Buying a used Prius 2010 with open recalls

Have him take care of the recalls before you receive the car, makes sense to me it's his responsibility but it's your money

 

IMO the recalls are important.
If you can't have them done in Cambodia, that would be a deal killer for me.

 

welcome! not sure i'd want a prius in an area that can't service them. how much does gasoline cost?

 

I Google'd it and there is a Toyota Dealer in Phnon Penh.

 

they don't carry prius. it would be worth calling them to see if they can update and repair.

 

You would think they would have scanning software to update the ECM.

 

agreed.

 

The first recall (D0H) is for the brakes; eventually, the brake booster pump assembly can develop a crack. If that happens, there may be a squeaking noise from the engine compartment when braking, and the brakes might feel mushy. The stopping distance will increase. According to Toyota's documentation, once the part becomes cracked, it takes out another part with it - the recall replaced the brake booster pump assembly, but if certain codes had been logged by the computer, they also had to replace the brake booster assembly. About 3% of recalled vehicles don't actually require service, though. If you wanted, you might be able to inspect it yourself - it's determined by the orientation of a caution sticker on the brake accumulator. I have no idea if you'll be able to see it without taking some stuff apart, but you can take a look at an example on page 8 of this document.

The second recall (E0E) is for the "intelligent power module" inside the inverter. Under high load, it's possible for the transistors to get fried in the inverter. The recall involves a software update that attempts to avoid stressing the transistors so much. If the transistors are damaged, then the recall also includes replacing them and possibly other parts in the hybrid system. When the problem happens, it usually puts the car into limp mode - top speed is a couple mph. It's also possible for the motor-generator ECU to reset, so the car completely shuts down. This failure has been reported by more than a few people here on PriusChat (although a good number of them are people that register just to say "hey, my car suddenly died!" and then we all point them to the recall). It seems to be more common on higher-mileage vehicles, because the wear is cumulative.

I can't make the determination for you if you should buy the vehicle, but here are some things that I would consider:
1. If the brakes get mushy, will you be able to replace the brake booster pump assembly and brake booster assembly? If yes, that's as good as doing the recall, except for the fact that you'd have to pay for it yourself.
2. If the car dies, will you be able to replace the IPM, the inverter, the MG ECU, and/or the Power Management ECU? If yes, that's nice - but it probably won't prevent the problem from happening again - unless you happen to replace both the MG ECU and the PM ECU, because presumably they'd both come with the "fixed" version of the firmware. (I have no idea if it's possible to flash the fixed firmware yourself, using Techstream software, if you could find that somewhere. But maybe?)
3. Will you be able to afford replacing either or both of those if they fail?
4. What are the risks of losing braking power or your car stalling in your area? In some places, traffic is relatively safe and respectful - in others, an accident would be far more likely due to the amount of aggressive driving around your stalled vehicle.
5. If you're not dissuaded by the reasons above, then is the seller offering a particularly good deal compared to a similar car with the recalls performed? Figure each of those might cost $2,000 to fix.
6. According to that Carfax, the car was exported from the US well after the recalls were known. Do you want to reward the exporter for ignoring the recalls?

I'm not trying to influence your decision in either direction - I'm just trying to provide you as much information as possible so that you can make whatever decision is best for you.

 

A bargaining chip is a bargaining chip. If you're teetering on the fence, perhaps you can negotiate a better price.