Hey everyone! I have a 2007 Prius purchased used about 15 months ago. Had about 45K miles on it when I bought it used- one owner, well maintained. Currently sits at about 57K miles- yes- really- on a 2007. Love it and it's been great to me, but today, I got the red triangle of doom, check engine light, VSC light and exclamation point with circle around it light all at the same time. I also had the car with the exclamation point in it on the multi-information display. The really weird thing is that I was driving, all was well, I parked my car for about 90 minutes and then when I got back in it, all these lights came on. Also, I heard the battery cooling fan running for the first time ever. I took it to the local mechanic immediately who said I need a new hybrid battery. I am 95% sure that all he did was plug it into the code reader machine and give me the results. He told me it would be fine to drive with the dead hybrid battery, I would just get bad gas millage. I drove it home- it accelerates terribly, even if I floor it, and will not go much over 40 miles per hour. I have plans to take it to another mechanic who is more familiar with hybrids tomorrow. I am hoping that he will actually look at the battery and the connections instead of just doing the code thingie. (technical term!) I thought that replacing a 10 year old battery was pretty typical, even on such a low millage car, but in reading up here, it seems that may not be the case. Anything that I can do here before taking it to the new mechanic to trouble shoot? Is a loose connection a possibility? Am I OK to drive the car there? It is under 5 miles. Is the bad acceleration / performance typical of a Prius with no hybrid battery? Just seems so strange that it was driving fine and now all of a sudden, the battery is completely dead... I was still getting 44 mpg on tires that have seen better days... thanks in advance for your comments. I am a car newbie, so please avoid technical terms and acronyms at all costs!
welcome! that's pretty much the way it happens. battery sits and heats up, sending it over the edge. make sure you take it to someone who has toyota tech stream diagnosis software, like the dealer. your best option is todd, at tampa hybrids. a member here, and a straight shooter. it has been agreed here that time is harder on the battery than miles. and thy don't like not being used. the good news is that the rest of the car likes not being used. if you need a battery, get a new one, and you should be good for 8-10 more years. all the best!
Thanks Bisco! Appreciate the input. Am I relatively OK to drive the car the 5 miles to the shop for a 2nd opinion? Thanks again.
you should be, but i can't guarantee it. they usually go quite awhile, but at some point, spit the bit.
Oh, a high mileage vehicle!, says the owner of an 06 with 51k miles (bought @ 44k about 18 months ago). Low use is tough on the HV battery. Mine failed multiple times (three module repairs) but that's also in part due to the high temps down here (like you) before I finally got the new Toyota battery that I had planned on all along. You should read my experiences in the link below in my signature because you face the same scenario. Then, you'll have a better idea on how you want to proceed. GOOD LUCK! Edit: yes you should be fine going 5 miles if the battery isn't hot and you keep to slow speed streets (30mph) but I think the first mechanic got the code right (HV battery fail). HV=high voltage=expensive
@fotomoto Thanks! I did read your thread- I am by no means as handy as you, so it looks like just a new(ish) battery is in my future.
Oh great you saw that but I didn't necessarily mean repairing is the answer. I just wanted you to see options available to you like those suggested above by others.
There is a thread here where one of our members is preparing to sell a replacement battery with cylindrical cells. One of the Hybrid experts here is testing and the results look promising. A new battery for less money than a Toyota one. Thread. https://priuschat.com/threads/prius-battery-replacement-kit-genii-geniii-with-new-custom-cells.187261/
