Topic: Used Vehicle Review: Toyota Prius, 2010 - 2014

[Autos_Editor]

2010 and up Prius owners report minimal issues

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[Ex-airbalancer]

This writer always makes me laugh 
Major complaint
"Note that numerous owners have complained of rapid battery depletion in regards to their smart-key transponder remotes "

A $2 battery wearing out after 3 years 

[ArticSteve]

Though a dead or weak 12-volt battery (which starts the car, not drives it) may or may not be apparent on a test-drive, Prius owners should be aware of some reported issues with dead batteries. Parasitic draw when the Prius is off, as well as infrequent driving and the fact that the Prius can spend plenty of time with its engine not running, and therefore not recharging the battery, all contribute to the issue.

The 12 volt battery turns the system on.  The larger drive batteries actually start the gas engine.  The drive batteries can also "jump" the 12 volt battery if it falls below a certain voltage.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Though a dead or weak 12-volt battery (which starts the car, not drives it) may or may not be apparent on a test-drive, Prius owners should be aware of some reported issues with dead batteries. Parasitic draw when the Prius is off, as well as infrequent driving and the fact that the Prius can spend plenty of time with its engine not running, and therefore not recharging the battery, all contribute to the issue.

The 12 volt battery turns the system on.  The larger drive batteries actually start the gas engine.  The drive batteries can also "jump" the 12 volt battery if it falls below a certain voltage.

How would it do that? I had to get a jump when the granddaughters left the overhead light on 

[JohnM]

On the '07s, no 12v battery, no startee.

Cheers,
John M.

[rcy]

"Prius can spend plenty of time with its engine not running, and therefore not recharging the battery, all contribute to the issue." 

If the hybrid system in the Prius is similar to that in the Lexus RX hybrid, the engine does not have to run to charge the battery.  Since there are no accessory belts (no belt driven alternator, no belt driven power steering pump, no belt driven A/C compressor) a running engine will not charge the battery anyway.  The Prius just has to be in READY mode (i.e. on) and the 12 volt battery (known as the auxiliary battery in Toyota hybrid speak)  is charged via the traction battery (there's some sort of inverter that does this) and the engine will cycle on as needed to keep the traction battery charged.

[Waterlooresident]

Great car; that is if you enjoy driving something even MORE BORING than your typical standard Corolla. 
( And you didn't think that was possible?)

[Ex-airbalancer]

Great car; that is if you enjoy driving something even MORE BORING than your typical standard Corolla. 
( And you didn't think that was possible?)

You are pretty stupid

[JohnM]

"Great car; that is if you enjoy driving something even MORE BORING than your typical standard Corolla.
( And you didn't think that was possible?)"

The reason you find it boring is because it engages the brain.

Cheers,
John M.

[mixmanmash]

"Great car; that is if you enjoy driving something even MORE BORING than your typical standard Corolla.
( And you didn't think that was possible?)"

The reason you find it boring is because it engages the brain.

Cheers,
John M.

Lol.  Well said.

[Snowman]

"Great car; that is if you enjoy driving something even MORE BORING than your typical standard Corolla.
( And you didn't think that was possible?)"

The reason you find it boring is because it engages the brain.

Cheers,
John M.

 

[CloudChaser]

Input from owners please, my concerns are regarding winter driving (in Alberta) and highway road noise. Can anyone also address winter fuel Lt/100km, and interior heating? All my vehicles run with studded tires in the winter, I'll take a bit of a hit in a Prius. I like really quiet highway vehicles with aftermarket stereos, one could insulate the interior if this is an issue for a few hundred dollars.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Have not run studded Tiresias  30 years so I cannot tell you it is noisy

[WRX_Pilot]

For those knowledgable... Would you trust a high mileage (say 200-250k), but well maintained example, or is it necessary to get a lower mileage one with some warranty, even with maybe with only basic maintenance taken care of?

I'm sure some of those hybrid components are quite pricey out of warranty...

[Ex-airbalancer]

For those knowledgable... Would you trust a high mileage (say 200-250k), but well maintained example, or is it necessary to get a lower mileage one with some warranty, even with maybe with only basic maintenance taken care of?

I'm sure some of those hybrid components are quite pricey out of warranty...

Check out http://priuschat.com/forum/

[Prius]

For those knowledgable... Would you trust a high mileage (say 200-250k), but well maintained example, or is it necessary to get a lower mileage one with some warranty, even with maybe with only basic maintenance taken care of?

I'm sure some of those hybrid components are quite pricey out of warranty...

Our 2005 has 210,000km on it and the only (major?) issue is that the engine is using oil so it needs to be topped up. Other than that, the 12V has been replaced once, and the coolant has been changed. Still on original brake pads.

I guess that's what I would look for. Since the brake pads last a long time, even in city driving, I would check that they're not worn at 200,000+km and to see how much life is left. (Our dealer goes in 25% intervals and ours is somewhere between 25 and 50% since it's been reporting 50% for a while and hasn't dropped to 25%).

[philmcneal]

For those knowledgable... Would you trust a high mileage (say 200-250k), but well maintained example, or is it necessary to get a lower mileage one with some warranty, even with maybe with only basic maintenance taken care of?

I'm sure some of those hybrid components are quite pricey out of warranty...

I bought mine 5 years ago 2004 model and it was used as a taxi with 161k and has been in QN accident. Obviously I was taking a huge gamble as back then people didn't know if the technology is reliable nor easy to fix.

Fast forward to today I got 320k and I'm still loving it .

All that has been replaced is the struts front and front and rear brake pads once.
All normal maintainence such as oil and coolant.

Replaced the engine water pump once and it's belt
Pcv valve
Air filters x 3
Tranmission fluid at least 3 times as well
Brake fluid once
One set of tires
Combination meter was replaced out of warrenty by Toyota due to recall .

A boring car to drive unless getting good milage is ur thing (I avg 4.7 100 km or 50 mpg us )

To this day Prius is so popular getting spare parts from the wrecker is your best bet to keep a car like this going.

Um yeah cheapest car I've owned to date. Nothing comes close when it comes to cheap commuting.

If your an extreme cheapass get a compact car with a manual  transmission and hyper mile the livjing out of it.

If you have no balls coasting with the engine off then get a Prius to do it for you

Any questions?

[philmcneal]

Just for the record I also own a 2009 TDI and despite being way more fun to drive than my prius. It is giving me the creeps if its going to make it to 300k without me paying vw up the ass to even get there. Shows you my confidence in terms of $ per km.  The TDI averages 35 to 40 mpg when I drive it but still no match for the prius EVEN on the highway...

Good milage on the highway my ass Prius licks it up no problem but oh.... So boring 

[mixmanmash]

For those knowledgable... Would you trust a high mileage (say 200-250k), but well maintained example, or is it necessary to get a lower mileage one with some warranty, even with maybe with only basic maintenance taken care of?

I'm sure some of those hybrid components are quite pricey out of warranty...

Our 2005 has 210,000km on it and the only (major?) issue is that the engine is using oil so it needs to be topped up. Other than that, the 12V has been replaced once, and the coolant has been changed. Still on original brake pads.

I guess that's what I would look for. Since the brake pads last a long time, even in city driving, I would check that they're not worn at 200,000+km and to see how much life is left. (Our dealer goes in 25% intervals and ours is somewhere between 25 and 50% since it's been reporting 50% for a while and hasn't dropped to 25%).

Change the PCV valve.  A lot of times oil consumption in most vehicles is related to the PCV valve or PCV hoses.

[Prius]

For those knowledgable... Would you trust a high mileage (say 200-250k), but well maintained example, or is it necessary to get a lower mileage one with some warranty, even with maybe with only basic maintenance taken care of?

I'm sure some of those hybrid components are quite pricey out of warranty...

Our 2005 has 210,000km on it and the only (major?) issue is that the engine is using oil so it needs to be topped up. Other than that, the 12V has been replaced once, and the coolant has been changed. Still on original brake pads.

I guess that's what I would look for. Since the brake pads last a long time, even in city driving, I would check that they're not worn at 200,000+km and to see how much life is left. (Our dealer goes in 25% intervals and ours is somewhere between 25 and 50% since it's been reporting 50% for a while and hasn't dropped to 25%).

Change the PCV valve.  A lot of times oil consumption in most vehicles is related to the PCV valve or PCV hoses.

Thanks! I will check into that. A quick search shows that it's good practice to change it with the spark plugs (which should be soon if it wasn't done at 196,000).