Was going to ask in the PiP section but it's a ghost town there so maybe you guys got some info. Have owned a gen1 and currently have 2 gen 2. Looking at 2012 plug in with140,000 miles. How do the PiP hold up/perform? Are there any things I should look for when checking it out/are there any known issues? Thanks for the help and advice in advance.
mostly the same issues as all gen3, engine, egr, intake, oil burning, inverter and brake actuator. on the phev side, no major issues. get 2 fobs and an evse, plug it in and make sure it charges. charge itup and see how far she'll go before the engine comes on. turn the temp all the way down and fan off or the engine fires. front defrost fires the engine hard accell fires the engine. if the engine fires, it will affect the battery, and you won't get true ev range. ev range is typically between 6 and 14 miles, depending on battery health, speed, acceleration, hill, stops and starts, and climate. haven't seen any batteries go bad yet, dr. prius might be able to do a health check, not sure. no spare tire and small under deck storage. i love mine, 85k
Don't blink one more time and buy it! Most reliable Prius ever built! The only reason that forum is dead is because people over there don't have problems! Though there are early Gen 3 engine issues (rings, EGR, headgasket) that are worth considering first, but a plugin Prius will have way less stress on engine over time than standard Gen 3. And low mileage Gen4 engine swaps into a Gen3 when the time comes makes it's lifespan way longer. And I've known people who've gone a couple years of in town driving with no issues with bad headgasket on Gen3.
It's super impressive that their early plugin Prius never has anyone complaining about battery issues yet... I'd like to know more about that? Or maybe I'm asking that question too soon/jinx? In terms of replacement pack upgrades NexCell has no plans to do that, but the idea of a 2012 plugin with a Gen 4 engine & Nexcell upgrade sufficient enough to make room for a spare tire sounds like a long term profitable collector's car that'll be worth more than $100K by 2040!
Its almost the same as regular prius but slightly higher mpg. Also in my opinion, they’re a bit more prone (just a little) to headgasket failure compared to the regular Prius. Why? Because the engine is more stressed and underload everytime it comes on (cold) in the middle of an acceleration while in EV mode. For example, you leave your house with full-charge EV, you start driving on EV going 45 mph, then you decide to turn AC on or you stepped on the gas a little heavier to pass someone, the engine/ICE kicks-in (cold) while you’re going 45mph or during acceleration to pass someone. This is unhealthy for any engines in my opinion. Its basically like starting your car in the middle of driving and im not a fan of that. The best way to keep the engine healthy is to just start the car on hybrid mode instead of EV mode to give the engine proper time to warm up. Instead of in the middle of high-speed or heavy acceleration. That is why I think the PIP are more prone to engine-failure than the regular prius due to improper warm-up/start-up. My advice is to just start the car on hybrid mode instead of EV mode so it has a more proper and gentler start/warm-up. Congrats with the purchase.
See if you can get o read on how much the car was plugged in? If a lot, it could be a cream-puff. If not, with 140K miles, could be either the oil consumption or head gasket failure was starting to crop up. Or the brake booster.
I sold my 2012 Prius PHV to a friend. It's still working just fine for him. Here's a video I created with it a number of years back to provide some insight into what actually happens while you drive. That bottom section is data captured from a OBD-II reader.
