Shopping For A Used Toyota Prius - Avoid These Troublesome Years

These issues aren't worth an "avoid like the plague" rating. Avoid like the plague should be for things like transmission or engine prone to failure.

Oil Usage: We had a 2010 and as mentioned in the article at about 100K miles it started needing oil. Only issue is it uses 0W20 which is often only at auto parts stores, not gas stations. So buy a couple quarts. Keep one in your car in a plastic bag. Check your oil when you get gas, and add 1/2 a quart every thousand miles or so. No big deal. You can use 5W20 in a pinch to top up.

Headlights: I put in bulbs once or twice over 4 years. Super easy to replace (compared to most cars). And the cost is $20. Again no big deal.

Timing Cover gasket leaking: another common issue not mentioned in the article. Ours was fixed under extended warranty at about 70K miles. But it may just seep oil and not even really need to be fixed.

I wouldn't think these issues would result in avoiding those years. I'd rather get an older car with low miles (often the best value).

My son totaled our top of the line 2010. We got back 2/3 of what we paid after owning if for 4 years (bought it with 50K miles, wrecked at 115K). Loved it so we bought a 2012 Prius Plug In, top of the line, with only 27K miles. Love this one even more. Getting 70 mpg.

I have a 2011 Prius with 85,000 miles that has not burned or leaked a drop of oil, yet! It might not be all cars, but then again my car has not reached 100,000. Toyota dealers can perform an oil consumption test, as several of their models have the same issue! There was an additional extension of the warranty for Camry, that has expired, but not sure it has been extended to any other models.

My 2011 Prius just had the inverter replaced under an extended warranty, would have been $2,000 if it wasn't covered!

I have a 2011 Prius I'm having light issues and starting issues it has over 190000 miles on it think of selling it and maybe buying a new model but not a brand new car I just used it for work love the car just getting to many problems with that many miles on it and don't want to put a lot of my in it

They had lights issue is because of ballast problems on the HID headlights. Oil consumption is because of the oil blowing through the rings. That's why it doesn't leak or burn oil, it just blows it out and causes the catalytic converters to clog prematurely. That is a Toyota issue (not Prius) that was supposed to have been resolved in 2011. Another characteristic flaw is the EV pump will go out. Do not replace it with a cheap aftermarket part. Definitely use a Toyota (OEM) EV pump then you will likely never have to change it again. People have mentioned the wheel bearings, which I knew nothing about.I have two older Gen 2 Prius' - 04 and 06. Both have close to 300k miles, and I have never had the wheel bearing issues. The Prius does have its flaws, but overall it's amazing that they could make a car that is so reliable, yet so complex in its technology.

My 2009 Prius has 230,000 miles on it. A month ago, the engine light kept coming on. A dealer reset it and it was fine for a month, then came back on. Another dealer said it was the catalytic converter and since I am planning to sell it soon, I needed to make sure it would pass inspection for the new owner. It cost $1000 to replace that and the muffler assembly. But this car has been amazing, especially since my first car was an MG Midget that, after 50,000 miles, broke down weekly. In the summer I almost always have a kayak on the roof and a bike on the back. It has scratches but I'm hoping to sell it to another kayaker who will just love it for another 100,000 miles .. or 2.

I bought a 2011 and every few months a headlight would go out then we had one side of the dashboard go out that shows the mileage and the battery charging ect...however we continued to drive this vehicle for a run to Walmart or to Raleigh in bad weather until last week when a trucker cut my wife off on 95S where she spun out from outside lane to the inside then up on the guardrail and flipped 4 times and came to rest on the guardrail...she opened the door and walked out with a small scratch on her right arm...a true miracle and we know this...a eye witness said he knew the person was dead or mangled...the truck never stopped and he could have killed my wife...the top on that Prius and the side airbags and the Lord ridding shotgun saved my wife that day...I have unbelievable pics...it’s a very safe vehicle in rollovers.

I thought Prius were ecologically sound but sounds like they use more oil than would a two-stroke .
Btw Jim Dickinson if you are going to use the word “dumb” best check your spelling , it’s “ separate” easy to remember as it contains the letters , “part”.

Last week someone Jacked up my 2007 Prius and ripped out my Catalytic converter Since I live in California it will cost me about $3000 to replace it where can one get this fixed at a lesser price and pass the stringent smog rules??????

I have a 2006, beat the shoes are no reverse lights in the dash lights not working, the reverse camera is linked to the lights. If I let the battery run down or let it sit in the cold all these work for 1 start and then they go out of it. It's a known issue and it has to do with the capacitor in the dashboard. The 2006 of longest lasting I bought mine with 250,000 miles and no I will get it at least that or twice that out of it.

I purchased a 2008 Toyota Prius in April of 2011 it had 32,000 miles on it. Later that year I had an issue with the regular battery which was covered under the warranty. There was one more issue that same year that had to do with the transmission. That too was covered under the warranty. Since then I have not had any more issues with the car until 2019 that's when the headlight problem began the lights go out automatically while driving so we replace the bulbs and it was fixed for a little bit and then it started doing it again and then I decided to change both balls at the same time and then it was fine for about another couple of months and now brings us to today which I am starting to have the issue again The car now has 230,000 miles on it. I would like to find a solution for the problem rather than have to deal with it every 6 months or so but the car has saved me thousands of dollars so I just deal with it.

You didn't mention the capacitor issue with the 04-09 I have a 05 and a 07 both capacitor a went out when they get bad the car wont turn off you have to hold the off button in for like two minutes. The trunk won't open fully it like have opens I almost broke the truck trying to open it. The have to pull the dash apart and resolder a big capacitor behind the digital display. They say the solder gets week and connection is iffy. 500 dollar fix . Had both my cars done and no more off problem or trunk issues.

I owned a 2005 Prius I bought new. I kept it 12 years & had 85,000 miles on it when I traded it for a 2017 Prius. The 2005 was a great car; I just changed oil & tires. Brakes were still good when traded. It used no oil between changes. I hope my 2017 Prius is as good!

Hello John, I have owned 3 Priuses thus far, 2 of the 2nd gen (2007). 1 3rd gen (2011). The first 2nd gen I had was afflicted with the combination meter problem. That is still the scariest car problem I have ever faced. The dash is blacked out. The backup camera won't work. And then in extreme cases, the car won't shut off. So not only can you not see how fast you're going, nor your fuel gauge, you can't even turn your car off to stop the motor from running. The replacement for my 1st ended up showing a bad combo meter once. Now, my 2011 after a month of it being in my possession at 150k miles, the head gasket has blown. While I love Priuses & understand no car is without issues, it's rather disappointing to see the cars come out with KNOWN issues yet ZERO recalls for them.

I bought my 2010 Prius at 154000 miles. I’ve had it 5 years, it just turned over 247,000 miles and I’ve had none of these problems. Just do oil changes every 4000 miles. But then, I do have the luck of the Irish:).

Both of my 2011 and 2014 Prius engine die within the same month at 230k miles. Same problem with head gasket. Coolant just disappeared at the same rate. Just avoid 2010-2015 Prius at any point. That engine just will need head gasket at 200k miles. Not only for a year or two. It is just every 3rd generation. This is nothing you can avoid from head gasket problem. Good luck

I have a 2008 with 240k mi. It has both the oil consumption problem and the headlight problem. It loses about a quart every 1000 miles or so. I think some brands of headlight bulbs are less likely to blow than others. I have replaced the catalytic converter twice. I need to have the three way coolant valve replaced for the second time.

Love my loaded 15 Prius 3, but I'm on my 3rd headlight and 2nd marker light replacement!

2012
I’ve replaced the light connector/both sides Actually just last week & I drive lyft it uses half a QT ever 1KMI bought @.40k Now 204600K.....
Keeper

I had a 2011 prius that after 275 k had head gasket issues common problem also with these now have a 2010 prius with 155 k that uses oil not excessive yet

had 2011 headlite was only problem and Toyota replaced the lighting harness and had no more problems. still driving car. daughter and son in law love it.

I have a 07 Prius 170000 miles

It only holds 3.5 qts. I am keeping oil consumption to about 1 Qt in 3000 miles.

When it's a Quart low I change oil & Filter. Add oil with about a pint of oil additive to increase viscosity. Once it uses a Quart of oil its counter productive adding "new" oil because the remaining oil has been broken down due to impurities. After the 1st "burned" Quart oil consumption INCREASES.

2006 Orius that started consuming oil after about 125k miles. Currently at just over 200k and I have replaced the headlights at least 5 to 7 times and the taillights a few times less.

2015 prius and 100k miles on it no problem yet. And I do uber. But I do oilchange every 5k. I'm surprised that some people think it's ok to do the oil change every10k. That's bad for the engine

I own 2011 prius .I now have 165000 miles on it. I have had no issues with the car I change the oil every 6000 to 7000 miles,by then it usually needs a half of quart of oil. Great car.

I have owned two Toyota Prius'- a 2008 and a 2009. Had no problems until Geico totalled my first car after a very mild fender-bender. They said stabilizer bar was bent, which I will never believe. It drove fine and straight! I loved that car so much, I bought another. After a while, the dash lights started going off. There was an easy fix- disconnecting computer from 12 v battery. Wish I had read-up on the problem. There was a 9 year recall on a faulty part due to a piece which was not soldered securely. Missed the 2016 deadline. Now, at just over 100,000miles, I am very disappointed that the anti-lock braking system is going out. I need an anti-skid module and ABS Actuator. The quote I got for fixing it was over $6000. I was counting on this car lasting at least to over 200,000 miles. I am so sad! I love my car, but was told that I should trade it in. So sad. In doing research, the 2010 models had an Actuator recall- I am thinking my car must have gotten a faulty Actuator, although it is a 2009. Perhaps it was manufactured late in 2009. A lot of people seem to have had this problem, as there are lios of people talking about it being a problem on forums, and there are lots of "how to" videos on youtube to fix this problem, which is not an easy fix! I still find myself shopping for used Priuses, but the ones I can afford are almost double the mileage on mine. I have loved my cars though! 40+mpg will spoil you!

My 2011 Prius has become an oil consumer. I have no answer for it. No leaks and no smoke