SOLVED! Post 2853 Leaking Injectors, Dealer Techs Rock! Extended Cranking after Engine Swap 3.4L 5vz

Jen! Prius it is!! I'm sold!! There's pry a million of em up in your kneck of the woods anyhow, you won't get any ugly looks and you help save the arctic animals. Win win.

 

I get that too!
But how do the batteries get to the recycler. What powers the facility to do the work. How do they get back to somewhere they can be resold. What transports the new material/components. That's more what I was getting at.

 

If they are shipped freight then it's no worse than the oil we currently ship by rail. That's what I'm getting at.

Actually we found a battery place in Calgary that deals refurbished batteries that are refurbished in Vancouver. So if my father in law wants a new battery, we'd take his up to Calgary with our F150, at 20 mpg, pick up the refurbished one, and then they ship the core to Vancouver. Overall, not a very energy intensive process if it only has to be done every decade.

Plus, like everything else, the more common large batteries get the more companies will setup to handle there recycling. Much like recycling aluminum, the more people who do it, the more efficient the process will become.

 

Yip I'm sold. Even though I couldn't get the piece of shit down my driveway without getting stuck..

How bout it keakar?? Let's get electric cars? It'll be fun.

 

not me, I don't like working on cars that can electrocute me to death, im too clumsy for taking those risks lol.

well there you have it Jen, the HRV it is!

1. HRV has AWD, Prius C doesn't. HRV wins
   
2. HRV is ~$21K and would have ~3% interest rate; Prius C is ~$18K and would have a 0% interest rate Prius wins but your only talking about an extra $20 a month higher notes to get the HRV so really I call it a wash
   
3. HRV would cost ~1.5 - 2x more in fuel over the life of the car than the Prius C not true because the Prius mpg claims are based on you driving below 30 mph on battery power most of the time so be honest, how much time do you spend driving below 30mph?
4. HRV would be less intimidating to work on at home 10+ years from now when parts start failing on either car HRV wins
5. Interior looks/comfort seemed slightly nicer in the Prius C, although the back seat configuration options in the HRV were slightly better for Dolly HRV wins and dolly approved for bonus points and the win!
   
6. HRV has a nicer looking exterior HRV wins

and for the record #3 is a lie because you can only go by the running on gas part of the mpg it uses. it will only run on battery power for 10% of your driving at the most

 

I agree with him...

 

im holding out for a hydro car that runs solely on tap water and expels only water vapor

 

Actually, that's basically what should happen in 50 years. Hopefully before I'm 50 we will see the first successful fussion power plant that will use sea water as a fuel source. The first successful sustained power positive fission reactor already has shown hot fussion to not only be possible but viable as a power source. That power would have two waste products, heat and water.

That power could then be used to charge Air Aluminum batteries (the next big battery technology everyone is working on) in cars giving us gasoline or better range on electric cars that will out perform anything on the road performance wise.

 

A gasoline car can blow you da fuck up if you act like an idiot when messing with the fuel tank or burn you severely if messing with the fuel system. I have a friend in the burn ward right now because an engine backfired while he was trying to get it started with starter fluid. In short, respect your energy source no matter what it is.

I sense a lot of opinion in this thread and not a lot of fact. My father in laws Prius does 50/50 driving and pulls 45-50 mpg. The HRV won't get halt of that IRL conditions. Everything else is a crap shot. Is everyone once again forgetting this is a first year model?

 

Soooooooo ...

lets see some pictures of your new HRV sitting in your driveway.

did you get a blue one or a black one?

 

She's gunna get the Prius.....
I'm quite certain.

 

might as well set fire to that money instead then.

in ten years she will be on here crying about how she cant fix it herself or afford to get it fixed

 

I know.....

 

How is this different than a CVT AWD (with a pile of clutch packs I might add) modern VTEC vehicle? There are so many computers in both vehicles odds are any problems she has in 10 years will cost an arm and a leg. It's called buying anything new now a days.

Just sayin.

 

Morning TW. Thanks for all the input everyone!!

Still keep changing our minds every couple hours it seems. I think the biggest reason we are so unsure is the Taco. We keep questioning, what will we wish we had if the Taco's engine or transmission fails in 1 yr, VERSUS what if she keeps going for a long time. I know I'll always want a 4wd Taco, preferably this one forever! But I would not go through anything engine or transmission related again in the future, or anything that would be $2K or more for a single repair at this point. I'll keep piece-mealing $ at repairs forever otherwise though, like wheel bearings and crap like that - not just because I'm a sentimental fool for this truck, but because it will be SO expensive to replace her, so I dread that day in many ways!! Which is what is making THIS commuter car decision so hard..........we feel like we need to be prepared with a plan ready to go for that dreadful day.

I HATE thinking about it, but we'd be fools not to. If we knew the Taco was going to die in the next year or two, we'd want to buy a used $10K car now - basically something super cheap and reliable, like an ugly colored, no sunroof havin', moderate miles used Civic or Corolla - whatever it takes to keep the price down and reliability up - so that we could better afford to replace the Taco while making a small car payment on that $10K car. Because that's how important it is to us to be able to go places that I'd only feel safe taking a 4WD Taco to. It's pretty much our favorite "hobby"!!! We'd be willing to give on basically everything about the commuter, if that's what it took to be sure we could afford to buy another 4wd truck when needed. We just don't know what the "when needed" part is.

So, our main concern with the HRV is, what if we spend $20K on our commuter car, then the Taco dies in the next year or two, what would we do? Payments on 2 auto loans @ $20K+ at the same time would be impossible for us. I think we'd be forced to replace the Taco with a $5-10K car, basically just to have some sort of super cheap 2nd vehicle, then be stuck only going places the HRV can handle until we're done paying it off, then go get another 4wd Taco. And that plan sounds pretty convoluted and miserable. Because there'd be a handful of places (the prettiest & most fun favorite ones, of course ) that I just simply would not even try to take anything but a 4wd Tacoma or something equivalent. I suppose we could try to trade in both the broken beloved Taco #1 AND the barely paid for HRV at the same time, in exchange for a 4wd Taco with a new hefty loan and also a $5-$10K commuter, but that sounds like an awful lot of convoluted misery too, and big potential to lose $. Almost makes leasing look appealing, which I NEVER thought I'd say But then I come to my senses on that pretty fast again.



If we somehow knew the Taco would last 4-5+ years, I'm almost certain we'd go for an HRV now, knowing we could handle a payment on a replacement truck once the HRV was nearly paid. Then we think about the types of driving the HRV could handle, vs. where a Prius C or used Corolla could go. We are guessing the HRV could handle ~50% of the driving we'd normally use the Taco for - gravel roads, snowboarding, certain types of long trips, etc. With a Prius C or used Corolla, we'd use it exactly like the Civic, and keep using the Taco for all the "fun" driving. So we'd definitely save some miles on the Taco with the HRV. And I like that, plus I'd like getting better fuel economy during the "fun" driving an HRV could handle.

I suppose there's not much risk in getting the $10K car now (provided we did our research and found that gem of a used Corolla that is the wrong color but low in miles and sat in some lady's garage most of it's life kinda thing), but there's not much pay off either. Sorta like we're settling for an improved POS that we don't love, to be somewhat better prepared in case of a Taco emergency in the next few years. There's a slightly more secure but pretty lame feeling about that approach. I want to stop worrying and have faith in the Taco, but we also need to be realistic about what the future holds. It's really tough to decide which way to go here.

Well, eventually we will get so sick of this that we'll make up our minds, so don't fear guys, the end has gotta be near!! I keep daydreaming about the moment I'll FINALLY get to post pics on here of whatever we go with!!

 

Whatever you do don't count on the HRV for driving around on gravel roads. You will rattle that CUV into oblivion. I don't care who made it, a CUV with it's light duty AWD system is not designed to take that abuse. I see it on farms here all the time. The wife buys a nice CRV, Edge, Escape, Forester, Rav, etc etc and within a year or two the transmissions shot, the center differential needs to be replaced, and the clutch packs are FUBAR'd because of the rough roads. Those vehicles are modified cars not built for the shake, rattle, and roll style of driving.

Jen, and I hate suggesting more ideas, but when you were at the Toyota dealer did you look at a SR I4 4x4 Tacoma? That could be the answer if you are worried about the older 1st gen Tacoma. Buy a new Tacoma now and if the old one dies then buy a used car. You know the new 2nd gen can do everything you need plus it covers exactly the type of situation you describe. Even if you get in a financial bind, the high demand and resale on the new Tacoma can get you out basically scott free minus lost payments if you needed to jump ship. Just an idea.

 

I was gunna mention that jen.....the Prius would be strictly a good weather pavement princess and that's it. Couldn't do anything else...

 

We seriously thought about this approach. No more worries, we have two now!! That was definitely an appealing thought. It really is very important to us, it's the thing we splurge on - having a 4wd decent truck that can handle that stuff is not cheap to own or maintain, either, as we all know!!

But then fuel economy is the big killer of this idea. Might be worth taking a second glance at just how much of a diff. it would be though. Get the $20K Taco now, then stop worrying. I like that