Priusbuyer's guide

A used Prius lives or dies on its hybrid battery, its inverter, and its EGR system — three faults that most buyers cannot evaluate at the kerb. This guide gives you the exact check sequence that surfaces all three before you hand over money.

This guide covers ten documented issues: hybrid battery cooling-fan blockage and pack imbalance warnings, EGR / coolant / head-gasket symptoms (the well-known 2016–2018 head-gasket pattern), brake actuator and ABS warnings (the recall-prone unit), 12V battery weakness and stop-on-key faults, inverter and hybrid module fault codes, oil consumption and leaks, suspension and tyre wear, water leaks and accident-repair patterns, infotainment and camera faults, and the full recall and campaign checklist. Each fault has a field check and a real repair-cost range.

A healthy XW50 Prius will return 50+ MPG for another decade. A failing hybrid pack or a cracked head will cost more than the car is worth. This guide tells you which one you're looking at, in twenty minutes.