I just bought a used 2006 Prius about a month ago with 210,000 miles on it. About one week later a couple of incidents occurred where the Prius' started to stall and the red triangle and hybrid error came up. I took it Toyota and they said something was wrong with a throttle sensor and gave me a bill for $1300 to repair and replace the throttle body. Its been 3-4 weeks and everything seems to be running smoothly without the repair. Can I keep driving the car at this rate without another issue coming up? Rather how long can I drive the car before the car starts giving me the same trouble? Is this problem an immediate must fix or can I wait it out a little while longer ? Also are there any independent shops that can work on Prius' in the Columbus, Ohio area? Your help is greatly appreciated
The car's throttle body was probably never cleaned and the butterfly is probably pretty corroded. The butterfly is moved by a little motor part of the tb assy. When butterfly is very corroded it will not swivel easily and the little motor can't open and close it freely. As compared to an older simpler car that has a metal cable form that butterfly to the gas pedal. Pretty common post here and see dealer's quotes for $1300 (yours is lowest so far) all the way to $2000. I don't know your diy level but very very easy to replace. Any mechanic can do it. Either need to buy a new one or find a used one in good shape. The bad part is it needs to be dealt with asap as the car can stall at any given time if the butterfly gets stuck. Whats your diy level can you take the air cleaner box off and take some pictures of the tb throat so we can see how bad it is? It may just need a good cleaning and lube.
another problem that i have noticed is that the car also makes a rattling noise when i hit the gas. Also ive noticed that the car is rather loud or the engine is when i accelerate. As a new owner im not really sure if that is normal because everyone tells me that prius' are supposed to be quiet. I dont know how true that is or if im hearing stuff. I do have a very very very low diy knowledge of anything car related. Are there many resources out there that i can turn to, to be a little bit for diy friendly? thanks a lot greatly appreciated
The rattling noise is probably caused by the 210k miles on the car. The engine has some wear to it. Make sure you check the oil level often so it doesn't run low, top off as needed
