My new Prius Gen 1

Good luck. It should make a pretty fun project!

 

That's clean whatd you pay?

What part of Texas if it's near Austin you should try to goto franklins bbq it is incredible

 

Way to GO brian !! Ive been rooting for you, congrats on Linda Ls car !!
I have my eye on a another Low Mileage Gen 1 here in Houston with a bad battery pack. I think I can get it for a reasonable amount.
Missed a 83K 03 that was traded into a dealership in LaMarque TX, they had sold it the day before, but .....BUT it was sold for $5,000. WOW.
Greg

 

A clean Gen 1........wow. I compare it to a clean 55 VW beetle. Rare indeed.

 

Im really liking this Mica Green 109K pristine O2 Gen 1 Im looking at, alas, a bad pack. Now, From what Ive heard on YouTube, from the Ask a Tech series, Gen 1 and Gen2 packs are supposed to last forever, like the life of the car. I highly doubt that statement. Given that, if you look for a good Gen 1, with clean clean body, tires, interior, they either have bad HV packs, or High Mileage. To get a car with the MAGIC 3, Body/Interior VG, Mileage Lower, and Great HV Packs, is non existent, or a dealer has it marked up to $5000. So, a private sale, with no sales tax at $1500 with 2 out of 3 of the MAGIC 3 is good, In my opinion.
Boy, is my other half gonna lose it when that Mica Green 02 shows up in the drive this weekend..... I cant wait to put in a couple of HV Batt modules, and order up a HV Charger from Hybrid Battery.
Keep those Gen 1s going. And ANY advice is sorely needed,
Greg
Houston

 

Comparing notes: just acquired (less than $2k, private seller) a Gen I with 139k miles and "bad steering" and a "noisy engine"... replacing the sway bar links, front brake pads, water pump, and now decent tires (Michelin Defenders) and a front end alignment, it's ready to hit the road.

 

Brian, sorry, no pix; my wife now has the metallic silver car (an '03) driving to a church event; I expect she will succumb to the sin of lust for this Prius. Hers is an ice blue '01, and it needs some attention to the wheel bearings (and maybe CV joint) & exhaust to get the noise level down.
The story: Took my life in my hands when I bought this Prius; I drove it 500 miles home before I could do work on it, and the steering was AWFUL; plus, it sounded like a diesel. No fault codes, though. I had mental plans to rebuild the entire front end, and get an estimate for replacing the main bearings.
Upon inspection the next day, the steering assembly didn't look bad; only the sway bar links showed any real signs of wear, the ball joints and tie rod ends were nice and tight. So I replaced the sway bar links and put a decent set of Michelins on the beast, took it for a ride and WOW! ready to rock and roll.
I replaced the ICE water pump this morning; ah, now, the sound of silence. It's helpful to remove the air bag sensor (2 screws; 12mm socket) from the frame in the vicinity of the water pump when doing the job; it gives you a lot more room. It's also helpful to remember to really tighten the radiator drain stopcock after the job is done to prevent leaks.
For what it's worth, I was surprised that replacing the sway bar links made such a big difference in the driveability of the car. The ones I replaced were clearly worn (13 years and 140k miles). The front end alignment only needed to correct toe-in (which I could see from the wear pattern on the as-purchased tyres) . The brake pads were an "as long as I'm there, replace with new" item (the pads were less than 7mm); easy task. Passed state inspection, no problems.
I do, however, have interest in the trailer hitch; if you don't plan on doing any towing...

 

Greg, the basic concept with NiCd batteries is, they like regular charge/discharge cycles. It's stable chemistry. What they DON'T like is sitting without use. Therefore, a reasonable Gen I should have about 150k miles on it (10k miles/year) for reasonable exercise rates on the battery pack. I would worry about a 15 year old car with only 80k miles. Not enough exercise, or, as was once described to me, a case of city-dog syndrome. Yup, the 12v probably is shot; lead-acid batteries are not as robust as NiCd. At 150k, there are mechanical things that may need attention: brakes, suspension, steering. Maybe engine, if lubrication was neglected.
So those of us who like to pick up bargain cars are always in for a surprise, as sellers are rarely perfectly honest, or (as is equally likely) the sellers probably forgot a lot of "little" things that went wrong, too...
In any case, happy and healthy hunting,

 

Did you mean NiMH?

 

No, I meant NiCd. If I remember correctly, the Gen I battery packs are NiCd chemistry; the Gen II made the switch to NiMH. With proper maintenance strategy (in the battery control computer), the NiMH system should be just fine, IF they are exercised regularly (charge/discharge). Neither system likes to sit unused for long periods of time (more than 2 weeks). My memory tells me that NiMH is somewhat more prone to "battery memory effects" than NiCd, but properly exercised, the two should perform comparably (altho NiMH is a bit higher energy density than NiCd).

Now, my memory might be playing tricks on me... so check my recollections.

 

It has a 270 Volt NiMH pack in the 2001-2003 models.

 

I guess I stand corrected, then. Now that I think about it, I recall seeing "NiMH" on the traction battery cover when I last looked at it, maybe a month or so ago... many thanks.

 

That's why I questioned your info. I think you have also mixed up NiCd and NiMH info regarding memory effect, not that it is totally wrong, just at crossed purposes.

 

What brake symptoms?