2010 Prius stopped on busy street!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Mamalucy, Oct 14, 2025 at 1:38 AM.

  1. Mamalucy

    Mamalucy Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2019
    4
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    Location:
    Culver City, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Am original owner, car has been babied 123,500 miles, regular maintenance by Toyota certified mechanic. For past week "check engine" light came on. I was driving to mechanic when the car suddenly stopped in the road with "Check Hybrid system" yellow triangle light flashing. Lucky it didn't stop on freeway! Got a tow to mechanic, who thinks it's a bad electric water pump, wants to replace it & thinks inverter will recharge. Thinks hybrid is OK.
    My question here is what else could happen with a almost 16 y/o Prius that I should be aware of. My mechanic says it should last another 10 years, but if replacement parts are expensive, might be better to get a newer car?
    Thank you for any advice.
     
    #1 Mamalucy, Oct 14, 2025 at 1:38 AM
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    113,416
    51,612
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    the hybrid battery, brake actuator, egr circuit and head gasket are your 4 likely big expenses.
    1) hybrid battery: 3-4k
    2) brake actuator 3-4k
    3) egr cleaning 1K
    4) head gasket 2-3k or if the whole engine blows, as much as 8-10k.
    is it burning any oil?
     
    #2 bisco, Oct 14, 2025 at 2:07 PM
    Brian1954 likes this.
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    59,701
    41,050
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Has it had brake or transaxle fluid changes? Periodic brake service?
    Ever cleaned the EGR system?
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Oct 14, 2025 at 2:55 PM
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