My 2001 Prius had warning lights; Toyota dealer could not find the problem; they said "drive it around every day." I did, then on the highway, a "whizzing" sound started in the trunk area; brought it back to the Toyota dealer. Now they say I need a new battery, the expensive one. It will cost approx. $4000 including labor, insulator (sp?), junction box and other assorted items. Note: I am not a techie This car has approx. 85,000 miles, less than 1 year old tires, a recent new battery (the cheap one) and a SECOND replaced fuel tank which cost me $900 last May. Two smallish dents, one in the front fender, one in the right rear. Should I sell the car "as is" for how much $$$$; OR fix it for the $4000? Based on Edmonds' website, it might bring between $3700-$4700 without any repairs. Suggestions, please!
Ask the toyota dealer to give you the actual codes that they used to determine the condition of the battery. There are some other options, depending on where you are and who you can get to do the work.
We really need to see the codes to understand the failure. Your options are: Toyota service center - ask them for the codes and any sub codes. If they think it is the traction battery, ask for the voltage read out of all 19 modules. ScanGauge ($150-175 + adapter) - programmable, this unit will give you the hybrid vehicle and battery codes as well as metrics from the traction battery. Graham miniscanner ($150 deposit, $15/mo. rental) - this can read the HV. battery, and engine codes. Auto Enginuity ($400 + your windows laptop) - this can read all codes and data. Obviously the Toyota report might be the fastest but price is negotiable. If it turns out to be the battery, you have options including Re-InVolt. Your signature indicated New York and you may be close enough to "oldnoah" who may be able to offer some informed help. Bob Wilson
Assuming that your traction battery does need to be replaced (which seems likely pending your posting the logged DTC) then you have a few alternatives to paying the dealer $4K: call the Toyota Customer Experience Center to see if they will give you a break on the repair charge, given your car's relatively low odometer reading install a "remanufactured" battery for ~$2K (I question whether that is a good use of your money given the car's market value) try to sell your car as-is for whatever you can get; and if that fails then tow your car to the local salvage yard Should you find that the first two alternatives listed are not viable, then I suggest the third is preferable to paying $4K to fix a car that is only worth that much. Replacement of the battery at dealer prices seems highly uneconomical since the car may have other expensive failures over the next year or two of ownership. Good luck with your decision.
