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Frustrated New Prius Owner

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by 08PriusTouring, Dec 3, 2018.

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  1. 08PriusTouring

    08PriusTouring New Member

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    Hello Prius Community.

    I just purchased a 2008 Toyota Prius Touring with just shy of 200k miles. It is grey in color and has a nice beige leather interior.

    I was stoked to buy the car at the dealership for $5000.00 out the door including taxes, license, and registration.

    After the first few days my dashboard lights were not coming on consistently. I do know there was a recall on the harness but unsure if this is the recall problem, as the dashboard lights have now been coming on consistently for the last few weeks.

    Another issue I was having was having to hold the start button down to shut the car off. That issue has magically gone away as well now.

    The most recent and lingering issue is the triangle warning light that has come on along with the vsc light when I am driving. This light is now coming on every single day I drive. I have been unplugging the battery and resetting the car each time in order to get the car in gear.

    Based on information from this forum and on Youtube I went ahead and purchased a brand new 12v battery and had that installed. I also had a guy at Autozone test my 12v battery and he told me that it needed to be replaced.

    Unfortunately after the 12v was installed I am still getting the triangle and VSC light when I am driving. My battery pack does fully charge up to the green and doesn't get too low when driving.

    I can say with consistency that the triangle light comes on once I come to a full stop, the car shuts off, and I start driving again.

    At this point I am definitely thinking the battery pack. I am thinking of purchasing the torque obd II scanner from Ebay and finding out the voltage for each cell of the battery pack.

    Any thoughts, ideas, or similar experiences would be much appreciated.

    Thanks.
     
    #1 08PriusTouring, Dec 3, 2018
  2. 05PreeUs

    05PreeUs Senior Member

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    When you say "dealership", as in Toyota dealer? If so, TAKE IT BACK and ask them to check for any codes and have them printed out for you to take with, NO CHARGE.

    If at an independent car-flipper or non-OEM dealer, I still suggest an OEM dealer, but you should expect to be charged for the "diagnostic" report. After all, I don't know of anyone that works for free ;)

    EXCELLENT! Do not worry about the HV pack then!

    Being that the only warning light is for the VSC (vehicle stability control), this might be nothing more than an inexpensive sensor. Without the exact fault and sub-fault codes, there is no way to know where to look within that system.
     
    #2 05PreeUs, Dec 3, 2018
    TomB985 and fragglestickcar like this.
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you need a new combo meter. contact auto be yours or texas hybrids.

    after that is replaced, get a prius aware scanner if you are going to diy.

    no offense, but i'm not sure what you were expecting from a 10 year old car with 200k for 5 grande, it is going to be an ongoing project, not a reliable daily driver

    all the best!(y)
     
    #3 bisco, Dec 3, 2018
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  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Checked the engine oil?
     
    #4 edthefox5, Dec 3, 2018
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  5. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Get a Techstream scanner. That will tell you what the problem is. Your problem does not sound like a battery.
     
    #5 Skibob, Dec 3, 2018
  6. 08PriusTouring

    08PriusTouring New Member

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    Thanks for the information. I actually noticed that my tire pressure light is on as well as the VSC light... My tire pressure looks pretty good on all 4 of my tires.

    My car was purchased from your standard used car dealership. I was telling him about the issue and he sent me a check for $200.00 in the mail and I used that for the 12v battery. Even if the 12v didn't fix the issue I was able to get a 12v battery from Amazon with a 5 year warranty and won't have to worry about that going out anytime soon.

    I am going to have the codes read and will post here what the exact issue is.

    Thanks!
     
    #6 08PriusTouring, Dec 4, 2018
    bisco likes this.
  7. 08PriusTouring

    08PriusTouring New Member

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    Hey Bisco, the lights on my dashboard have gone out a couple of times but this is not related to the triangle warning light. They have always come back on after I park and restart when they have gone off the few times.

    I think you are confused at the problem I am referring to. Are you telling me that the combo meter is going to fix the triangle warning light issue in your opinion?
     
    #7 08PriusTouring, Dec 4, 2018
  8. strawbrad

    strawbrad http://minnesotahybridbatteries.com

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    This matches a high voltage leak. Once the leak code is set the car will drive fine until shut off. After shutdown the car will not go back into drive or reverse. Unplugging the 12 volt battery clears the fault code and allows your car to be driven again until the code is recorded again.

    Get the codes read for conformation. The high voltage leak code is P0AA6.
     
    #8 strawbrad, Dec 4, 2018
    jerrymildred likes this.
  9. KevininFl

    KevininFl Junior Member

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    I would ask for a refund...You can find a low milage 04-09 prius for $5,000 if you search craigslist carefully.
     
    #9 KevininFl, Dec 4, 2018
  10. KevininFl

    KevininFl Junior Member

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    I sent you a PM
     
    #10 KevininFl, Dec 4, 2018
  11. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    You really think a used car dealer is going to give the guy a refund after “weeks”?
     
    #11 Skibob, Dec 4, 2018
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  12. KevininFl

    KevininFl Junior Member

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    Yep, With his attorney business card handed to them, He can get his money back...
     
    #12 KevininFl, Dec 4, 2018
  13. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Most vehicle sales, even dealerships, are AS-IS. Once you sign the paperwork if the engine literally explodes driving it off the lot, it's your problem. The only exception would be fraud. If the dealership knew about the problem and covered it up. No lawyer would be stupid enough to tell anyone otherwise.

    The most you can hope for is goodwill credit or something which the OP already got in the form of a $200 cheque. My bet is that the memo line of the cheque was for final settlement of any deficiencies the OP brought up with the dealer. The act of cashing that cheque acts as a settlement and you also don't have the right to double dip in the US. So basically a case with almost no winning path except fraud is now a case with zero winning path.

    This is the OPs car, and there's absolutely nothing they can do to change that other than sell it or junk it themselves.

    It does sound like you had some 12v issues which would be common for an old car sitting on a used vehicle lot. Those always have dead batteries. It also sounds like you have an HV battery problem, the isolation fault. The car not shutting off unless you press and hold the power button is also odd. Does the combination meter show P? If not then it may need a combo meter.
     
    #13 2k1Toaster, Dec 4, 2018
    fragglestickcar, 05PreeUs, dubit and 1 other person like this.
  14. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Have you ever bought a used car from a dealer? You sound rather naive.
     
    #14 Skibob, Dec 5, 2018
    pashko90, fragglestickcar, 05PreeUs and 1 other person like this.
  15. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    I agree I can’t even wrap my head around where this guy is coming from
     
    #15 Skibob, Dec 5, 2018
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2018
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    just a guess, but it may be another problem as others suggest, or a combination. once you install the new battery (charge before installation!) then hook up tech stream to a compatible laptop and start learning about usage, codes and troubleshooting.
     
    #16 bisco, Dec 5, 2018
  17. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Valuable lesson learned here.......hopefully.

    Buying a 10 year old car with ~200K miles from a "used car dealer" probably is NOT a good idea.......ever.
     
    #17 sam spade 2, Dec 5, 2018
  18. VFerdman

    VFerdman Senior Member

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    Without the codes we are just all going to produce nothing but banter. Please, get the codes read with a proper Prius-aware code reading device and post the results. Before that happens consider any advice as entertainment value only.
     
    #18 VFerdman, Dec 5, 2018
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  19. douggie

    douggie New Member

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    Will techstream tell you the problems even if the dealer has cleared the codes?
     
    #19 douggie, Dec 9, 2018
  20. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Highly unlikely.
    And.....the codes just give you an idea what the trouble MIGHT be.
    Sometimes the cause of a code can be several different things.
     
    #20 sam spade 2, Dec 10, 2018
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