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Should You Buy a Second-Hand Prius?

Maintenance costs may outstrip fuel savings

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 4, 2008

With sales of new hybrids increasing by almost 30 percent a year and gasoline prices following at a faster pace, a second-hand hybrid can appear to be a smart alternative in a tight economy.

But because of the car's relatively new design, there is little information available to help consumers judge the reliability of a used Prius other than reports from previous Prius owners.

Consumer beware. The risks may be higher than you think.

Battery blues

Doris in Smithville, Tennessee bought a used Prius in July 2006.

“Trying to inform myself prior to buying the car, I asked about the battery and was told never had they seen the whole battery fail, only a cell at a time to the tune of $200 per cell,” she was told. “I did not want to spend the money on a brand-new Prius. I wanted to test the waters on a used one first.”

The decision to buy a second had hybrid was costly.

The 2006 Prius had 73,200 miles on the odometer leaving 26,800 remaining on the hybrid battery warranty. “I bought it and thought I was living the dream, but only for a moment,” Doris told ConsumerAffairs.com.

When the weather turned cold her Prius would have no power. The engine was difficult to start. “Finally it went totally down,” she said. “No power!”

The Toyota dealer told Doris at first that she must have over-filled the gas tank and may have ruined the Prius computer system. The repair cost would be $1,900.

One year later the Prius lost all power while driving at 65 mph on an Interstate highway. "I was scared to death,” Doris wrote. The Prius was towed to a dealer and Doris was told “the main battery was down it would be $6,890 to fix it.”

Remember, the first dealer told her the battery never failed completely and the replacement cost would be roughly $2,000.

Doris was lucky as things turned out.

“They called tech support and found it was a leaf sucked up in a filter which in turn prevented gas and air from going to the battery and drained it." Doris spent $225 to tow the Prius to the dealer and $276 to charge the main battery plus tax, a lot less than the original $6,890 repair estimate but still $549.85.

But not all the repair news was good. "They told me it could happen again. So I'm stuck with what I feel is a defective product. I'm Toyota's rolling gunea pig,” she said. “I cannot trade the car because they tell I'm $5,500 up side down," she said. “I have to buy a new car to roll this amount with it. I can't afford a new car with a $425 per month payment.”

Transmission troubles

In Loomis, California, Sam tells the tale of expensive repairs with his 2003 Prius.

After a series of problems with the Prius engine, Toyota informed Sam that he needed to have the transmission replaced. The estimate for repairs was around $7,000, almost the value of the entire vehicle, according to Sam.

“Naturally the vehicle was no longer covered by the warranty,” he said.

The Prius had 116,289 miles on the odometer when the car began to malfunction. The check-engine light came on and the engine quickly shut down. The dealership informed Sam that the gasoline engine quit because the battery ran out of juice. The dealership checked the spark plugs and coils, detected slight misfire until warm but could not reproduce the problem. The cost of the service was $123.77.

The repair bill seemed too good to be true. And it was.

When the problem occurred a second time, the Toyota dealership said that the “problem was not really the spark plugs but that the sophisticated hybrid transmission needed to be replaced. The estimate for the parts and labor for this repair would be approximately $2,000.” The estimate was quickly revised to $7,000 with parts and labor. The “cost of the new transmission alone was $5,000,” Sam reported.

Early adopter

In Sunnyvale, California, Matt was one of the original 2001 Prius hybrid owners.

“Now, after 130,000 miles of driving the main battery is dead. The Toyota dealer is telling me the life of the main battery was 100,000 for my car, although the new Prius comes with a 150,000-mile warranty,” he said.

Matt said that the dealer told him he was the third Prius owner to require a main battery replacement.

“Labor and parts, plus tax was $4,500. Unfortunately, there is no third-party service provider who knows how to fix Prius,” he said.

Matt warns consumers interested in a second hand Prius to be prepared to pay $4,500 for the main battery before 150,000 miles have been recorded on the odometer.”

Complexity

That is not all.

“The car is loaded with electronics and solid state controllers. Be prepared to pay outrageous prices for diagnostics and repair. Very rarely you will walk out with a bill costing under $300,” Matt said.

“You will pay nearly $150 for having a duplicate key made to your Prius. That is because the key apparently has an anti-theft chip which has to be programmed by Toyota,” he said.

There's no doubt the Prius gets good gas mileage (though perhaps not as good as many buyers expect). But whether the total cost of ownership is reasonable is another question indeed.

Consumers who need reliable, inexpensive transportation are still better off with a simple, straightforward economy car -- a Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic or something similar with a four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission are likely to provide trouble-free, economic transportation for hundreds of thousands of miles.

Here are some of the reports we've received from other Prius owners:

Sharon of Wilmington, MA June 30, 2009

My 2007 Prius has 50K miles and I am experiencing problems with the driver's side headlight. Intermittently coming on and going off. And then the bright lights did not work at all. I was quoted 750 to replace the computer and the headlight. I really have no leverage to argue--I need my car at night and I need it now.

Colleen of Sugar Land, TX June 9, 2009

2005 Toyota Prius - both headlights were replaced before the 36,000 warranty expired. Now at 76,000 miles, driver side headlight is out again. Took it to the dealership, was told it was the HID bulb,the bulb would cost 500, plus a hour of labor, plus shop supplies plus tax. Lucky for me - the bulb was on back order.

So I took the Prius to the local auto shop and they said it was not the HID bulb but an another bulb in the headlight - cost 30 including labor. Plus they stated the HID bulb - they could get one for 125. I did call and speak with the service manager - who said I had given him a lot of information and ended the call. Not one word about getting back with me! Tonight - I have spent time online and it appears the Toyota has a problem with the HID bulbs! I would have paid for an HID bulb I did not need. I guess I have learned my lesson - do not take your car to the dealership for service and always get a second opinion.

Michael of East Point, GA June 21, 2009

2007 Prius. having a problem with the transmission slipping out of DRIVE into NEUTRAL all by itself, and the engine completely shutting off while driving at speed. Mileage: 37,000, regular recommended maintenance done. Very strange.

Bob of Chula Vista, CA June 19, 2009

Yesterday I was out approx. 750 to replace a burned-out headlamp on my 2006 Prius. Is that a reasonable charge?

I'm not criticizing the Toyota rep . He seemed as perplexed as I was when he quoted the cost to me for my okay to continue with the work. Here's the breakdown: 343 for the headlamp + about 400 labor because the bumper had to be removed. If that's an accurate expense, isn't it a bit unfair to the customer to have to pay for removing a bumper to replace a headlamp?

Robert of Ocala, FL June 19, 2009

2006 Prius Driver's side headlight periodically goes out. (Dealership knows nothing about this.) Some buttons on steering wheel failed at approx. 58,000 miles, Tires wore out after 25k then again at approx. 23k. (Dealership knows nothing. Goodyear knows nothing) P.S. I just saw Bridgestones on the new Prius, at the dealership. Go figure!

The rear cup holder falls out of place frequently. The fuel economy 40-45mpg gets much worse just before oil changes.(Expected though)The traction control is very dangerous. As another person wrote; it will slip on a bug. Nothing like stepping on the gas to get out of a side street, and having the traction control kill power because sand is at the edge of the street and cars are heading at you. Windshield cracked (rock chip). No one sells them. Had to be shipped from Toyota. Over 1000.00 hence an increase in insurance due to being considered a claim. "Front of car is so heavy, possibly due to the inverter, that premature tire wear is expected". Service manager quote. No, they won't due anything about anything i've mentioned.

PS Front door locks won't lock with the buttons on the door arm rests. So, if I don't lock each front door manually, the keyfob alarm will not set. What a peice of junk. This car starts out well but slides to an electrical nightmare. Don't let the people with low mileage Prius' fool you. They haven't been there yet.

steven of Newbury Park, CA June 12, 2009

I own a 2006 prius, I started experiencing problems with the driver's side headlight; it would go on and off intermittently. Toyota says they can't do anything about it unless they notice the problem when I bring it in.

Frank of Leominster, MA June 7, 2009

We own two Toyota Priuses, an '06 and '08. We commute 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day and we love them. The list of complaints here is an absolutely horrible sampling of Prius experiences due to selection bias. Complaints, not praises, are actively solicited on this website. Not saying the complaints are invalid. I'm saying that the sampling of experiences is completely invalid and, therefore, completely misleading.

Editor's Note: Thank you, professor. We get really tired of reading things like this. This is a complaint site. It does not claim to be a scientific sampling, but it does serve to alert consumers to problems that others have experienced and that they too might want to be prepared for. Not all of life is a sociology experiment. An armed robbery is also an "anecdotal" experience but it is still harmful to its victim and the offender is, if caught, prosecuted. Would you rather consumers had no clue what types of problems have befallen others? Should we just rely on advertising and public relations for guidance in making purchases? Should consumers simply shut up and take what's given to them?

Margaret of Phila, PA May 9, 2009

I own a 2002 Toyota Prius. At 85,000 miles, the check engine lights came on and car was humming. Stopped at Firestone, where I had had oil changed by Prius technician a week before. They said an extra quart of oil in car. They said they removed it. Next morning, same engine lights came on. Towed it to Team Toyota in Langhorne, PA. They said Transmission was gone. 8k to fix. Not covered under 100k hybrid warranty and my extended Extra care had expired Sept 14. This was October 9th. No oil was in the intakes of the engine. I've been told excess oil can stress engine parts. Also, found after the fact that Toyota used T4 transmission fluuid in older Prius and now uses WS transmission fluid. We had it changed at 60k, as listed in owner's manual. Car Repair shop in California now recommending every 15k(probably too late for most owners).

help. Should we sue Toyota and Firestone? I loved that car. It now sits dead in my driveway.

Anthony of Berkeley Heights, NJ May 5, 2009

I own a 2008 Toyota Prius. It just turned 100k on the odometer. At 58,000 miles (3-18-08), I started experiencing problems with the driver's side headlight; it would go on and off intermittently. I was told that the headlight and the ECU needed to be replaced. Even though I had purchased an extended warranty (at Toyotaland of Springfield, NJ), it still cost me 406.97, out of pocket. To add insult to injury, I had to return again within a weeks time, because the headlight went out again. I was told that it was a "bad" ECU for the headlight. They replaced it at no additional charge, "Gee, Thanks!"

At 98,057 miles, the passenger side light started to exhibit the same symptoms (the headlight would go on and off, intermittently). I figured that I would get this done before my warranty expired at 100,000 miles. Toyotaland of Springfield replaced the ECU, only. They did not suggest replacing the headlight. I paid the 50 deductible as per the terms of the extended warranty.

On 5/1/09, at 99,873 miles, a mere week and a half later, the driver's side headlight that I had already paid to have replaced the previous March, started experiencing the same on and off symptoms. I also started experiencing a problem with both tailights periodically going out. I explained to the customer service person (at Toyotaland of Springfield, NJ), that the tailights would come back on when I tapped on the lens. I asked them to investigate that problem as well.

Later in the day, a reprensentative from Toyotaland of Springfield, called me back. He said that the technician was not able to "duplicate" the problem and that furthermore that the warranty company would not replace a part that was not "proven" to be defective.

I spent a few minutes in an intense conversation with this individual over the phone. I told him that the problem was intermittent and that my car was dangerously close to being out of warranty. I expressed to him that it was not reasonable that I had to replace 3 headlights within a little over 1 year. In addition, I explained that these headlights were also in the neighborhood of 300 apiece, not including the ECU. With the ECU, this would easily be a 500+ job, out of warranty. I asked to speak to a supervisor. The same representative called me back a little while later. He said that he spoke to the warranty company and that they had agreed to replace the ECU. He also said that they strongly suggested that the headlight be replaced at my expense (naturally).

I also inquired about any service alerts or recalls on this model for these issues. I said that "it was hard to believe that nobody else was experiencing these same issues". I received no response. I was also told that they could find nothing wrong with the tailights.

They also told me that my hatch was broken. This is something that I was already aware of. A "flimsy" plastic bracket had snapped under the handle for the rear hatch. I had inquired about this on a previous visit and was told that this was something else that my extended warranty didn't cover; surprise, surprise! The cost for this part (Back door garnish-Part# 7601-47060-BO) is 193 + labor, paint, etc.

5/4/09- My car now has 100,100 miles and is now out of warranty. Today my passenger side headlight is out, again. This is like a bad joke! I think that they have to remove the front bumper to replace the headlight. So, I guess I'm going to get stuck paying for the parts and the labor for that. It also seems that the technicians are not as knowledgable as they should be on this car. This is too serious of a problem, not to be addressed.

I have read other forums on this vehicle. There are other Prius owners experiencing the same issue. This is a saftey issue as well as a monetery issue. Toyota really needs to address this issue in the form of a recall. If they continue to ignore these complaints, then maybe a "class action lawsuit" would get their attention.

Paul W Eaton of Sedona, AZ April 12, 2009

I have had 3 accidents or near accidents with my new 2009 Toyota Prius due to a combination of mysterious acceleration and loss of brakes. The first incident (a near accident) occurred when the car in front of me stopped. I was driving slowly but my car suddenly seemed to accelerate on its own and my brakes failed. How I stopped my car I will never know. The second incident was when I was driving into my garage. Again the car seemed to accelerate and the brakes did not work. The garage wall was damaged on both sides. After this I took the car into the Toyota dealer. They examined it and said if I had more trouble, bring it in again. The third incident occurred in a parking lot. The self-accelerating seemed to have been fixed, but while driving slow and looking for a place to park, the brakes did not hold and the result was the car hit a parked car.

Although no one was hurt here was over 6000 damage to the Prius and some damage to the parked car. What is really scary is that by the next parked car (only a foot or so away) were a man and 2 children. If my car had hit that car there could have been some deaths - certainly serious injuries.

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