I would like to apologize in advance if this topic has been discussed before. I have a Gen 3 2012 Prius with 225k miles. I am the original owner and the only two problems that i had with the car was within the last 6 months where the MAS and Oil sensors had to be replaced. The car is burning about a quart of oil every 10k miles. At the moment I do not have any trouble codes. Dr prius app is showing that the battery has 4% capacity I am currently getting 43-46 MPG compared to 55-56mpg when it was new. I can Drive about 3/4 to 1 mile in pure EV mode. The car starts, runs, & drives fine The car doesn't have a P0A80 Code The car isn't sluggish upon acceleration I never had the EGR and the battery fan cleaned I do not hear a fan blowing in the rear of the vehicle On the MFD screen I can see the battery get charged fully then it will drop slowly, once it reaches the half way mark, the battery level drops to 1 bar and the engine turns on. Questions: Can the car operate with a dead battery? Should I replace the battery now or wait until I start seeing the P0A80 codes? What are some other potential issues that others have experienced with this model age and mileage?
Is the vehicle in near stellar conditions and you really Love it . Think on it hard . Don't meet these conditions get ready to run or spend spend spend .choices.
No. Your car is down hard with a failed traction (HV) battery. Neither. REALLY.....NEITHER! (see below) IMHO, This is your biggest problem: The reason you're having MAFS problems and whatever the other "oil sensor" was, is the fact that you're probably using a 10,000 mile OCI (oil change interval) and a 10,000 mile OCI (oil CHECK interval.) This means that it is more than likely that your EGR loop is clogged and it's stressing your head gasket. If your HV battery goes out in the next 10,000 miles it's going to be about a $1500 repair unless you're foolish enough to use a Toyota dealership for maintenance and/or repair. Then? You're still dealing with a car that's about to stroke-out from a head gasket failure! Any time now. The GOOD news is that the HG is only about $150. The BAD news is that you have to take the engine apart to replace it - and THEN you still have to clean the EGR. The WORSE news is that if you keep checking fluids every 10,000 miles then you're not going to notice the coolant loss which will lead to the "Prius Death Rattle." This often leads to the "Change Engine" or "Change Owner" lamp being illuminated. Look up 'hydro-lock' or "Prius Death Rattle" in the Googles for the deets, but basically the Head Gasket, among other things, keeps coolants from entering the cylinder. Good Luck!
Step away quickly . Even when fixed it's only worth something to you to everybody else that's a $2,000 $2,500 car You can go out and buy well any of those failing automobiles out there right now for that kind of money a Chevy Aveo I can't even think of all the silly stuff any of those little cars that get close to 40 mi to the gallon on a reasonable day Why would you plop $3,000 fixing it generation 3 Prius pretty much a nobody does anymore maybe here on this list but out in the wild people have built their business around the two ZZ hybrid duty engine and seems like they're all closing as fast as they've opened that should tell you something pretty quickly
Have you had the head gasket changed? Are you capable of doing the work? Labor is the most expensive part. What "oil" sensor are you writing about? 1qt in 10,000 miles? Did you mean 1000 miles? There is a big differenct. If it is 1000 miles, you can get a remanufactured engine from the hybrid pit for $2000 and up. Are you changing the oil at 5000 miles or 10,000? The egr system needs cleaning. The systems you are describing is typical of a weak hybrid battery. The hybrid battery is likely on it's way out. It's 12 years old. You could get the Prolong system and likely give it some more life. How much longer? NOBODY knows for sure. Or you could get the new Sodium hybrid battery from Jack. It is something you can do yourself witih the minium of tools. You should get someone to help your remove the battery from the car, it is heavy! The sodium battery is about 1/2 the weight. When you replace it depends on your finances, and time. The sooner the better. It will die on you at the worst time. Keep a scanner with you that can clear the P0A80 code so you can continue to drive, to get home. The hybrid battery starts the engine, if it does, it can't start the engine. Do you want to keep the car? Do you have money to replace the parts? "Some" have inverter issues, some have brake issues. Those parts do cost. But it's still less than a new car. If you cannot do the work, then you have labor cost to consider. Do not let the fear mongers scare you
Thank you for the feedback. I change my oil every 10k miles and it burns 1QT in between each oil change it been burning more in the past couple of years, but i haven't really accurately measured it . I am not mechanically inclined, but have a good understanding how things work. So the labor to change the battery can be somewhat of a challenge for me.
