Please help with my 2007 Toyota Prius, No Mechanic has been able to help me. ! :-/

Hey guys I bought a 2007 Toyota Prius from a local used car dealer about 2 years ago with 150,000 miles on it. When I first bought the car it had (I believe) the tire pressure light (!) on, and was averaging roughly 36- mid 40's MPGs. Well after driving the car for a bit (about 6-9 months later) the Red Triangle with ! in the middle came on along with a check engine light. My mechanic told me it was the catalytic converter (and can be an indirect sign of a dying battery) but it can be ignored and is still drivable. Well I have continued driving the car until now, averaging about 36 MPG and recently the hybrid warning system light came on (a red car with an exclamation point in the middle illuminated on the top left corner of the dashboard). On a side note the Red Triangle has stayed on consistently (my mechanic told me its related to the check engine/catalytic converter but I think he may be wrong) but after one day realizing my car's oil was EXTREMELY low (almost bare bones if not bare bones dry, literally less than 2500 miles after getting a synthetic oil change) I added 3 quarts at an auto zone and the light temporarily turned off, but since has come back on. I notice my car is using oil sporadically (no leaks), some weeks i need to add an extra quart with very little driving and other weeks I don't have to add any oil after driving a lot (i was told this is due to the catalytic converter not operating properly).

As it stands right now the car has 170,000 miles on it and I have 1) the tire pressure (!) light, 2) check engine light (catalytic converter), 3) red triangle with exclmation point (i still haven't been able to figure out what this light means, other than low oil due to catalytic converter failure/-> the car eventually burning oil) and 4) the hybrid system warning light with the red car with exclamation point in the middle of it in the top right corner of the dashboard screen. 5) car is burning oil sporadically?

I honestly have never seen a Prius with this many problems and am thinking/am hoping they are all interrelated, = weak battery from purchase -> low mileage -> catalytic converter failure -> oil consumption not being used properly (missed oil change) -> burning oil more, more frequent oil changes.

I am thinking I need to dump the car, mostly because no one can help me get to the bottom of what is going on, and there still is the transmission/transaxle that can fail on me as well as the engine. I want to keep this car and drive it to 250k + miles but i feel thats not a viable option without putting in a new engine (as well as the overdue hybrid battery?) due to the fact its burning oil now?

Any thoughts, opinions or criticisms welcomed/appreciated!

 

Well my mechanic read the codes, the 1s he mentioned to me were, he just couldn't tell me what the red triangle was, but i am taking it to the mechanic again this week to double check codes: 1) Catalytic Converter not operating properly 2) transaxle not operating full efficiency 3) weak battery

Wow, thanks for the quick replies guys. Ok, I will get the exact codes this week and am keeping an eye on the oil level daily. Anybody have any idea based on experience or maybe some guesses on what I can expect from my car moving forward? I am really bummed out thinking I am even going to have to sell it at all, really wanted to drive this car to 200k+ miles..

and I am in Glendale located in Los Angeles.

 

Oh wow, 5k + :-(, the car is barely worth that. Yeah i may take u up on reading the codes? I have zero in savings right now. Is my best bet just to get rid of the car? What do you guys suggest? Am i lucky its even driving right now? Im really upset and stressed about this mess I'm in.

 

it passed smog last time around so I'm not worried about that as long as the car keeps driving.

 

who is baird? i need a new guy! any tip or experiences with my car guys? the reason i never got a proper repair is because i thought the car can operate properly without taking damage ignoring the catalytic converter & the battery was tested weak recently but told to me i can continue driving it. I just don't want the car to break down on me on the highway but i don't want to throw a bunch of money into repairs if no one can tell me whats wrong and why before, because we all know mechanics don't give guarantees.