Hey guys, this is a Prius I’m looking at, I’m interested and I’ve been reading a bit on the dos and donts that you guys have mentioned. I saw you guys say that 2004 is the best generation but what about 2002? I’m going in blind here but I want to be well informed before I dive in. thanks guys!
No. This car is 25 years old and the way you are asking this implies you are not a "wrench". You will not save money...or headaches...if you purchase this vehicle for reliable daily transportation.
Welcome! You've read this thread, right? Who should and should NOT buy a 2001-03 Prius | PriusChat I had one of those first-gens and I remember it fondly. But: It was a sedan, with a trunk and fixed rear seat, so less versatile/practical than the later generations, all hatchbacks. It had belt-driven air conditioning, so if you were sitting in traffic with the A/C cycling on and off, that meant the whole engine was cycling on and off. Annoying. All the later generations have electric A/C compressors so that doesn't happen. At a certain age, replacement parts start showing up as NLA (no longer available) and then instead of easy repairs you start having treasure hunts. The car you showed in your second post was from the second generation, so it's got the hatchback and the electric A/C and various other improvements and can probably make you happier. It's still quite an old car though. Here in Indiana, I'm within a couple driving hours of a business that has a specialty in keeping those second-generation Prii going. Is there any resource like that near you?
You can wind up spending a lot of money trying to save a little gas in an old Prius... What's your actual goal here?
I couldnt log in for a few days and I didnt have your advice but I bought one! It’s a 2009, 161k miles. No error codes, some body fluffs but everything works(A/C, backup camera, battery, rear windshield wiper). I love it so far. However ive gone through half a tank and ive only gotten 160 miles out of it. I did see your thread about learning how to drive a Prius and I’ve been doing my best to drive conservatively. FYI the one i bought was not any of the ones I shared here, obviously. I’m getting a detailed full inspection from Toyota next week. I hope I don’t have to get a new battery but so far I’ve driven it for 150 miles and no issues. Trying to post pictures but the forums says they’re too big, but they’re from my cell phone….
Thanks for replying. My goal is to save money on gas. I’m coming from a 2012 VW Jetta and a 94 Bronco where the latter gets horrible milage(11.5 on a good day) and I just need an A to B vehicle that cuts fuel costs in half. However, I’m somewhat disappointed I’ve only gotten almost the same milage out of my Prius as I have out of my Bronco which really deflates this whole hype train. I read the .pdf in 2nd gen Prius category of “why arent I getting the sticker MPG?” But I’m reading this is normal?
A new Prius is a fantastic way to save money on gas. An older Prius can still save gas money, but there are some very expensive gotchas that come up when they get older. If you start with a new one and age into it, you know where the bodies are buried, and you've been saving money the whole time, so it isn't that bad. When you start out with an older Prius, you run the risk of just buying somebody else's problems- a clapped out (but still high tech, high complexity) car that requires some specialized work to keep it happy. Be careful and do what you can to avoid the dealer- that's a very expensive way of keeping them up.
Wait, what Prius are you driving? I thought you were only looking to possibly purchase one? The Bronco got "11.5 on a good day" and that's what you're seeing from a Prius? Where, how, how long, and how often are you driving it? Does the parking brake warning light work?
the gen 2 (2004-9) has a rubber bladder inside the gas tank. it can cause the gauge not to behave linearly. best you can do is keep a record at fill ups, and keep averaging the mpg's over multiple tanks. what is the screen mpg reading?
