I have a 2005 prius, 227K+ miles. Auxilllary battery died, decided to just jump start car...all the time. BAD IDEA. I now know. Had oil change at local jiffy lube, and tried to jump start car using their jumpers. The prius failed to startv red warning triangle came on as well as the hybrid system warning light. Trying to save money, I took car to local mechanic who told me that the inverter-converter had to be replaced. Found a replacement on ebay for $180 and the mechanic placed it in the car for $400. He also replaced aux. battery (battery cost 300, labor 50). Now the dash board lights wont come on and the check engine light is constantly on. The car is now driving poorly, and it seems to want to stall. Mechanic said it is transmission problem even though the code does not indicate so. The code indicates over 20 malfunctions ranging from voltage problem to other abs problem. PLEASE HELP ME. This car is a work vehicle and I need it to function desparately. Thank you. Ps. converter coolant is low, where can I find this product locally.
Let's start from the beginning. Before the 12v battery died, was this car running without issues? How did an initial 12v battery problem lead to buying a new inverter? Is your car used as a taxi? You can buy the super long life coolant at the dealer......It's pink in color
how can we help? you're driving a 10 year old car with 227,000 miles, you're bound to have problems, but i think you'd be better off at the dealer, than the mech you've been going to.
Thank you JC91006, for your prompt response. Well all of this begin when I tried to cut corners ( running a business with a low budget) by not replacing the aux. batt @ $350. The car ran beautifully for a year ( bought it in April 2014 $8k). Your question keeps resounding in my mind, because I strongly believe that I should have simply changed the aux. batt. I shouldnt have listened to the mech. and changed the inverter-converter. My understanding is that that piece of hard ware is quiet durable. Any way is my core converter of any value.. Thanks again. I will surely get the coolant from the dealer; PS Is it the same as the radiator coolant?
Any constructive suggestings will be appreciated, bisco. I have noticed that when I leave the headlights on, and start the car, the dash board lights come, and stay on. The check engine light comes on too. Another mech. read the codes and suggested that I needed new spark plugs. How he came to that conclusion in light of the over 20 DTCs is beyond. Then again many things are beyond me. Thanks.
I was told (blamed) by my business partner, that jumping the car via the fuse box in the hood ( for so long) "fried" the inverter-converter; hence the red triangle warning and the hybrid system warning. This is what precipitated the change in the converter-at the mechs' insistence.
Is there a way you can get the 20 codes and post them on here? If you are not certain the old inverter was bad, you could have replaced a good inverter with a bad inverter. Where are you located? In your mechanic's defense, there's a chance the inverter can be damged if the jump start was done wrong......but if it was done right, then it shouldn't have failed You really need a mechanic that can work on a hybrid. The one that says the spark plugs are causing your issues......might not be the best choice
Thanks JC91006. Yes the mech. who suggested the spark-plug change is the same one who read the over 20 codes. He cleared the codes and the check engine light has not come on, yet. I havent driven it for long since the reading. I read on a thread else where that high mileage prii net their spark-plugs changed. I am located iin chicago illnois, where our politicians are famous for federal indictments JC I will try and get another reading of the DTCs and post them thanks.
you should follow toyota's maintenance guidelines, spark plugs every 120,000 miles. you say, 'when i leave the headlights on and start the car'. what if you turn the headlights off and start the car?
jumping the car all the time, you may have popped a fuse or 2. check all your fuses, clear your codes, disconnect the aux battery for a minute or so. reconnect the battery and see what codes come back when you start it.
