Question about used 2009 Prius Hybrid?

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Yep it shows Touring in the model on the factory sticker as well as package 5 on the factory sticker (there were 6 packages on a Touring and 7 on a std Prius)

The Distributor (Gulfstates Toyota) installed the leather and the some other accessories once it arrived here.

That is a loaded car, has JBL, NAV and indash changer, VSC, smart key LOTS of stuff on a touring with PKG 5.

They might have changed it by 09 but mine will not bluetooth stream music and it won't control an iPod without an aftermarket adapter. Mine doesn't have a USB/Aux port but again that might have changed by 09.


Sounds good, thanks very much. Will go and get it tomorrow.

 

[maverickfhs]

Maybe putting the horse before the cart, but does these prices look legit? In case, if we have to prepare for the worst scenario:

http://www.doctorprius.com/prices.html

 

[The Critic]

They are good cars and I service quite a few of them, but they aren't exactly trouble-free.

As previously mentioned, the HID bulbs can be short-lived and are a bit pricey to replace if you have to pay someone.

The gauge clusters can sometimes fail, but they are covered for 9 years from the original in-service date (ZTV warranty extension).

You'll go thru at least 1 engine water pump and 1 inverter pump during the life of the car, but chances are it has already received a new inverter pump under the recall. The 3-way coolant valve that's under the inverter sometimes fails, but it's not a big deal to replace.

The worst potential issue is the oil consumption; from what I've seen every single one that I've serviced started drinking massive amounts of oil (1 qt/2k or less) after about 100k.

For the batteries, a new one from Toyota is about $2500+install. The remanufactured ones are about $1200 from Rockauto but they are not worth buying if you plan to keep the car. All of the rebuilders harvest good cells from dead batteries (which are already old) and re-balance the packs.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
They are good cars and I service quite a few of them, but they aren't exactly trouble-free.

As previously mentioned, the HID bulbs can be short-lived and are a bit pricey to replace if you have to pay someone.

The gauge clusters can sometimes fail, but they are covered for 9 years from the original in-service date (ZTV warranty extension).

You'll go thru at least 1 engine water pump and 1 inverter pump during the life of the car, but chances are it has already received a new inverter pump under the recall. The 3-way coolant valve that's under the inverter sometimes fails, but it's not a big deal to replace.

The worst potential issue is the oil consumption; from what I've seen every single one that I've serviced started drinking massive amounts of oil (1 qt/2k or less) after about 100k.

For the batteries, a new one from Toyota is about $2500+install. The remanufactured ones are about $1200 from Rockauto but they are not worth buying if you plan to keep the car. All of the rebuilders harvest good cells from dead batteries (which are already old) and re-balance the packs.


Thanks very much, grateful for your input. Few follow up questions:

1- How can we make sure inverter recall has been done? I have the VIN#.

2-In VA warranty is 8 years/100,000 miles, is that right? Which means it's out of warranty, CA has the highest, so far I have that conclusion.

3- BTW, my friend isn't one of those 'anal'(like us, lol) people in terms of maintenance, so he should pay special attention to oil, or something else too?

4- WP should be needed by 150+k, right or no?

5-Is rebuilding worth it or not really?

Thanks again for your valuable input.

 

[SatinSilver]

Would replacing the pcv valve take care of the oil consumption? Seems to be an easy fix.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: maverickfhs


Thanks very much, grateful for your input. Few follow up questions:

1- How can we make sure inverter recall has been done? I have the VIN#.

2-In VA warranty is 8 years/100,000 miles, is that right? Which means it's out of warranty, CA has the highest, so far I have that conclusion.

3- BTW, my friend isn't one of those 'anal'(like us, lol) people in terms of maintenance, so he should pay special attention to oil, or something else too?

4- WP should be needed by 150+k, right or no?

5-Is rebuilding worth it or not really?

Thanks again for your valuable input.


1) Register on toyota.com/owners and you can check for recall completion status as well as view any customer-pay dealer service records.

2) Depending on the in-service date, it is probably out of warranty or close to it.

3) Check the oil level monthly (at a minimum) and replace the oil and filter every 5,000 miles.

4) Usually they don't last that long. I usually see small amounts of seepage before 100k. The pump is about $100 from Toyota and I can do them in about 1 hour. Be careful with bleeding the engine coolant loop if you are familiar with how the system works.

5) Reman/rebuild are not worth it if you plan to keep the car. A new battery from the dealer is the only sure and proper fix. Another option would be a used pack, but those are becoming very hard to find due to the age of the Gen-2's and you also have to be careful about how long the battery pack has been sitting (if you buy used).

Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Would replacing the pcv valve take care of the oil consumption? Seems to be an easy fix.

No, it almost never does.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: maverickfhs


1) Register on toyota.com/owners and you can check for recall completion status as well as view any customer-pay dealer service records.

2) Depending on the in-service date, it is probably out of warranty or close to it.

3) Check the oil level monthly (at a minimum) and replace the oil and filter every 5,000 miles.

4) Usually they don't last that long. I usually see small amounts of seepage before 100k. The pump is about $100 from Toyota and I can do them in about 1 hour. Be careful with bleeding the engine coolant loop if you are familiar with how the system works.

5) Reman/rebuild are not worth it if you plan to keep the car. A new battery from the dealer is the only sure and proper fix. Another option would be a used pack, but those are becoming very hard to find due to the age of the Gen-2's and you also have to be careful about how long the battery pack has been sitting (if you buy used).

Would replacing the pcv valve take care of the oil consumption? Seems to be an easy fix.

No, it almost never does.


Thanks very much, I am not aware of doing coolant one, but I'll at least let him know. I'll mention the additional cost of dealer battery. Good thing, we still have a cushion in terms of the price.

Thanks again for your valuable input.

 

[DuckRyder]

I will add the following:

If the owner has recorded any maintenance on the Toyota Owner site that was not done at a Toyota dealer, it will not transfer over. Get him to print it for you or get the receipts so your friend can record it again.

The Toyota owner site will probably not show it as a touring for some unknown reason.

I know you said it had good tires, IME they are very sensitive to tires and tire pressure as well as driving habits. There are high performance tires available in the proper size which will kill the mileage. Of the tires that were OE only the Bridgestone and Michelin are still available and the Michelin is hard to get. To get best mileage out of mine they have to be over inflated which hurts the ride quality. Again PriusChat is a good place for pressure recommendations.

If I inflate mine to factory spec and drive it pretty much like a normal car it gets around 42MPG. With higher tire pressure and some attention to driving it will do 46-47. I've settled on factory recommended pressures and pretty much driving it like a normal car.

I changed the PCV valve on mine at 75,000 just as maintenance, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it, I almost just put the old one back in it was so clean.

Toyota recommends 5000 mile intervals with conventional oil (probably because they don't carry synthetic 5/30) and it is not back speced according to Toyota USA customer service.

Mine doesn't use an appreciable amount of oil. (yet?)

There is also a 2011 in the family, It gets better mileage on average but I think the G2 drives better and has better performance.