Prius 3 has 171,000 miles on and ran like a dream until I had a dash light come on. I assumed it was the oil and promptly had it changed but the light didn’t go off so I took it to Autozone and the codes said misfiring on 3rd & 4th pistons. I got back in car to go home and 5 mins later, warning light went off. Mind you it’s still driving great. I did check fluids again the next day and noticed the coolant was dangerously low which was weird because I had just had the oil changed and they check all the fluids. I filled it up. In the following two weeks, that warning light would come on every now and then but didn’t stay on. I did notice the heater didn’t work every day but I have a super busy schedule and wasn’t too worried about it. On a day when no warning lights were on, heater was working and car was running fine, I felt like I ran over a big rock while driving (I didn’t actually run over anything) and immediately pulled over, turned off car and got out of the vehicle and took photos of the tiny trail of oil. One mechanic (uncle) has told me that it looks like the engine blew “from the inside out” and that I’ll need to replace the engine. I have been without a vehicle now for four months because I cannot afford to replace the engine and I don’t know what I’m going to or what I should do.
sorry to hear it. what are you getting for estimates? new engine? salvage? how about repair? call hometown hybrids in houston and ask them if they can recommend a mechanic
Sorry to hear your beloved Prius bite the dust. I would say if everything else is in good condition, at 2K fix it. at 5K forget it. Your estimate of 2K-5K is a really wide range. at 3-4K, it is going to be a tough decision. At 171,000 miles, you might be looking at more expensive repairs like traction battery even if you replace an engine.
These are Gen 4 engines available near your zip code based off the location in your profile. 150 or so for head gasket set, and 120 for head bolts. Install (or have installed) Gen 3 head (yours) on Gen 4 engine block. Any of the engines would function just fine in your car.
Most likely, the engine experienced a head gasket failure (not uncommon) and began consuming large amounts of coolant. The coolant caused hydrolocking which resulted in damage to the connecting rods. The connecting rods bent and were weakened. With some additional use, the connecting rods failed and the rod poked thru the block. If you had stopped driving the car immediately after the misfire (which triggered the check engine light) then the engine may have been repaired. At this point, unless you have resources to get this done without paying market price for the labor, I would junk the car and move on to something else.
You could maybe get an engine from a local self service junkyard. Look for a car with significant collision damage. The engines run about 260.00 and there are probably parts pullers around the yard that will pull a motor for 100 bucks. Rent a truck from Uhaul or home depot to get the motor to a shop. A local independent shop will probably charge 700 to put the motor in.
Too bad you won’t find a running Gen 3 engine in a junkyard for 260. Not with the oil burning, head gasket blowing reputation this engine has. The yard 5 miles from my house STILL has the running, actively leaking from the head gasket 245,000 mile motor I looked at in July of 2018. And they STILL want 1400 dollars for it. It’s basically a rebuildable core.
My rule that I go by, when repairs exceed half of trade in, its time to move on. Trade in on a 3 in “Good” condition is shown here. It’s feasible for this car to be repaired for 1600 if DIY, 2400 if done somewhere. Given that an engine replacement is getting to be a common thing on the early Gen 3, it’s not going to hurt the final value. Fix it, drive it a year or two, and trade it off.
Your figures are not accurate. Black Book is auction price and Dealerships seldom give you that for trade ins. Even if they say they do...it's because they are jacking you somewhere else. Julia, unless your mechanic (uncle) is going to do the swap for free, with a low mile used engine of known good condition, that's remarkably low priced...move on to your next.
