2013 Prius V pre-inspection

$5k to $10k maintenance is possible especially at that age. Seriously. 70k miles is borderline.

And now for the rest of the story:

Oil Consumption, ABS Brake Booster, Inverter, Head Gasket, Water Pump, Hybrid Battery

Gen3 Prius with the 1.8L engine from 2010-2014 have bad rings causing excessive oil consumption around 125k-200k, the flawed Brake Booster is a $2500 failure in the same time frame, the Inverter is slightly less likely but was also defective from the factory. The brake booster has a special replacement warranty ("customer support program") that expires ten years from first use, assuming under 150k miles. On a 2013 that could be Sept 2022 to Sept 2023 for most with low miles. I would take the vin to Toyota and find out if the parts have been updated. Changed already is best as a failure will be costly after expiration.

The water pump is easy to replace, is electric driven and is really not a significant cost unless you don't pull off and stop immediately. Too many want to go two more miles and blow their engine.

Hybrid Battery is good to 150k-220k and the only good repair is new from $1600 diy to perhaps $3000.

A head gasket is $2,000 for a gasket job alone to $7,500 if the engine blows.

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Toyota's Prius and Prius v 2010-2014 models often have high oil consumption that result in egr and head gasket problems. By 2015 new pistons and rings were used in the gen3s. Often the gen3s exhibit short duration and occasional "cold start rattle" that is likely early head gasket leakage. Owners either ignore it or clean their egrs and add pcv oil catch cans, usually too late in the game if engine "rattle" is already occurring. Overheating can be an end result of head gasket failure because of lost coolant through the cylinders. Flippers sometimes hide head gasket failures with temporary sealers.

Inverter Sudden Death

The high voltage inverter is prone to sudden failure without warning, sometimes stranding the occupants. Keep your towing insurance paid up. Toyota will cover this for 15 years on most gen3s.


Head Gasket Root Causes

1. The number one likely root cause are bad piston rings that allow excessive blow by into the egr and pcv. This creates carbon in the valves and cylinders. Too often owners do not check the oil enough and run low until a low oil pressure failure compounds things. Bad valve stem seals add to oil burning.

Toyota admitted bad rings on the 2010-2014 Prius engines and changed the parts free if high oil consumption occurred during warranty. High consumption was defined as a quart every 1200 miles or worse, which almost never happened during the powertrain warranty.

2. The egr system itself which employs an elaborate stainless egr cooler feeding the egr valve. The egr cooler is liquid cooled and picks up exhaust gases upstream of the cat, effectively condensing portions. The near foot long cooler clogs limiting egr circulation. Egr cools the combustion chamber but clogging leads to pinging and knocking. Which is destructive before the knock sensor can adjust the timing.

Toyota moved the egr intake to downstream of the cat in the 2016 gen4 Prius. This provides cleaner exhaust gas for recirculation. Better piston and rings further reduced hydrocarbon blowby. All v wagons including 2015-17 are gen3.

3. The pcv system also dumps oil fumes into a plastic intake manifold, creating a catch can of sorts which eventually overfills into a cylinder. This often fouls the plug and causes further damage, sometimes even hydrolocking. Reduced blowby and improved intake manifolds reduced this issue in later generations.

4. While the Corolla has the same engine, the Prius is a stop start engine while the Corolla is not. As a result the 1.8L Prius engine has frequent thermal cycling as the engine cools and heats up while driving. Sometimes cycling twenty, thirty or forty degrees many times during the drive cycle. The head bolts are steel while the block and head itself are aluminum. The head bolts and the block/head metals see significant thermal expansion cycles. The Corolla 1.8L stays at a consistent temperature.

Thermal cycling remains a hybrid issue especially for vehicles in traffic or for those who have extended wait periods.

Opinion

Many think frequent oil changes while the engine is young and clean will keep it that way longer, even with known piston ring issues. Reduced oil consumption will keep the oil out of the exhaust, which in turn will reduce the gunk in the cylinders.

Experience shows that small coolant leaks into the cylinder can exist for months with little impact - but its certainly a game of engine hydrolock russian roulette that often bend connecting rods and sometimes blows holes through the block.

Then there is the fact that Toyota rerouted the egr intake to downstream of the catalytic converter by the fourth generation. Let the cat clean up unburned oil and fuel before dumping it back into the cylinders via the egr. Of course the rings and pistons were upgraded late in the gen3 run. Reduce oil burning and fuel blow-by. Makes sense. Almost like science at work.

I would go 5k miles max between oil changes. There are significant piston ring issues that you want to avoid. Many other possible problem areas. I would avoid excessive speed over 70 and long Ready state idles as well.

Given the car is now overpriced I would recommend not buying it.

 

tell us how you really feel

 

I am sure there will be a few counterpoints. If it was a 2015-2017 v with 70k I would give a tentative thumbs up. By the way the 2012-14 v wagons had a bad crash test rating to add intrigue and that living with risk thrill. The car has pros, a better ac system than the standard Prius and a Pitch and Bounce control for smoother highway driving. Mpg is less than the standard Prius due to increased load capacity and changed gearing.

 

Yes you could be hit with big bills in the first year. All used car prices are high now. The Corolla reference was related to their older and more reliable standard 1.8L engines vs the gen3 hybrid engines.

 

The solution to a low cost commuter vehicle - instead of a Prius

 

Don't do it................ unless..... you like mental and financial pain...............