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Prius 2011 - Blown Head Gasket and Scored #1 Cyl

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by WillieG, Sep 12, 2019.

  1. WillieG

    WillieG Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2011
    3
    5
    0
    Location:
    Walnut, CA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    This is a one family car driven exclusively in Southern California with perfect maintenance using 0-20 full synthetic oil and top grade oil filters. Never burned oil, always perfect in all respects for 120,000 miles. Only service, other than book maintenance, were for the electronic recalls. NO issues and best car we ever had...

    Then it began to miss fire upon overnight or approx 8 hrs. parking for about 20 seconds. This went on for about two weeks before I took it into a trusted Toyota dealer. Their computer showed a miss in cyl. #1 and darkened Toyota Red coolant. They took out #1 spark plug, which had only 1,000 miles on it after the 100,000 major tuneup, and scoped the cylinder wall which were badly scored. The plug also showed coolant damage.

    With that, the quote for a new engine block etc. was $8,000. It is obvious that this option was not acceptable. The final decision is to put in a JDM engine and drive it till it dies. As of now, the car has new tires, original 17" rims, new front brakes which were all done at the major tuneup. The leather interior 5 series car is otherwise in perfect condition. And here I thought Toyota's had long lasting engines. I'm totally PISSED.
     
    Inspector858, The Critic and Grit like this.
  2. GFO

    GFO Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    67
    47
    0
    Location:
    Larkspur
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    That's terrible, but your experience is nowhere near normal. It's very common for 3rd gens to go 150-200k without a single minor or major issue using only regular maintenance.

    You could have gotten that rare lemon, it happens with all manufacturers. Some more than others of course. *cough* *cough* GM *cough*
     
  3. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2016
    11,251
    15,474
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, California
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    You said red coolant:whistle:?

    It’s supposed to have the pink;).

    If your down in SoCal, I’d look up @Avi's Advanced Automotive and see what he says(y).
     
    Inspector858 likes this.
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,474
    38,106
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    NutzAboutBolts likes this.
  5. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2005
    3,193
    2,316
    0
    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    The coolant was probably darkened from combustion gases due to a failed HG.

    The head gasket failure is fairly common on the 10-15's. Usually it does not happen until after 150K, but anyone in the six-figure mileage category should considered themselves warned.
     
  6. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2017
    5,286
    4,225
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    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Who did the swap, and what did it end up costing?
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.