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Limping my Gen2 Prius Along

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by a_gray_prius, Mar 7, 2019.

  1. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    Tl;dr version: I have an old Prius with issues and I'm wondering how cheaply I can keep it going for another 6-18months with the issues I have

    Full explanation:
    So I have a gen2 that has been with us for 10 years and 267k miles. I let my dealer inspect the car when we went in for an oil change and I have more issues than I expected.

    Since it looks like Porsche isn't going to be delivering the Taycan/Mission e anythime soon (currently on a waitlist), I'm currently shopping for an interim vehicle. However, I'd like to keep the Prius going for a little while longer so I have a little more time to shop (hard to find decent examples of some of the cars I'm looking at) and I kind of don't want to get rid of it before mandatory emissions testing forces me to get rid of it.


    1. Car burns oil - I'm putting in about a quart every 1000 miles. Car produces a little smoke. This is typical of a car of our age and mileage. Likely only fixable with an engine replacement or overhaul

    2. P0420 errors - this is probably the cat going bad from all the smoke and why the car likely won't pass the next emissions check (probably required before the next plate renewal in ~12 months). This probably requires replacement of the cat (replacement with an OEM part is like $1600 for the exhaust part alone)

    Both 1&2 are probably going to go unfixed and I'm probably just going to keep adding oil at regular intervals.

    3. Front brake pads and rotors need replacement. I'm wondering if I can get away with using aftermarket rotors and pads since I only need it to go 18 months max. I'm pretty sold on Bosch rotors $26/EA compared to Toyota OEM at $57/EA. Not sure about the pads - I run high-performance ceramics on our tracked cars, but those like to be warned up. I'm thinking about throwing on some akebono ceramics (which are still half OEM price at $36/set compared to $76)

    4. Rear brake shoes measured at 1mm - this is basically the service threshold for the rear drum shoes. I'm not sure about aftermarket parts here. Also not sure what else should be replaced with the shoes - maybe some retaining springs?

    5. Loose axle bearing. Pretty sure I just have to replace this. I'll probably just pay for OEM parts. Not sure what parts I'd need other than just the hub and bearing assembly (42450-47030).

    6. Serpentine belt cracked. Probably going to just replace it with OEM. If I was going to keep the car longer I'd probably replace the pulley, but the pulley is like $56 and doesn't seem worth it.

    7. Leaking water pump. Probably just going to replace with OEM since it's only $56 for oem 16100-29157-83 and an Aisin part is already $35.
     
    #1 a_gray_prius, Mar 7, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2019
  2. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    #1 There are threads here that deal with piston soaks that have seemed to help. Check them out.
    #2 Do you need to buy the OEM cat in your state? Aftermarket cats are way cheaper.
    #3 Go with the aftermarket for 18 months.
    #4 Always change the springs no matter what brand shoes you go with.
    #5 OEM.
    #6 18 months only? Is OEM that important?
    #7 Asian is OEM for my 4 runner. In fact all they do is grind off the Toyota name on the pump. Go with the Aisin. The difference would pay for a Toyota belt.
     
    #2 Skibob, Mar 8, 2019
  3. landspeed

    landspeed Active Member

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    1. Does the smoke result in an automatic emissions fail? In New Zealand, no visible smoke is allowed. Our emissions test is 'can you see smoke', literally. No fancy exhaust gas testing :)

    2. I also have a P0420 error for the last few years; I need to troubleshoot this (when I lend my car to my friend who drives it like he stole it, he actually clears the code by driving normally rather than hypermiling all the time).
    -> In NZ, you can pass the annual 'warrant of fitness' which includes the 'visible smoke test' for emissions, even if the check engine light is on.

    -> On my car, when I disconnect the 12v battery, or when I reset the codes after triggering codes after messing around with the battery etc, it takes a while, the P0420 doesn't trigger the check engine light for a fair while (such as a 60km drive to get the check done, then it only came on after the check). I didn't do this on purpose since the CE light doesn't mean anything for NZ annual testing!

    In your state, does a check engine light mean a mandatory failure? If not, can you get emissions checked as they may still be OK? It is very possible for emissions to be OK if the cat is failing; years ago, I had a bluebird (stolen later :/) which put out constant blue smoke and used a carburettor, had no cat, but the HC emissions were 120 (limit 200 for car and 1200 without cat), and all the other emissions were also up to modern limits. It may be that even with the P0420 your car still passes the exhaust gas emissions test?

    (Also, do you need OEM cat replacements in your state?)
     
    #3 landspeed, Mar 8, 2019
  4. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    1. www.amazon.com/Lucas-10001-Heavy-Duty-Stabilizer/dp/B000AS1XYO
    2. 2004-2009 Toyota Prius Catalytic Converter - Davico 18382 - Center - PartsGeek.com
    3. 1A Auto : Aftermarket Auto Parts, Car Body Parts, Replacement & New Automobile and Truck Parts | Buy Discount Car & Auto Parts Online
    4. 1A Auto : Aftermarket Auto Parts, Car Body Parts, Replacement & New Automobile and Truck Parts | Buy Discount Car & Auto Parts Online

    6. https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/driveworks-serpentine-belt-335k3/99984543-P
     
    #4 JimboPalmer, Mar 8, 2019
  5. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
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    I appreciate everyone's thoughts. I realized that I forgot to mention that the battery is probably failing as well (as I see fairly rapid purple->green->purple transitions going up and down short hills on the highway), so keeping the vehicle long term is probably not a good idea. I figure the car is going to be worth more on trade-in if it's running rather than with a totally dead battery when it's probably just going to get scrap value.

    #1&2: For the oil consumption and P0420, it's kind of an self-sustaining issue. IL doesn't require OEM anything as long as there aren't any codes (basically no CEL) and it passes the OBD2 self-test. I can probably have one of the local muffler shops weld on an aftermarket cat, but unless I really fix the oil consumption, it's just going to happen again. I can keep clearing the codes with my OBD2 tools, but I'm not sure it'll pass self-test.

    #6: I'm probably going to use an OEM serp belt since it's only $15 - aftermarket is like $9 and I figure the $6 savings isn't worth it.
    #7: I figure that most parts on the car are going to be either Aisin or Denso, so the Aisin makes sense.

    Our stat doesn't do exhaust gas testing - just the ODB2 self-test and the check engine light is almost a guaranteed fail. We also don't need OEM cat replacements and I can probably have a local muffler shop weld on an aftermarket cat, but unless I really do something about the oil consumption I'll likely be repeating this more often than I'm comfortable with.

    I appreciate the links, but there are some better options to be had buying from RockAuto. For some parts, buying OEM is probably best due to minimal cost savings, namely #6 where the OEM part is only $15 vs the aftermarket $9 and the aftermarket part has a review that goes "The OEM belt lasted 9yrs until it snapped in half. This belt from day 1 made noises even when properly tensioned. It has a 1yr warranty, but lasted about 18 months until it split down the middle into two belts"
     
    #5 a_gray_prius, Mar 9, 2019
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