Red triangle, VSC, Check engine - Can I drive it 10 miles?

Excellent outcome. Congrats

I wouldn't worry until after you replace the 12v and those lights remain on.

 

That's exactly where I was thinking I should start. Trying to keep my worry hat off.

 

how many miles on her?

 

That's a great deal. Jump on it!!!!

 

WOW! Great outcome right there. Hoping for similar resolution myself when Customer Care calls me back.

 

only 120k.

I'm thinking that I under use her especially during the winter. I'm in Colorado.

 

could well be, bad for the 12v. if that turns out to be the culprit, you might want to get a battery tender.

 

Hmmm...now that I'm searching the forums, I remembered that over the last 3 months, my mileage went from an average of 50-58 mpg down to mid 30's. I thought it was just the temp change and me running the heater more in the mornings, but now I don't think the seasonal temp change should have affected my battery life THAT much. Colorado has seasons, but the temp swings aren't that suddenly dramatic.

And from everything I've read (and watched on YouTube), changing the 12v doesn't seem like an excruciating endeavor. It'll be my Saturday morning adventure. Sticker shock of a new 12v made me wince, but let's see...about $200.00 for a battery or 25K for new car?

I'll take that battery and use a little elbow grease.

Where's the best place to get a battery? I called the Toyota Parts dept in my area just to get the high price first. Any suggestions?

 

some use the optima, others, exide, duracell. there are a few these days. nothing cheap though. it has been said that 8 d-cells will start the car. do you really have a plug in base?

 

hmm...i don't know what you mean by plug in base...i'm so very technical language challenged. do you mean base model that is plug-in for power? i don't have to plug in.

i just priced an optima at an o'reilly's in my neighborhood. $219 plus a $15.00 core charge. they have a store brand for $175.00 with the same $15.00 core?

 

in your info, you have:
your vehicle year: 2005 prius
model: plug-in base

that seems a bit high for the optima, i don't know anything about the store brand. how are the warranties? how much was an oem?

 

check elearnaid.com for an optima price. are you gonna test your old one, or is it original?

 

do you have a batteries plus store in your area?

 

oh! i didn't change my profile settings when my account was approved! done!

i drove around on the AAA jump, but it didn't hold after 30 minutes of driving around the neighborhood. so i'm thinking that the least i can do is start with the 12v. if that's not it, after learning how to diagnose the hv battery, then i'll probably be looking into replacing that.

there's a prius place i found in boulder, but that a little far for my schedule. still checking for a prius shop more local to me.

according to the history, this is likely the original 12v battery.

 

$175 and free shipping! Thank you!

 

pleasure. one thing with the optima, check the voltage when you get it, and if it's under 12.8, put a charger on it before installing. this applies to all batteries really, the car does a poor job of bringing the charge up.

 

if i try to charge my current battery and drive around again, shouldn't it hold a charge long enough for me to limp along for another few miles, even if i run an errand, park, and then restart to get home? maybe i didn't drive around long enough on the AAA jump. but then again...the dash faults will need to be cleared even if it does hold.

 

it's a tough call, it depends on the condition of the battery.