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2008 Prius help

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by bcnme, Mar 9, 2019.

  1. bcnme

    bcnme New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2019
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    Location:
    92508
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Three Touring
    Glad to have found this site - the red triangle of death on my 2008 with over 230k arrived last year. Since then the car has been parked on non-op in So Calif. I have been debating the option of putting in a new/used engine and keep using. the body interior parts are all in good shape and a lot of the engine compartment - heater muffler etc were all fairly new. my regular mechanic said he would not be able to do the engine replacement and doesn't think it's worth it.

    Any thoughts that would help me figure out whether to rebuild or just sell to the junk yard?

    thanks in advance.
     
    #1 bcnme, Mar 9, 2019
  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Welcome to Prius Chat (y).

    Some questions:
    • What makes you believe the engine is bad requiring replacement?
    • How long has the Prius actually sat?
    • Did you have the codes read?
    • Was the engine oil level low?
    The cause of the red triangle can be many things ;).

    Best to have the codes read and see what the true cause is. Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
    #2 Raytheeagle, Mar 9, 2019
    Skibob likes this.
  3. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2008
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    Location:
    Chesterton, Indiana Another third world country.
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    If you have to pay someone to do the work your mechanic is probably right. JMO
     
    #3 padroo, Mar 9, 2019
    Skibob likes this.
  4. bcnme

    bcnme New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2019
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    Location:
    92508
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Three Touring
    Codes read cylinders bad car has been sitting about 16 months.
     
    #4 bcnme, Mar 9, 2019
  5. bcnme

    bcnme New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2019
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    Location:
    92508
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Three Touring
    Codes read cylinders bad car has been sitting about 16 months.
     
    #5 bcnme, Mar 9, 2019
  6. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Do you remember what the codes were?

    Unless it was completely run out of oil, the Gen2’s are pretty robust.

    Any more info on what happened prior to parking it?

    The more details the better(y).
     
    #6 Raytheeagle, Mar 9, 2019
    Skibob likes this.
  7. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2008
    2,763
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    Location:
    Chesterton, Indiana Another third world country.
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    If it has not been started for 16 months your 12V battery is more than likely bad and a Prius High Voltage Battery could be questionable too.
    Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You need to get someone else to take a look at it and see what it would cost to get it going again and go from there. There seems to be a market for old hybrids instead of junking it if that is the way you want to go. Look at the whole picture and then decide.
     
    #7 padroo, Mar 9, 2019
  8. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    What was bad about the cylinders? Low compression? Oil on spark plugs? Burning too much oil? Oil in the intake manifold? We have had at least one engine here the Toyota dealer said was shot that wound up to be something completely different. If you want help you need to give us more information.
     
    #8 Skibob, Mar 11, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2019
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    How much would engine replacement cost, and how does that compare to a decent running car?
     
    #9 bisco, Mar 11, 2019
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