Transaxle Replacement Costs For Gen 2 2005

[semo]

I'm not looking for stealership quotes. Are there garages out there that can do this for reasonable prices?

I'm hoping that this topic only discusses the price of replacing a transaxle in the UK. Assume that there is no other option :)

[wass]

If there are breakers yards which are breaking Gen 2 prius cars, then I would say that there are cheaper ways of replacing the prius drive system than taking it to a dealer. The question has to be is there a prius specialist ( rather than dealer) in your neck of the woods? Maybe if you could find a breakers yard in your area with a transmission assembly, they might just be able to let you know of any specialists in their viscinity who would carry out the work?

[semo]

I'm in Surrey. I was thinking of buying a gen 2 prius because they were considered hardy by many owners but after much research I've found that transaxle failures are quite expensive to fix. Also, other common problems include brake pedal actuator, HID lights, MFD (stuck odometer), coolant/pump leaks, gear joystick sticking, weak wheel bearings and the list goes on.

I know good mechanics who can fix my VW but I've never owned a Toyota (nor do I know anyone who has) so I won't know who to turn to when that bag of gizmos goes puff.

If I could find the UK version of luscious garage then I would be a lot more comfortable but at this stage it is a far too big of a gamble for me. I remember reading somewhere that the Prius holds about a gallon of brake fluid and a few other gotchas that the average mechanic might not know about.

[don21]

I think you would be hard pressed to find many on here that have had many of the problems you list.

Most of us find the Prius bulletproof in most respects.

[semo]

I think you would be hard pressed to find many on here that have had many of the problems you list.

Most of us find the Prius bulletproof in most respects.

Cool. So does anyone know how much to replace a transaxle?

[don21]

You could ring Toyota and ask.

[semo]

I'm not looking for stealership quotes. Are there garages out there that can do this for reasonable prices?

[wass]

Maybe the fact that nobody can tell you the cost of replacing a 'transaxle' will be an informative fact in itself. If those items on your list are the most common faults on the Prius and nobody can tell you in all honesty that they have encountered those faults then the obvious conclusion is that they dont go wrong all that often.

If a car travels a million miles and only suffers two blown tail light bulbs during that time, you'd have to say that its least reliable features were the tail lamps. Check out the JD power survey for the model and year of manufacture you have in mind. It gives a fairly reliable steer.

[semo]

Let me try and show you what I see from my point of view

http://priuschat.com...-discussion.56/

LG currently operates an overnight shift 7 days a week dedicated to hybrid taxi cabs. With this experience we can describe Gen 2 Prius transmission failure as routine, somewhere between 150-250k miles

http://lusciousgarage.com/blog/P20/

A lot of forum members around here are confident that their Prius is bulletproof, but they are not selling their cars. When I search for a Prius, I look at the general population (autotrader and gumtree). My budget allows me to look at examples that have done more than 100k miles. I also see a lot of topics discussing weird hums that are usually associated with wheel bearing or transaxle faults. The problem is that all repair and cost discussions are very US centric.

All Prius cars were made in Japan so I find it hard to believe that transaxle failures are more common in the US compared to the UK. I think that people who have transaxle failures in the UK aren't active forum members and either pay the dealership to repair it or sell the vehicle for scrap.

It's so much easier to buy used diesel cars. If someone is desperate to sell, you can expect to spend £1000 for either a turbo or a diesel pump so you can budget appropriately. Don't get me wrong, I really like the idea of owning a Prius but the idea of spending £3-4k on a car that might have a transaxle on its last legs is a bit unnerving.

[pmf]

Hi, as you have been over to the Prius chat forum during your research, you have likely read the couple of threads on owners replacing their own transaxles. This included a guy doing it outdoors on his drive/property with the car up on axle stands. From that you can conclude basically you may not need a dealer if you can find a good confident mechanic.

If you are concerned about buying a Prius without having this information then perhaps with the information on the Prius chat forum and a bit more research, you may be able to work out a price and likliehood of someone undertaking the work, as it seems no forum member has needed this work. Check out a couple of breakers with a Prius and get a price for a transaxle. You can then do a search for a Toyota Prius technical manual (often they are available on line) or i believe there is a Haynes which usually covers engine/transmission removals, I assume the transaxle removal will be covered. You can then show the manual and check with some of your local non franchised garages if they would be willing to undertake the work and a get rough estimate. With correct manual/instructions they can at least do it safely. Many garages won't quote unless they know what the work involves, but they won't invest in manuals for an estimate or one off job. Many are also put off hybrids but may be more interested if they have the correct information.

The guy's who did it on Prius Chat did give accounts and roughly how long it took them and thats with the limited equipment they had. They did appear to have a manual or similar with good instruction and were confident and skilled mechanicaly, although not necessarily car mechanics .

As others have said, its not really a common fault but as America has many more hybrids they have more reported experience of replacing virtually any item.

An issue you may face is finding a garage/mechanic to even consider the work as the word Hybrid puts them off, assuming everything requires specialsit knowledge/equipment, but like many things now a days many components are non serviceable so it often just a swap out, but you do need information on the basic safety issues of working on a hybrid and which jobs need specialist equipment. Specialist equipment can be an issue with many modern cars and not just hybrids, but due to numbers of hybrids at present its less likely a non franchised will invest in the equipment or training.

I have to date found the Prius to be very reliable and so far low cost of ownership compared to my previous cars (hope I haven't jinxed myself now). Its going in for 70000 mile service next week.

[don21]

Compared to modern diesels I would rather take my chance with my Prius any day.

I work on this stuff every day and thats why I drive a Toyota Prius. My wife drives a Toyota Auris diesel.

Less worried about my Prius ever develoing a fault

Being a Toyota not that worried about her Auris either.

VW or BMW now theres another thing.

[semo]

I have to date found the Prius to be very reliable and so far low cost of ownership compared to my previous cars (hope I haven't jinxed myself now). Its going in for 70000 mile service next week.

I'm not surprised that your Prius has behaved itself for 70k miles but my budget only allows me to look at cars that have done twice that distance. Maybe everyone who claims to have a bulletproof Prius around here has only done 100 000 miles or less?

As for changing my own transaxle... I can do my own servicing but that's about it. I don't even have a driveway to spread all the gubbins that are bound to come out. And 20 hours into the job, I'll probably hate myself for even attempting the repair in the first place

Compared to modern diesels I would rather take my chance with my Prius any day.

I work on this stuff every day and thats why I drive a Toyota Prius. My wife drives a Toyota Auris diesel.

Less worried about my Prius ever develoing a fault

Being a Toyota not that worried about her Auris either.

VW or BMW now theres another thing.

Yeah, I'm staying well clear of the new common rail, super low emissions engines (I'm sure they're great when in warranty). Older PD VWs are quite reliable up to around 150-200k (and that's assuming you've kept up with the costly cambelt changes). Judging from the luscious garage quote above, it seems that you can expect a 2nd gen Prius to start misbihaving after it's done 150k miles.

I think I should try a different approach and start a poll asking Prius owners about their milage

[don21]

There was a video on youtube (Cannot find it now) with an interview with the owner of a Taxi company in Canada. He ran a fleet of Prius cars and was inpressed that they were covering up to one million kilometres without major problems.

Watching it persuaded me to buy mine.

If you find it I am sure like me you will be very impressed.