I think I may have reached the end of the road with my 2004 Prius Spirit. I have a persistent misfire that I cannot diagnose/fix. Garage costs + needing a new MOT has left me to the point when I think I may simply have to sell her on. Before I put up an eBay listing, would any UK-based Prius owners be interested in her? Apart from this misfire she is in pretty good condition with the only other issue being an intermittent cat-related error code (could be O2 sensor, could be something else). Yes, I would like to get more than the £125 a local scrap dealer offered, but more importantly I would like someone to take her away and hopefully get her back on the road again with someone else. She only has 165k miles - a spring chicken!
What a pity you are on the other side of the planet, that sounds like a great buy. My 2008 has the equivalent of 500,000miles on the clock and it just needs a replacement transaxle .... I broke it overloading it unfortunately and it gets a very bad vibration when accelerating or backing off, smooth as when light throttle is applied ..... The thing that originally put mine off the road when it was a taxi, turned out to be a blocked catalytic converter, replaced that with an aftermarket unit and the fuel filter and away it went again for another 100,000 mile. They are a great unit, ultra reliable if you service them regularly ...... I'd be reluctant to let it go if I was in your shoes T1 Terry
I agree. I've had to get another car, so she is currently sat on the drive. I don't have the facilities to do an engine swap (worse case scenario I guess). I could book an MOT and drive her to that, but she will very likely fail and then the car is stuck in a garage and at the mercy of what they come up with in terms of costs to fix.
That’s a great vehicle with a lot of life left in her, I hope you find a buyer who can diy it and get many more good years. All the best!
Yeah that's not even broke in well. Hopefully somebody will take her and know what to handle taxi people and things like that service guys could really use that vehicle
Wow, 20+ years on any vehicle is super impressive! We keep our vehicles "until the wheels fall off" so, since most are Toyota's, end up giving them to family members. Seems that rust and accidents are the two biggest killers of Toyota's if you just do basic maintenance. We, have two Avalons in the family that are 10 and 20 years old and rust seems to be slowly killing them, they are tanks! (They are in New England which hasn't caught onto the concept that you DON'T have to put salt down in the winter.)
Please find a friend or family member to help us help you come up with a diagnosis. Selling such a reliable vehicle will be regretable if the misfire problem is anything less than a failed engine. I remember back in 1993 I sold my RX7 for next to nothing because I thought the seals in the wankel rotor had failed. But a guy who raced RX7s came by and added some Marvel Mystery Oil through the spark plug holes and got it started and drove it away and I spent years watching my beloved car driving around the neighborhood and regretting that I didn't try harder to get it running.
Ha! I sort of dread this outcome. But I would much rather this outcome than see the car just get broken up. I'm going to have another go at trying to fathom out what is happening next weekend. I will keep you all posted.
Yea, sounds like you're ready for your next car regardless of maintenance work needed. Think about who you know that could have a better life with this car and work with them to get it fixed and start shopping for the car you hope to drive for the next 20 years.
So the time has come... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256868068202 Hopefully she will either get a new lease of life, or will give her life as a donor so that others can live! In the meantime I went a bought a C4 Picasso as a runaround, which I only use at the weekends. I just don't do the mileage to justify getting anything else right now. Perhaps at some point in the future I will get a plug in hybrid or even full electric. That little Prius was by far the best car I ever had. So easy to drive, so cheap to run.
She's a Beaut. Looks like she's hanging a little low in the back but that's an easy quick fix You even got the rear speakers and the tweeters on the door panels it's a nice setup I can't imagine what happened but back in the day somebody in the UK would take that and keep it on the road if they were driving I guess Not bad even with the little dings and where that's just normal stuff.
In my experience, it' In my experience, it's worth waiting for the right buyer. The pool of enthusiasts may be small, but they are willing to pay top dollar for what they want.
Where in the UK are you? I’m in Stoke-on-Trent. Have it diagnosed and a repair cost calculated then you’ll be able to make an informed decision. O2 issue will need rectifying for the MOT. If it’s a T Spirit, it’s the top spec like mine.
The car is in Exeter, Devon. It is a T Spirit. I got some quotes for diagnostics but lack of MOT meant it was going to be complicated getting the car to a garage or more importantly back again if they could fix it, or - perhaps more likely - the proposed fix was something like a new head gasket.
A 2004 Prius would still be subject to an emissions test just like any other ICE yes? Beyond that, I really wouldn't want to drive it any distance to get to a centre. And I worry about damage done during the test because it can sound like a tractor and could be wrecking the catalytic convertor. Also, it's a 21 year old car that may well fail for some completely unrelated problem!
