r/prius

A shop or person with less experience than me, may buy one of these... for a normal price... and be none the wiser. The box it comes in is 99% like the original.

It's actually nicer packed than OEM, with foam and bubblewrap, with the gasket preinstalled. What raised my suspicion, was the fact that the Toyota logo WASN'T sanded off.

Do note: you can find these illegal counterfeits in Toyota dealership boxes too.

Opening it revealed the circuit board, of much lower quality, lacking the AISIN branding.

These WPT-190 pumps are made in Japan. My recommendation is to only buy them from sellers based in Japan. (or the Toyota dealer if you're OK with the $100+ markup) There are legit Japanese sellers on Amazon and eBay... There's also lots of Chinese knockoffs.

Even if you buy from a reputable place, do inspect it carefully, because a bad batch could end up in a legitimate seller's hands.

https://youtube.com/shorts/cjiaeTTQa7g

So, I ended up listening to some of your advice, and took the car to a trusted mechanic. We checked the engine bay, and undercarriage. Mechanic told me that the car's in decent condition. At the same time, the dealer informed me that he will fix the abs sensors, and some of the other issues I pointed out. I don't think the headgasket has given out yet, so I'm guessing that's a problem for the future.
A lot of people pointed out how the gen 3's are the least reliable amongst the priuses, so that has me worried a little. But, with these developments, do you guys suggest I go through with this purchase if the dealer fixes said issues?

Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/prius/comments/1wxozim/need_advice_from_prius_owners/

What are your guys thoughts on this? I am looking for something that can take me cross the US for a couple months and ideally longer than that. Ideally under $5,000

I’ve been doing some googling and have still not been able to figure out how to update my Prius system, or if an update is even possible? Any info is appreciated!

I bought a 2017 Prius V a couple of weeks ago (I absolutely love it). When I bought the vehicle the paint was super clean. Somehow in the last two weeks it has a ton of scratches on the hood..? I don't park under acorns, and don't put crap on my hood so i,m baffled as to how they got there..

Anyhow, they're here now and I'm curious how I should go about dealing with it. Do we think Icould buff them out, or will I need to have the entire hood repainted? Alternatively I could just leave it (definitely not the route i want to go) would this be any concern for rust?

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

made a post awhile ago asking about whether the coolant disappearing + knocking in my 2010 prius was my head gasket; i’m pretty sure it is, i’ve included a pic of the inside of my second cylinder for reference.

i was hoping to last it out a little longer to make it until i didn’t need my car for a couple of days, but i got the engine overheating light on my way to work today so i think i need to do it ASAP.

i have a socket wrench and up to 14 mm sockets, the one video i glanced at said i would also need a 19 mm, but what other tools do i need to have to get the job done? also, what parts do i need to get? i have almost no mechanic experience but i was able to scope inside the cylinders so i’m confident that with the right tools, guide, and enough time i can get the job done.

So as the title and flair suggests, I am looking at buying a Prius. I found this one that seems to have had some work done to hedge against the notorious head gasket issues I’ve read about, but my question is if anyone has experience with doing these maintenance items and seeing a significant increase in HG life span?

I have never owned Prius and I’m just now really starting to learn the ins and outs of this vehicle, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, just as a general gut check, does this seem like a fair price range from the hive mind? Located in East Tennessee. From what I’ve been looking at this really doesn’t seem outlandish, but again, I have pretty limited knowledge of these things.

Thanks all!

ETA: 205K miles

I said why not, paint was starting to chip away. (2011 Prius)