cost you you spend 10 to 11 grand on another generation 3 maybe a generation 4 possibly even that will be pushing it but don't let me get into I told you so type of thing but you skated well so far The rink is about to thaw out and that may come to a grinding halt you skating on asphalt next which is instant stoppage and have an accident in the skating arena anyway Good luck my friend..

 

That was a huge mechanical problem that could have cost you $5k-$8k to replace the engine. Its very common on gen3s over 125k miles.

No the chances are high regardless

Even higher is the chance it will blow a head gasket or already has and is temporarily masked for a couple of months by sealer.

 

The hybrid battery cannot be damaged by a small number of trips. In this series of cars (GEN3) the engine, coolant leak, faulty (dirty) EGR can be much more problematic.

 

It most certainly can and likely was. They drain out very fast and need to be driven daily or at least a couple times per week especially in extreme climates hot or cold. A new HV battery may be just fine, but a car at 200k short trips are horrible.

 

They don't drain fast.... nor do they "need" to be driven daily, or every few days......
You'll have more issues with the 12v battery they the hybrid battery. Unless it is weak.....

Short trips and/or not driving is not good for the 12v battery. Keep a trickle charger on it when you're
driving for several day if you are only making short trips.. Maybe less than 30 minutes?

 

This is another common problem with gen3s and has nothing to do with head gasket fails or even excessive oil consumption. The timing cover leaks are seeps that might not be more than an ounce per 10k miles. However dealer cost to fix the seep is over $1200.

A head gasket fail is very common these days. A small shop I use does about 50 a year. But he does not just replace the hg, they replace the engine even though it has not yet blown a hole in the block. He has far more engine replacements than hybrid battery repairs.

The dealers around here have always replaced engines rather than risk come backs with a gasket job. A member last week posted about his diy hg replacement lasting only 27k miles.

When someone has a gen3 budget driven purchase in mind I always recommend a conventional Corolla, Civic or Camry.

 

If you can do the work yourself, you don't spend a $1000!
Perhaps you should look for a 2015 model. It has the updated pistons and rings.

Even though those 2010's you are looking at have lower mileage, they are close to the
mileage where issues for the head gasket can appear.
If those cars have more highway miles, you should be good. And they've changed the oil
at 5000 miles or so.

I'm certain you can get the price down quite a bit.

 

The timing chain cover has proven prone to leak. Dealerships jump on that, and charge $1500~2000 to reseal it. It can be done with the engine in place. You do need to remove the engine mount, and I believe the water pump and oil filter bracket. Timing chain tensioner as well.

2010 till partway through 2014 are prone to start burning oil, around 150k miles. Toyota spec'd piston rings that have less outward spring, reducing friction, gaining them a few tenths of a mpg brownie points, and leaving owners with oil-burners.

Pretty much EVERY 3rd gen will succumb to head gasket failure, somewhere around 150~200k miles, at least those that have not had periodic EGR, cleaning. Being an EGR "fanatic", I advocate a full cleaning every 50k miles; believe it'll prevent this.

 

I'd stay away from the Gen 3. You may actually find the one that's got no real issues, but the chances are that you're finding ones that have real issues, like a car that's been crashed and rebuilt. Any one where someone's put all the work in replacing the timing cover gasket doesn't give me high hopes that this is the one Gen 3 that's going to be worth it.

I also see cars that have been salvaged with low miles. In that case, not only do you have that the car's been sitting, but also you've gotta wonder what happened. Not everything shows up in the CarFax report. I had a used engine put into my 2009, and that didn't show up anywhere. Even through the local Toyota dealer performed the swap.

Yeah, I've got a fairly low mileage 2011 (115K). It's not that I didn't drive it for long periods (until the last couple years when I retired). The relatively low mileage is because this city isn't so big. I know the history of my car though, and I also know that it's probably not going to make it much past 200K, even if I keep up on the EGR.

If you can find a used Gen 4, it's probably going to be a lot better for you in the end. There are federal tax credits to help you get into a Prime, and maybe more in California. Also, if you typically drive less than 25 miles (or maybe a few more), it's like owning an EV. That lower total cost of ownership should also help with what you spend on the car in the end.

 

More of its useful lifetime goes past without anyone receiving benefit from it.

There's an argument that lack of use makes it go bad even faster- not sure I buy that. But time going past without anyone using it is bad enough. They break down chemically whether you are using them or not.

I've described it before as like buying an ice cream cone while walking through a park on a hot day: you can enjoy that ice cream right now, or you can let it melt. You can't save it for later. A Prius battery is similar.

 

There are salvage cars sold with a "clean title". When I sold my Gen 2, I got a CarFax report and filled in the missing information for the buyer. I wanted to be totally open about what they were buying.

Other than when the original engine failed, it held up nicely. The replacement (used engine I found with 35K miles) still didn't use any oil 125K miles later. The leather interior had some creases, but no rips, tears. The clearcoat was just starting to go though, and it had a couple parking lot dings (like the windy day when I found someone didn't put their f%&#ing shopping cart away). I had just replaced the front wheel bearings and struts as well as rear brake shoes and drums.

My Gen 2 had a lot of features my Gen 3 lacks (leather seats, Bluetooth, backup camera, programmable garage door buttons on the mirror, JBL audio, navigation system, touch screen display...) It's like the Gen 2 was "the car of the future", while the Gen 3 is the "stripped down" version. It does get slightly better gas mileage.

You may be able to find a Gen 2, but I think most of those you will find are to the point where they are just worn out, either with age, or miles, or both. After 200K miles, even a Gen 2 Prius requires some repairs you wouldn't need with a newer car. When a car starts really breaking down, most people would just unload the car on someone else.