Hi all! As the title says, I’m shopping around for a Prius wagon and trying to find what will give me the best chance of a low maintenance vehicle for a long period of time. My fiancé and I have loved our 2008 hatchback for 200k miles but he’s 6’1 and likes the feel of sitting in the v much better... can’t blame him. We also like to car camp and want the extra space for road trips with the dog. I’ve been shopping around and used Toyota’s website to figure out trims in the vehicles I’m looking at (dealers never seem to know), but I notice for 2012’s especially I don’t see any trim level. My question is, if the tires are 17 and not 16, is it a safe assumption that the car is trim 5? We’d really like to have that if possible because fiancé loves the moon roof... all model years have the moon roof, right? And speaking of model years, is there any general consensus about years that are good or to stay away from? We probably wouldn’t get newer than a 2015 for sticker price considerations, but is there a standout year, good or bad? Our 2008 burns oil pretty bad now and it’d be nice to have less of a chance of dealing with that, for example. Thanks for your time, and all your wisdom
welcome! i don't know anything about the v, but here are a couple of tips. gen 3 have an egr valve that gen 2 didn't. it is prone to clogging in the 50-100k range, and blowing the head gasket after that. it doesn't happen to all, and we're not sure why. if you do buy, it's something you want to investigate. if you can diy, it's all labor, but a dealer charges around $1,000. the v got an offset front end crash safety update in 2014 iirc, if that matters to you. all the best!
The v moonroof is an option on the trim Five, part of the “Advanced Technology Package.” The v Five has factory 17” ten-spoke rims, but these can be mounted after the fact on any trim level.
Most people expect Toyota engines to last at least 200,000 miles and a lot of them have reached 300,000 miles. The 2010-2014 gen 3's started to exhibit an oil burning problem in a higher portion of cars after only about 100,000 miles. Toyota changed the part number of the piston ring sets in 2015. I believe that the new part was intended to remedy that oil burning.
Here are some things to look for to tell which trim you are looking at: No CD slot in dash, DRCC buttons on steering wheel, Moonroof = five with Tech Package 17" wheels, softex (leather), heated seats, Fog lights = five Cloth seats = two or three Navigation = three or higher You can also enter the VIN at toyota and it will tell you the details on the car (trim and options). EDIT: the moonroof was available as a separate option in some of the later years, and a four trim was added (softex but no fog lights)
Of course an owner might have changed some of those items. My '12 Three had leather seats and DRL for example.
