# Got burned with a 2009 Prius; what to do next?



## bodeguero (Dec 4, 2016)

Lots of moving parts in my situation, including significant equity in a my house while going through a divorce w/ a spouse who is d-ragging her feet in settling up, but I wanted to know what ppl think:

So my 2009 Prius for Uber/Lyft is toast. The latest and point of no return problem had something to do w/ some booster and a vacuum. The car won't accelerate and it won't brake, as the system has shut down automatically for safety reason. The part for this would be $3200 or so, plus labor. Mechanic recommends sending it to pasture. A month ago, I took it in b/c the ABS light was on. I had 3 mechanics look at it, from my long time mechanic of 10 years/4 cars, to the dealer, and then the guy down the street where I get my oil change. Plus a 4th place when I had to replace 2 tires a couple of months back, they mentioned that the brake system was an issue. All 4 places said the ABS system needed replacement (amongst other things) and put the figure at well over $3K, with my long time mechanic stopping at $4800, which was the blue book value at the time.

I have had the Prius for 14 months and put 56K miles in that time. the majority of those miles w/ rideshare; about 4K has been with other gigs (workman's comp translation gigs at medical clinics;; normally it's about 1/4 of that, but I had a major repeat gig down in the Keys after the hurricane). It had 110K miles, and I bought it for a total of $8000 including taxes, fees. I still owe $6K. At best I'm guessing I might be able to get $1K from a Toyota dealer, so I'm on the hook for $5k or more.

The guy down the street said that the problem with hybrids is that when they go bad, they go really, really bad. Parts that cost $300 in a combustible engine cost 3x and even 10x that in a hybrid. He recommended avoiding a hybrid for rideshare.

Things to keep in mind:

For now, my ex is out of the country for 3 months, and her Chevy Volt (half electric, half hybrid) is in my name, so I'm using it for Uber only (it's not Lyft eligible, which means I'll take a hit in income b/c Lyft now gets me more rides than Uber).
Just in the last 5 weeks, I've lost 8 days and well over $1K in revenue just by sitting out waiting for mechanics to do their thing.

My ex returns for 5 days at the end of the month and has indicated she's on board w/ facilitating an expedited vehicle solution for both of us
I made over $52K *profit* last year on ride share, translations gigs, and rental income. According to the IRS I made $6,000. In other words, my ride share income is essentially completely tax sheltered

I don't think it's wise to continue paying interest on the Prius while waiting for my ex to return in late August, and then wait for lawyers to negotiate and clear a property agreement in order to free up cash for me to buy a car w/o a loan. (If she buys me out, I'd be able to buy a fleet of Priuses; if I buy her out, I will pull cash, buy a triplex and live in the smallest unit, and put the rental properties and rideshare into an LLC for tax purposes [to be able to deduct even more expenses beyond the $.535/mile)
So here are my options:

Bite the bullet and chalk up my Prius problems to bad luck, minimize my losses and get easier financing from a local Toyota dealer and trade it in for a newer Prius in the $8-10K range, under 75,000 miles. I don't even know if they'd be willing to do that for cars in that range. After this experience, I wouldn't mind ponying up a bit more $$ if it means not losing money sitting out lucrative days
Go for a Honda Fit in the 2013, $12K range (high gas mileage, low maintenance; dealer might be more amenable to my underwater situation)
My ultimate goal was to ride out the Prius until next summer and then break down and buy a used Chevy Bolt (all electric, 235 mile range): no maintenance, no oil changes, etc. I don't like the tiny storage space, though. I do a LOT of airport runs so the trunk needs to be a decent. If I were to decide to go for a brand new Bolt, I could essentially get the car for just a nick over $20K after the federal tax credit.

 Go the premium route with a Lincoln MKZ hybrid for under $15K. I talked to the guys at the hub, and they recommended to only do Lux if you get decent gas mileage. Hopefully the dealer would be able to work with my upside down car loan.
What sayeth thee?

Note: I did NOT fix the ABS, as one mechanic explained that it's essentially an advanced braking system on top of the standard traditional brakes that everybody had up until 2001 or so...


----------



## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Vacuum lines?

Google a DIY.


That's just pennies for a bunch of silicone tubing. Entirely DIYable.


As to the booster, if that one's done, get it used or aftermarket. There's plenty of people buying whole working 2009 Pwiuses for less than $3200 (my friend got one for $2500, it still works like 50k miles later).... 

Also, going to another mechanic saying "the competition said this and that and wanted $3200 + labor" is just ASKING to get robbed


----------



## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

Besides the dealer, do any of the other mechanics regularly work on Prii?


----------



## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

Did your Prius incur any hurricane damage? I drive a 2015 Prius for Uber and have had no problems. Everything I’ve heard about Prius has been 99% positive. I plan to drive my Prius until the wheels fall off. I don’t really have a recommendation.


----------



## RideshareGentrification (Apr 10, 2018)

Sounds like you're being ripped off

Vacume pump shouldn't be more than $450 installed 

Brake booster shouldn't be more than $1000 installed


----------



## bodeguero (Dec 4, 2016)

RideshareGentrification said:


> Sounds like you're being ripped off


Mechanic recommended junking the car and NOT doing the repair, so I doubt he's trying to rip me off.

Just to be clear: not a single mechanic knew about other mechanics looking at the brake system. Each were told that I was concerned b/c the ABS light was on and could they take a look. All of them came back with quotes that were in the same ball park. My longtime mechanic said not to invest any more than minor work on the car and hope and pray for the best.



> Vacume pump shouldn't be more than $450 installed
> 
> Brake booster shouldn't be more than $1000 installed


The car doesn't run any more, so I would have to tow it. The only mechanic that I trust is my long term one who has already said not to invest in the car any more than is absolutely needed. If I'm going to tow the car, I'm going to tow it to its final destination, which is probably going to be a dealer.


----------



## observer (Dec 11, 2014)

bodeguero said:


> Mechanic recommended junking the car and NOT doing the repair, so I doubt he's trying to rip me off.
> 
> Just to be clear: not a single mechanic knew about other mechanics looking at the brake system. Each were told that I was concerned b/c the ABS light was on and could they take a look. All of them came back with quotes that were in the same ball park. My longtime mechanic said not to invest any more than minor work on the car and hope and pray for the best.
> 
> The car doesn't run any more, so I would have to tow it. The only mechanic that I trust is my long term one who has already said not to invest in the car any more than is absolutely needed. If I'm going to tow the car, I'm going to tow it to its final destination, which is probably going to be a dealer.


I'd buy it if you weren't all the way across the country.

You really don't need to buy new parts.


----------



## jaxbeachrides (May 27, 2015)

I own a hybrid repair service in Florida and have owned at least a half dozen priuses.

I can't say I'm exactly familiar with the issue you describe. The abs system while costly and labor intensive usually doesn't stop the vehicle from operating. It usually just leaks and makes noises. 

I have a newer parts prius but the labor is still intensive and requires toyota techstream dealer computer to bleed the system properly once installed.

Priuses are tempormental and have a lot of components that suffer heat failure. Florida is especially bad, most priuses I see for sale have developed cooling system or battery issues.

You generally can't go wrong with civics or corolla but all cars do fail.

I've driven priuses up to 325k miles with no issues. Have one now that just blew up at 215k.

Still better to have a car that gets 40 mpg and lasts 200-300k miles, than buy a dicey European or American car that won't last 150k.


----------



## RideshareGentrification (Apr 10, 2018)

Or you could just swap a HELLCAT engine in your prius




__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1844236105608684


----------



## njn (Jan 23, 2016)

Trade it, take a loss, tax deduction. 

Is it an older Volt with 4 seats? If so, it is not technically allowed on uber either.


----------



## bodeguero (Dec 4, 2016)

jaxbeachrides said:


> The abs system while costly and labor intensive usually doesn't stop the vehicle from operating. It usually just leaks and makes noises.


I opted against repairing the ABS. The neighborhood mechanic explained it as a brake system that's on top of the normal, traditional braking system in cars prior to 2001, so no need to worry.

Thanks for an excellent response!


njn said:


> Is it an older Volt with 4 seats? If so, it is not technically allowed on uber either.


I plead the 5th.


----------



## Lets_Eat (Oct 11, 2016)

You need a shop like lucious garage to service your hybrid vehicle.


----------



## possibledriver (Dec 16, 2014)

bodeguero said:


> Lots of moving parts in my situation, including significant equity in a my house while going through a divorce w/ a spouse who is d-ragging her feet in settling up, but I wanted to know what ppl think:
> 
> So my 2009 Prius for Uber/Lyft is toast. The latest and point of no return problem had something to do w/ some booster and a vacuum. The car won't accelerate and it won't brake, as the system has shut down automatically for safety reason. The part for this would be $3200 or so, plus labor. Mechanic recommends sending it to pasture. A month ago, I took it in b/c the ABS light was on. I had 3 mechanics look at it, from my long time mechanic of 10 years/4 cars, to the dealer, and then the guy down the street where I get my oil change. Plus a 4th place when I had to replace 2 tires a couple of months back, they mentioned that the brake system was an issue. All 4 places said the ABS system needed replacement (amongst other things) and put the figure at well over $3K, with my long time mechanic stopping at $4800, which was the blue book value at the time.
> 
> ...


There are several boosters on Ebay for under $300


----------



## Nagodesi (Aug 20, 2015)

Prius booster are a gimmick, a fool and hi/her money are parted..


----------



## Sydney Uber (Apr 15, 2014)

RideshareGentrification said:


> Or you could just swap a HELLCAT engine in your prius
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Man! The front seatbelts look as if they've been removed! My goodness you Americans have so many more freedoms to choose how to kill yourselves and others!


----------



## doyousensehumor (Apr 13, 2015)

I have worked on those prius's. ABS "actuator" needs to be replaced. Usally gives off a "barking" or squeaking sound. $125 used at car-part.com. since it is a common failure there is a chance the new one is bad so you might have to do it twice. But is better than paying $3000 for it! Its a 2 hour job.

The car computer controls the brakes so you need a laptop with "Techstream" to bleed the brakes.



bodeguero said:


> Lots of moving parts in my situation, including significant equity in a my house while going through a divorce w/ a spouse who is d-ragging her feet in settling up, but I wanted to know what ppl think:
> 
> So my 2009 Prius for Uber/Lyft is toast. The latest and point of no return problem had something to do w/ some booster and a vacuum. The car won't accelerate and it won't brake, as the system has shut down automatically for safety reason. The part for this would be $3200 or so, plus labor. Mechanic recommends sending it to pasture. A month ago, I took it in b/c the ABS light was on. I had 3 mechanics look at it, from my long time mechanic of 10 years/4 cars, to the dealer, and then the guy down the street where I get my oil change. Plus a 4th place when I had to replace 2 tires a couple of months back, they mentioned that the brake system was an issue. All 4 places said the ABS system needed replacement (amongst other things) and put the figure at well over $3K, with my long time mechanic stopping at $4800, which was the blue book value at the time.
> 
> ...





bodeguero said:


> I opted against repairing the ABS. The neighborhood mechanic explained it as a brake system that's on top of the normal, traditional braking system in cars prior to 2001, so no need to worry.
> 
> Thanks for an excellent response!
> 
> I plead the 5th.


Prius brakes are not like normal brakes! Normal cars have ABS that assists if the wheels lock up. If the abs fails the brakes operate fine. Prius the "ABS" does all the braking. Prius are "brake by wire." The brake petal is actually a brake petal position sensor. That tells the computer how hard to apply the brakes. The brake actuator does everything.


----------



## Prius Mike (Jul 6, 2017)

doyousensehumor said:


> The car computer controls the brakes so you need a laptop with "Techstream" to bleed the brakes.


The brakes can be bled without Techstream. Search YouTube for "invalid mode".



doyousensehumor said:


> Prius are "brake by wire." The brake petal is actually a brake petal position sensor.


They're both. The rear brakes are "brake by wire". The front brakes are conventional hydraulic and can be bled in the usual way, but you need to enter "invalid mode" to bleed the rear brakes anyway


----------



## dnlbaboof (Nov 13, 2015)

try yourmechanic.com they will give you an instant online quote


----------

