car stopped running, 4 codes pulled

Certainly it can.

 

Well, to me, both jobs are about the same. I know I saw one guy put in an mg2 w/out taking out the tranny but, that couldn't have been easy. If it were me, I would probably do the whole tranny (just because its less complicated).

 

There was a video of a transmission tear down here on PC. From memory MG2 can be replaced by removing the transmission end plate. I will see if I can locate a link.

John (Britprius)

 

The link is Art's transaxle teardown ,but it appears to not work.

John (Britprius)

 

This might help. I read this a while back and is still on Art's site.

Prius 1st gen - Replacing an MG2 (electric motor)

For all the work involved, looks to me like a transaxle swap would be easier.

Ron

 

^ Yes I agree. I was mistaken it's MG1 that comes out through the end plate without removing the transaxle.

John (Britprius)

 

There was one time I thought I made a mistake but, I was mistaken. Lol

 

If you are concerned about the high miles on the donor vehicle, contact autobeyours.com to see what their price is for a newer transaxle (but you will have a freight charge from that supplier).

I also do not see the point of a partial transaxle replacement, I agree that a whole unit swap seems easier and offers a higher probability of success.

 

If the $500 includes the shipping to you with some sort of a return option, then that is reasonable IMO. Looked on Ebay and found several complete transaxles for Gen II. They were priced around $250 plus $200 for shipping. Miles on unit's varied. Some said less than 100K, others said more.

toyota prius transmission | eBay

As I understand it, you will probably have to pull the engine and transaxle to do the swap.

I can understand why the stealer wants 5K. Lots of labor involved in something like this.

 

Hmmm. On Ebay, the only thing you can really work with is "feedback rating". The problem with used parts is "supply and demand". You yourself understand that there is a risk involved. That is a given fact that has to be accepted. If it were me, and I was faced with a tranny swap such as this, I would search locally for the part that was needed and only buy IF there was a return option and money back if not happy. Even dealing with a local junk yard, you still have to take their word. Unless you saw the odometer and observed the part being pulled and put in your hands. Somewhere along the line you have trust someone in some sort of way. If the used tranny works, then everyone one wins. But if it doesn't, you are out money cause you would have to pull the tranny and return it, plus pay for the install and removal since you are subbing the job out. If it was shipped to you, you would also have to pay for return shipping. More money lost.

I used Ebay as a reference to try to reasonably qualify the figure of $500 you asked about. I did not say that it was a good source, or a bad source.

I do agree that 119K is excessive miles, and I too would be uncomfortable with that fact. But it is what it is.

To be perfectly honest, if I were to consider fixing a car like what you are talking about I would seriously consider purchasing a new transaxle from Toyota and have them do all the work with a guarantee. Then you would not have to worry about anything and in the end have a good working transaxle as long as there was a guarantee that the work being done would solve ALL of the problems and get the car back on the road. I would only do this IF I liked the car and intended to keep driving it. If I didn't like the car or was going to sell it, I would not consider this route whatsoever.

The bad part about this whole thing is the age of the car and the value thereof in its present condition. Is it really worth repairing, or should it be written off and parted out at this point?

Consider this also. Who is to say that a working used transaxle will still be working 90 days from now. Used parts are a gamble, just like used cars are. You never know when something is going to break. It might last two or three years, or it might break in two or three days.

The brake light switch was a good gamble in my book. The tranny though is another story. Such is life in the used car repair biz...

What is garbage to one man, is a gem to another. It is all in the eye of the beholder.

 

FWIW, you can get a new transaxle from Auto Nation for $2601.29 plus freight

2009 Toyota Prius Parts - AutoNation Toyota Gulf Freeway Parts

 

Now you are talking logical about the whole thing. As Patrick Wong has mentioned numerous times on Prius Chat, the expected life of the Prius as per Toyota is 150,000 miles.

I do agree that the car really is NOT worth fixing unless it can be done in house with used parts. That doesn't mean that someone might fix it. But what will happen after it is fixed. A car can be like a boat at times. A boat owner will say this. A boat is a hole in the water you pour money into.

Yeah, it would be good experience for you but very expensive too. Someone would have to foot the bill.

 

The old saying is that all cars run on used parts. The owner of this car was fine driving it with a transmission with 152K until this happened.

I'd agree, spending money on a new doesn't make sense given the age of the car. Swapping in a 119K unit, however, makes a lot of sense to me. There's probably a lot of life left in the rest of the car.