New to me Prius

[Brolly]

Just bought a 2011 Toyota Prius 3 with solar sunroof from auction with 196,757 miles yesterday. One owner in Oklahoma just had the coolant drained and replaced with unknown oil change at 175k. The dealership that took the trade in did service in 5/2025 but unknown on what it was will find out later but has significant service history. Hybrid battery is spot on currently, will perform oil change with Valvoline Restore and Protect while I wait for the title along with some minor cosmetic adjustments. I see no leaks or seeping of any sort. This will be my daily driver and the Lexus GX will become a driveway ornament and the wife will continue to drive the 2008 Accord. Look forward to getting at least 40mpg compared to the 15mpg GX.

 

[The Critic]

Great cars, but plan on replacing the head gasket any day if it wasn't recently done.

Many of them are oil burners.

 

[ryanschillinger]

These seem to have potential head gasket issues but there are plenty hitting 300k without it so I wouldn’t panic until you have symptoms. Our 14 doesn’t use oil between changes and has had absolutely no issues. Just replaced the original 12v battery last year at 11 years old. It hadn’t even failed but I figured we got the use out of it for sure.

 

[brages]

I'd really like to see how well the solar sunroof works - seems like a great idea.

Looks like good shape overall. Our 2010 is at about 255k (bought it at 208k) and running just fine. I did an EGR clean, replaced trans fluid, new water pump. Have had to replace a couple of wheel bearings and sway bar links. Mine is not an oil burner, but the battery has lost some capacity. It is being passed onto a new teen driver...

 

[addyguy]

I think it’s hilarious that the Prius is designed as a ‘green car’; hybrid/don’t use much gas etc..but a lot of them burn so much oil they ruin cat converters…the irony is great!!

 

[Nick1994]

I think it’s hilarious that the Prius is designed as a ‘green car’; hybrid/don’t use much gas etc..but a lot of them burn so much oil they ruin cat converters…the irony is great!!

Do you have a source that shows the environmental impact comparing burning a quart of oil every 2k miles and replacing the catalytic converter after 200k miles, compared to using 2,000 less gallons of fuel (50 vs 25 mpg) over 200k miles?

Not so sure the mic dropped so hard with your “irony”.

 

[supton]

Good luck.

I wonder if more frequent oil changes may help with preventing the oil burning. Not all of Toyota's problem years burned oil--they are prone to clogging the rings, but if you don't run the oil "too long" perhaps the issue could be avoided.

 

[MrGraybeard]

I think it’s hilarious that the Prius is designed as a ‘green car’; hybrid/don’t use much gas etc..but a lot of them burn so much oil they ruin cat converters…the irony is great!!

That's more a Toyota problem than simply a Prius problem. Our '07 Prius uses no oil at 167k miles, thanks to frequent oil service (no clogged oil rings).

 

[4wd]

I think it’s hilarious that the Prius is designed as a ‘green car’; hybrid/don’t use much gas etc..but a lot of them burn so much oil they ruin cat converters…the irony is great!!

Hands over a Green Grant ($50) …
Fill ‘er up with oil and give me $20 in gas ️

 

[JohnnyG]

Just bought a 2011 Toyota Prius 3 with solar sunroof from auction with 196,757 miles yesterday. One owner in Oklahoma just had the coolant drained and replaced with unknown oil change at 175k. The dealership that took the trade in did service in 5/2025 but unknown on what it was will find out later but has significant service history. Hybrid battery is spot on currently, will perform oil change with Valvoline Restore and Protect while I wait for the title along with some minor cosmetic adjustments. I see no leaks or seeping of any sort. This will be my daily driver and the Lexus GX will become a driveway ornament and the wife will continue to drive the 2008 Accord. Look forward to getting at least 40mpg compared to the 15mpg GX.
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I think that's a great plan. The Valvoline Restore and Protect will help a lot. Just watch out for those HG symptoms.
I'm also very surprised that a Lexus GS only gets 15 mpg, but I'm sure it has quite a cult following, being a Toyota.

 

[Astro_Guy]

Unless you have a lead foot or are doing a lot of short tripping 40 MPG should be just a walk in the park. Our 2010 3rd generation Prius developed a head gasket issue last November at 210 k miles and we deemed it unecconomical to repair. That vehicle was replaced with a 2023 5th generation Prius that features more power and better fuel efficiency. Go figure.

FWIIW we ran with the recommended 10 k OCI for the entire life of the vehicle.

 

[brages]

I'm a dummy, I see the maintenance message at 5000 miles, I change the oil. So far so good!

Apparently, it's supposed to mean to rotate the tires and you only change the oil every other time.

I think I have it backwards, change the oil every 5000 and only rotate at 10k at best.

 

[Kurtatron]

Never owned one, but I can see a Prius in my future. I love the economics of them and the fact that the battery is DIY friendly.

Seems like the ideal/perfect commuter.