Toyota Prius Generations Ranked By Reliability

I was a bit surprised that the 3rd gen was low in the rankings. I drove one for 12 years, and spent nothing on repairs.
I think reliability and longevity is the key to a brand ranking above other brands. People will pay more if they believe it will last the longest; a sure marker for quality.

 

The G4, better than the G1-3 models - if not also the ugliest.
Anyone who is surprised by the "turd gen" being 'ranked' the lowest of the three hasn't been paying much attention to PC topics like:
"Prius Death Rattle" or "low tension rings....." to say nothing of "EGR."
I personally think that the G2 is the best of those mentioned in the 'article' - and I say this as a person who hasn't bought a Toyota since 1989 but who has 160+ thousand miles in G3s.
Unfortunately - the newest G2s are almost old enough to vote (in the US) and......time marches on.
The G3 has at least two major design deficiencies that TOYOTA SHOULD HAVE FIXED by recalls!!!
These were somewhat mitigated in the G4s.

Truth be told - the Priussy (Prius C) is the best of the breed followed closely by the G4 models - as long as you don't care what your car looks like on the OUTSIDE. The G5s are as sexy as a one-name actress-supermodel and they have the eco-scores to warm the hearts of the man-bun set - but they are as-yet unproven in the reliability column.

If I were in my 20s I would pay the $5,000 "Toyota Tax," DIY my maintenance and make it my mission to NEVER darken the doors of another Toyota dealership for 10+ years but, sadly, I've outgrown the G5s and my latest rental cars have affirmed the fact that I've pretty much aged out of egg-shaped front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbacks.........

MY mileage.
YMMV....

 

My ranking:
Gen 2, 4, 3, 1, 5 is not old enough to know but so far, so good, for the most part

 

2,4,3,1 is a solid ranking if you freeze each generation in place.

 

J.D. Power quality and reliability ratings have been completely discredited in recent years and again in this report.

The report fails to mention gen3 oil burning, inverter, head gasket or hybrid battery failures. It seems the report is focused on gen3 brake problems, which are arguably not the deal killer head gasket and engine replacements create.

The perspective that early gen3s were the issue fails to recognize the scope of the problem. For high mile buyers, gen3 economics make no sense when a repair can total the car.

Least reliable and most expensive to repair? Gen3 by a landslide with the possible exception of 2015-2021 alpha/+/v's sold overseas, with improved head gaskets, pistons, rings and software.

Gen4s were a dramatic upgrade and included significant engine, cooling system and egr improvements.

I would rank the other generations as reliable especially for the first 200k miles.

 

The article seems pretty thin, and zero mention of:

Then with fourth gen, no mention of the Exhaust Heat Recovery system??

Just click-bait.

 

I'll admit to thinking the later Cs were smart looking little cars.

 

I LOVED my old Prius C; though it was a bit under-powered. That was on-par for an econ-box of that time. Just wished it had a little bit more oomph, going through the mountains - but you get used to that and time everything accordingly.
It's now RIP by an uninsured motorist....

 

Peoples' ideas about acceleration times don't match how they usually drive. A minivan might have 300hp, but I'm still likely to be stuck behind it.

When you bought your C, what made it worth the price?

The C seemed to be in a tough spot. It was more expensive than bigger Toyotas that had barely higher fuel costs.

I'm curious, not picking on you. I've paid to have a car scratch my specific itch.

 

It replaced a Honda Civic hybrid - didn't need the extra space. I just need an economical econo-box runner that I could run till the wheels fall-off. Wasn't expecting an uninsured motorist to take it out. I was a field service tech at the time, so tool bag, computer, small power-supplies and circuit cards was all the space I needed. I was doing 50K-70K miles a year; so higher fuel economy and lower maintenance cost meant more money in my pocket.
I was looking at Corollas when I did the math on the Prius C. The math didn't work out for a full Prius, but the differential between a plain Corolla and Prius C did. As I recall, the Prius C's was heavily discounted at the time I bought mine.

 

I bet if you had AI scan PriusChat you'd come up with a way, way, way more accurate analysis of reliability. This article fails to recognize most of the known problems that Prius have as they age out.

 

yep... We probably have spent more time on this thread discussing this than the writer spent on the article. To not mention EGR and headgasket failure for Gen3 is so out of touch with reality when it comes to most common problems with that version of Prius.

 

Guilty,
but I don't care.

 

I didn’t care until I got the death rattle

 

My Prius career ended at 85,000 plus miles in two different models.
My original (2010) Prius was recently auctioned off somewhere with close to 300,000 miles on the clock.
My second Prius died of an undetermined cause that I suspect was a case of ignoring the death rattle - at over 250,000 miles.

 

If the most reliable car I've ever owned, ranks as the lowest of the brand,
I can live with that.

 

This post is awesome! I also had a 2005 Gen 2, which I loved but had to give up in a divorce settlement. Finally, I am back in a 2024 Prime and loving it even more - so sexy, so efficient! And yes I do all my own servicing, have a ponytail, and occasional man bun!

 

I sold my Gen 3 plug-in a bit too cheap, because I was worried about the possibility of upcoming repairs. I've heard conflicting reports about its reliability. I guess I'll never know if I made the right choice.

 

There are conflicting reports because people have had different experiences.
They aren’t all bad, but there is no way to know which experience you will have as mileage creeps up.
Gen 2 experiences are still the most solid over a very long time frame.