Gen 3 Prius Owners (2010–2015) – Important Action on Head Gasket & Hybrid System Failures

Thank you.

 

NIce Work... The head gasket issue is ridiculously common and its directly caused by many design changes when the 3rd generation Prius came out.

The hybrid battery pack issue is not the same though because they didn't make any significant changes in Gen3 and the real issue is even easily fixable issues with the hybrid battery pack is used as an opportunity to sell a brand new battery pack. We can help you diagnose which issue you have and how to fix...

 

good luck

 

This is old news.

 

@caprib Please post this on reddit.com/r/prius. There are a lot more users on reddit who don't even know anything about priuschat.

 

I wouldn't be comfortable saying I "want noted" something I'm not sure is the case.

I mean, at some (near-tautological) level, I guess I'd agree that frequent start/stop is a contribution to engine stress.

But getting to the more evidence-based question of whether it's a 'contribution' enough to be relevant in a head gasket complaint, well, I just don't know, and I'd feel sketchy filing a complaint pretending I did.

 

At the end of the day, it's up to Toyota engineers to diagnose these problems, regardless of what customer says. I personally think customer is free to have an opinion as to the source of the problem.

All that being said, good luck getting Toyota to do anything useful by making a call to the brand engagement center. I have met a couple of exceedingly rude agents on that phone number who were very offended that I called. How dare I call and waste their precious time!

 

Any sense of how long ago it started?

 

Since about 2010-2012 somewhere in there Toyota has finally become like the big 3 or whatever . Finally brought the mother ship down to the playing field the rest have been on . now it takes another 10 or 15 for the people to realize and possibly believe it

 

That sounds like classic fox guarding the henhouse. Independent engineering analysis would be more appropriate, especially considering Toyota’s response up to now.

 

I might have an opinion, and could write something in a complaint like "I wonder if this could be a consequence of the extra start/stop cycles". But for me to write a complaint saying I "want it noted" that that is the explanation, without knowing that to be the case, would be bullshitting. A very quick look through complaints filed with NHTSA shows that to be a huge proportion of what flows in, and it must be a huge nightmare job trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.

 

Let me play devil's advocate here.
These cars are at least 10+ years old with 150k+ miles on them. How long should an OEM be on the hook for this????? At the end of the day, the car company needs to stay in business and can't do that giving away lifetime power train warranties on their products. Does this warranty extend to anyone that subsequently purchases the car, including "salvage" titled cars? The ONLY OEM that warranties their power train for 10 years or 100K miles is Kia and Hyundia - and that expires with the original purchaser. If title is transferred, OEM warranty falls back to the industry standard 5 years 60K miles. There would no longer be a need for independent repair shops, since the OEM is responsible for it from cradle to grave and beyond.
How would you like to make something and be responsible for it, for the rest of your life??? I guess you would call that parenting, but sooner or later they need to leave the nest, and find their own way.

 

At the very least, Toyota should rectify defects in newly produced (superseded) parts and make them available relatively inexpensively to owners whose vehicles suffered losses due to engineering failures. Part prices (such as for a new engine) are prohibitively expensive and in most cases exceed the market value of the vehicle. But manufacturers want to double dip. This is why car dealerships should not exist. Automakers should be able to sell to people directly and maintain service shops in every zip code at standard rates.

Of course, with our capitalist climax in clear sight, this is not even a pipe dream. So have a healthy dose of laugh at my expense.

 

Nobody is laughing at you and the car has hit it's design limit. NOTHING last forever; not even us..... Before the 70's-80's, people were happy to get 50K-80K miles on their old American Iron, before sending them to the scrap heap.

The part's price is the sum of the cost to engineer, produce, market, and sell it, with upgrades to fix known defects. If an OEM didn't do that, they wouldn't survive. If you kill the goose that laid the golden egg; how many more golden eggs do you think your going to get?? That's just the reality of things.

Tesla sells directly to consumers, but they don't have service centers in every zip code. They are usually backlogged too. Who's going to pay for all that infrastructure? Are you saying you want more government intervention, because they are the only one with a large enough pocket book to accomplish this.

Just a thought experiment.......

 

when our 90's windstar blew the head gasket at 5 years and 87,000 miles, the ford service advisor said, 'yeah, these engines are known for that.'
when we traded it in to a different manufacturer, even the salesman knew, and asked if the work had been done.

 

While I agree with much of what you said, the fact remains that automakers allow dealers to hugely inflate part prices. 90% of the customers are paying those very high prices because they don't know any better. People like you and I know a few dealers who will sell you a part at or slightly below MSRP, but those experiences are few and far between. This can be easily fixed if the automaker sold parts directly in addition to through the dealers.

If cars have an expiration date when the warranty expires, few will be able to afford them. The per month ownership cost will skyrocket. Most people hang onto older, out of warranty cars because they don't have a choice. Yes, there are a few enthusiasts who do it for the love of a specific model or because they have a strong attachment to the vehicle, but most do it out of necessity. There is a reason a Honda dealer sells oil drain pan bolt for over $25. It's because they can and the automaker has the price at $19 something. A maintenance item such a bolt should not cost that much. This is of course the tip of the iceberg.

 

And as consumers, we simply walk away..... That's how capitalism works. Build a better mouse-trap, consumers will gravitate towards it. If a manufacturer doesn't change, they will die-off - unless governments places their thumb on the scale to allow them to survive. That's how you get inferior products - Protectionism; stifling of innovation and competition. IMHO, It'll work for a bit, until people realize that they are falling way behind other nations technological innovations.