Last week I purchased a salvaged 2008 Prius from my mechanic with 146,000 miles on it. The car had been hit on the rear passenger side door well. All repairs completed without any problem, no frame damage etc. The problem I have is that the brake, VSC, check engine, and master warning lights all came on. They came on last week but then went off after restarting the car. A week later, I took the car on the freeway and drove it up to 75mph to see how it would perform. No real issues. About 20 minutes after leaving freeway and making a quick stop, the lights came on again. The car seemed liked it was struggling to accelerate so I drove it back to my mechanic but he is out of town and will be back in a few days. His partner checked the codes (not sure he had the right equipment) but the Prius is not his specialty. The lights went off (due to him probably resetting the system?). He told me to bring it back when his partner comes back in a few days to have it looked at. I have seen others with this issue on this forum. Does anyone think the accident has anything to do with this problem? I was told that the hybrid battery was still good. I am thinking of going to Toyota to have them run a complete check on the car. I intend to have my mechanic correct any potential issues. Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated.
Welcome to Prius Chat . Some questions: What part of California are you located? Do you know someone with Techstream (a code reading software)? How long have you known the mechanic? Keep us posted .
I live in SoCal in Inglewood. I don't know anyone with Techstream. I have known my mechanic for years but he and his partner just recently started buying Prius from the auction and fixing and flipping them. My mechanic specializes in Euro cars like Mercedes, BMWs, Volvos. His partner knows more about Prius. I might take the car to Hybrid Fix. They specialize in Prius and have all the equipment to read codes.
Thanks. He is the person I am talking about taking the car to. I found him on the internet. He is very good reviews. I think I will go see him on Monday.
The day I picked up the car and then a week later. The warning lights came on and then went off and a week later it came back on. I have driven the care about 150 miles since I got it.
This seems a common theme for these older Prius cars. They get them to work for 50 miles or a bit more and then the warning lights come and you have the battery problem.
Please take time to report back what the solution is to your car's problem. If there are warning lights I would think there are error codes present that could helpful point you in the right direction. Losing power can be a sign of a weak hybrid battery. Since it is a salvage car you have a wider range of possible problems.
I don't think I will have a problem with my mechanic. They just started buying Prius from the auction, fixing them, and selling them. I should be able to work something out with them if I have to buy a hybrid battery. I was told the battery had good life on it-but I will let everyone know how this all plays out. I am going to take it to Avi at Hybrid Fix tomorrow. He is an expert on these cars and I believe he has all the tools to test the car.
