Problems with my Prius

I would say yes as long as you are referring to the 12 vdc battery. On my car (Gen 3), there are actually points under the hood that are pointed out in the owners manual as spots to connect to the 12 volt system with jumper cables if a jump is needed but connecting directly to the 12 vdc battery with jumper cables in the same manner as any other car should accomplish the same task or you could even disconnect the 12 volt battery in the car and connect a known good 12 volt dc battery in it's place. Make sure you observe the proper polarity (+,-) when making any connections.

 

Never mind, I see Pat Wong chimed in

 

Letsee...New member Trimel has a likely battery problem on his 01 Prius and has come to Priuschat looking for advice to fix it.....a respondent, who is not listed as a Prius owner, suggests junking the car....plenty of people here have had success getting advice on Priuschat and fixing these things inexpensively to become reliable again, and I am one of them... Trimel, don't be scared off by negative contributors who may actually be trolls, economists, or new car dealers!

 

I figure 15 - 20 years is a fair lifetime for a Toyota, so Trimel's Prius has 2 - 7 years of life left if repairs are made along the way.
A new car costs about $23k and will last the same 15 - 20 years. That works out to $110 a month.

So there you have it: If the only repair the Prius needs is a new battery for the next two years, smart money says repair the car.

 

You are right I am not a Prius owner. I am a new Avalon owner. I had a 2011 Prius that I traded in on a new Avalon so I was a Prius owner until two months ago. This guy is a grown man. I am not telling him to do

I was a Prius owner until 60 days ago. I am not telling him to do anything. I am telling him what I would do. I'll give anyone an opinion and it is none of your business. You give your's don't you?

 

and if Trimel's car suffers a fatal in that 2-7 years after repairs, the car doesn't just disappear, he can still recoup much or all of that loss through selling parts here or on Ebay then $350 scrap for the hulk. Good Batterys sell like hotcakes.

 

Hi Chap - there is a connector on the 2001 to 2003 prius that I use to charge/discharge my high voltage batteries. It can be accessed in a few minutes and the battery voltage measured with a multimeter. I am reluctant to recommend this to everyone as it is a high voltage they are measuring. If someone wants more information on how to access and use this connector I will be happy to help them.
By the way your posts are always clear safe accurate and helpful, I enjoy reading them.

Regards ---- Roy from Canada

 

Robert,
I understand your point but just so you know, Okinawa is a very well respected member of PC. He doesn't currently own a Prius but he does own a Toyota Hybrid.

 

a 62 year old woman, not mechanically inclined, would do better to sell it for what she can get, and purchase a used corolla or something within her means, before sinking much into a 2001 prius.

 

Thanks for the encouragement! And yes, in the spirit of safety, I would want to point out that the safety cover over that charging connector was designed so that you would use the safety plug as the key to open it ... which would guarantee that you knew you had pulled the safety and were holding it right there in your hand any time you were thinking of opening that cover. As I said, it's built that way on purpose....

And yes, nothing stops anybody from finding another way to open it (or even just pulling the safety, using it as the key, then plugging it back in). It wasn't designed to be an impenetrable barrier to someone who wants trouble, just as a helpful reminder to people who'd rather stay safe.

-Chap

 

Public apology to Okinawa
Sorry, you didn't deserve that. I should have stayed with the technical issue.
This is a public forum and Trimel deserves to hear your opinion.
You have given a lot of good advice here in the past and I don't want to discourage you from continuing that.
Sincerely, Robert