2012 Blown Engine - Can I use 13-15 engines if I find one?

Yes you can. With little work you can even put a gen4 engine in ( 16 to current). I haven’t done it but lots of posts about it. I plan to do a gen4 swap if mine goes.
Sorry about the cat getting stolen. Sucks already blew the motor then that happens.

 

and 15 would be best with improved pistons/rings. 14 would be second best, avoid 13

 

I started an misguided theory that the 14''s just got pistons, or rings, but anyway: 14 got new pistons and rings, at the same time, sometime through the year. I believe the VIN no of the change is in the attached.

I'd second considering 4th gen engines, though you'd want to watch this:

Swapping in a Gen 4 Prius' 2ZR Engine into the Prius v | PriusChat

And: what's your miles? Did you ever clean the EGR (including intake manifold)? Clean your EGR system if you don't want a repeat. More info in first link in my signature.

 

thanks. i'll never remember that some 14's got all new, and i don't want to mislead anyone, so i'll stick with 15's.

 

2015 Prius hatchback or 2015-2017 Prius v wagon is the best bet for a replacement gen3 engine.

While the mid 2014 production run engines are also "good", most available engines are not identifiable by year or vin once they are removed from the donor car. US engines had a vin plate but most salvage yards remove the plate. Japanese JDM engines are more available but never had trackable US vins.

Gen3 Prii from 2010-13s sold almost 600,000 units in the US compared to 250,000 in 2014-15. Half of the 2014s are flawed as well. Lots of high mileage, bad piston, oil burners full of carbon.

In Japan it was ~850,000 Prii through 2013 and a little less than 200,000 in 2014-15. Guess what year range your unidentified US or JDM engine is coming from? Given the late 2014s and 15s are probably still running unless wrecked, the odds of a drop in used engine being flawed is high.

Overall the best solution is to get a US low mile engine based on a donor vin and then rebuild it with new pistons, machined heads and a new gasket set. Next best is to rebuild a higher mileage engine that came from a wrecked donor. Rebuilding a head gasket victim is tricky because of cylinder scoring and aluminum warping possibilities. Follow with 5k mile oil changes and 100k egr cleanups. No more oil burning and a drastically reduced chance for another head gasket over the next 150,000 miles. Is that worth it? Absolutely.

Most likely the resale value goes way up with this documented repair. Enough to make thousands if the car is sold in the next year or two.

 

I did not realize that it was a Prius V. I agree with RJ Parker. I would not Attempt putting a generation four engine into that car.

 

Call the guys and belleville new jersey JDM and get a quote on what you want gen 3 or 4 will go I am not sure I would do the four i'm very happy with the gen 3 I just bought along with its transmission so both my engine and transmission have never been on American soil till it got here to me and I like that idea nobody's been working on it anything you buy in a US salvage yard is going to be overpriced and at what they call their market value and have ridiculous mileage generally speaking

 

Dont swap in a third gen engine. Use a 4th gen.

 

I had this option but extending some sensor wires and bending another pipe just didn't seem like would make much of a whole lot of difference I don't think they've done a whole lot of work to the gen 4 engine i'm waiting till we get to a 2 l by the time we ever get to that in the prius and 100 horsepower electric motor it'll be time to move on to electrics and will be done here