How many miles on your traction battery?

This seems to be caused by the clogging problem with the EGR system. Folks here are finding that taking it apart and cleaning it every 100k miles or so prevents the head gasket failures. What happens is that when the EGR is clogged, liquid accumulates in the intake area. Eventually, a slug of liquid will get sucked into a cylinder which causes something called hydrolock. In some engines, that will bend a connection rod. In the Prius, the head gasket is what gives rather than the connection rod. It's preventable with regular cleaning but still should never have happened.

As great as they are for city driving, they also make great road cars. They can be a little loud on rough pavement, but they are otherwise comfortable IMHO. I've done several 900+ mile days in Gen 2 and in my recently sold PiP.

 

Thanks, I did see that Prius. I work at a car lot and therefore I know a lot about the other car lots in the area. Of course some are good and some are bad. I am allowed to go to the same auction that Image goes to and get a Prius without paying an upmarked price from a dealer. Now, some areas have better deals at the dealership. Fort Wayne mainly has marked up high price cars because we have a thriving economy in Fort Wayne and therefore people throw money at cars. If I'm going to stick with a Gen 2 model, I'd like to keep my cost under $4000. I have decided after research that I need to stay away from 2010 models. I've seen a few 2011 models, at dealerships, for $5000. Knowing the markup of a car bought at an auction and flipped at a dealership, I'm guessing that I can get a similar 2009 Prius with 112K for less than $4000 at the auction. This is tax time and the auction prices are high right now, but tax time is almost done and prices will fall soon. In the meantime I've ordered a bluetooth OBDII scanner and have Dr. Prius and Torque Pro so that I can diagnose the hybrid battery onsite. If I get one at the auction, I can go the day before the auction and take time to diagnose and test drive it on the strip. Also, if I buy one from a private seller I can diagnose it as well. I'd love to find one with a known bad hybrid battery and get it at a really cheap price and then I can replace the battery cells with new cells and therefore get a better deal maybe. But I'm open to options right now.

 

Well I have resolved the issue of whether or not I want a Gen 2 or Gen 3. I just bought a Prius less than an hour ago. I bought a 2005 Prius with 183K on it. The lady said she was driving it and the check engine and triangle light came on and it stalled. It won't start back up so she assumed the engine is bad. It could be the 12V battery, could be the hybrid battery, could be both. It may even be something different. But I paid $800 for it. Heck it's worth that in parts. I don't know if this will be the "Prius for me" but for the money I couldn't turn it down. I know how to replace the hybrid battery and I'm going to assume it needs one unless I get lucky. I ordered a bluetooth OBDII scanner and have the Dr. Prius and Torque Pro app, but unfortunately the scanner hasn't arrived yet. But it's mine now so we'll see....... The

 

Awesome! Welcome to the Prius family! Looks like you found an outstanding deal. Here's a toast to many years of great service and utility out of your "new" car. And, my fingers are crossed for you, hoping the problems wind up being relatively minor to resolve.

 

For the price I paid, I'm willing to deal with problems even if they are big. But at the same time I'm hoping that the problems are small. Maybe I'll get lucky? LOL.

 

Congrats! Another bonus to getting a fix-upper is that you'll learn a lot about the car. I also hope the problems are simple and cheap. Whatever they are, there's probably info on them somewhere on this forum. These folks have bailed me out more than once!

 

Hi Guys. I got the Prius picked up and home. I don't know if it told you before but I've never seen the car before due to distance. Just saw online facebook pics which I posted here. The good news is that I hooked up my jump pack and the car's power lit up, though very dim. I was able to get it into Neutral with no problem. We got it loaded on the tow truck with no problem and got it unloaded with no problem. That's where the good news ends. The seller said in her ad that the car had the red triangle on and the check engine light on and that it wouldn't start. When I talked to her on the phone, she said she was driving and then the check engine light and red triangle light came on and then it stalled. With my jump pack on it, I cannot get it to say "ready" so obviously I can't start it. I can not get the red triangle to come on. I am waiting for my bluetooth OBDII scanner to come in the mail. When I first turned on the 12V jump pack, the display screen showed the hybrid battery at like 4 or 5 bars. Car has just shy of 183K. Then I saw a Prius Haynes repair book in the car which is bad sign #1. It looks like someone attempted to fix the problem before? There is no splash protector on the front right tire side, maybe even not the driver side. I didn't look at the driver side. Then the person that met me to give me the key and title told me that others looked at it and must've broke the piece that is shown in the picture. She was upset that the piece was broken. When she said that other people came and looked at the Prius and passed on the $1000 price, that was bad sign #2. As for cosmetics, the inside is dirty but nothing that can't be cleaned with my carpet shampooer. No rips or anything like that. No rust on the car. The front bumper cover looks like it lost all it's clear coat. The piece on the bottom of the bumper cover is missing. It's the piece that is hiding the radiator and the pieces over the foglight holes are missing. She said it was never in a wreck but it either hit an animal or those pieces were taken off to access the car? The rear bumper cover has clearcoat everywhere and needs to be redone. Until yesterday, most tow truck companies wanted around $400 to tow it back to my place. I paid $800 for the car and $200 for the tow. Bad sign #3 was that the tow truck driver told me that he tried to turn the water pump and it wouldn't turn. Maybe he doesn't know about the water pump because he said it didn't have a belt around it. But then he said he saw another belt hooked up above it. Doesn't the Prius only have one belt? Bad sign #4, when I got home and the tow truck started rolling off the flatbed, there was a huge pile of oil laying on the flatbed! Tow truck driver said maybe it's a hose? I don't think I'll get that lucky. Bad sign #5, when I got home, and went to put the car in neutral again to unload it from the tow truck, the hybrid battery said 1 bar, not 4 or 5 like it did when I briefly put it in neutral to load it onto the flatbed. The car came with two regular style keys to unlock the door handle and it came with one fob which looks like it was ran over 20 times and then chewed up by a dog. The car does beep when I insert the fob into the slot, so I'm hoping it will work? But the buttons aren't even pressable I don't think. Maybe I can find a new eBay hollow key fob? I need the outside but maybe my insides will work? So, where to go from here? I don't see a red triangle on the dash but I also can't get the car into "ready" mode so maybe that is why I don't see a red triangle? Maybe it was erased with a dead battery? With my 12V jump pack on it, I tried running my Actron code scanner to see if I could get results because the check engine light is on. It says "no codes". Do any of you know where to start?

 

Start by getting a known good 12V battery in, but DO NOT ATTEMPT TO START THE CAR! Until you've learned the cause of the oil puddle. If your engine is out of oil and you manage to start it.... Nothing good will come of it. So I would first determine what is going on with the oil puddle on a flat bed. Second, figure out the water pump issue (if there is one). There is only one belt on gen 2 Prius and it drives the water pump. These pumps do fail and are pretty easy to replace, but if yours is defective, again, do not try to start the car. If the engine runs without water pump, it's almost as bad as without oil.

Anyway, I wish you luck. I would never buy a car (especially Prius) sight unseen, but then again, I am not a gambler. I understand the gamble is a thrill for some and this is certainly a gamble. Worst case scenario the engine is toast, the battery is toast, but you can part the car out and probably recover most of what you spent on it. Best case scenario, it needs an oil change (loose filter caused the puddle), a water pump belt and a 12V battery. The reality is most likely somewhere in between.

One thing for sure is it is a good idea to actually do some investigation before asking for advice. Not much (of value) can be recommended until there is some actual relevant specific information about the details of what is going on with the car. Time for you to get your hands dirty (or wear latex exam gloves ).

 

Before doing anything, I'd probably do a quick clean up of the car (focusing on the interor, and maybe an exterior wipedown with a wet towel and a bucket but not a hose) so that I wouldn't be constantly sneezing and washing my hands from the dust/dirt on the car.

I'd first get the car up on jackstands since it looks like this is going to be a long, involved journey.

My second instinct would be to disconnect and remove the 12v (you're going to need to replace it anyway, right?) and then start pulling the intake parts so I could clean off the throttle body, MAF sensor, and EGR (which again, you probably need to do anyway). In the process you can check the fuses.

Since the car is up in the air (and you haven't thoroughly hosed the vehicle down), you can try to track down the oil leak and you'll see if it came from something innocuous like a loose oil filter.

 

Yes I won't start the car. The "ready" light won't even come on so I can't start it. I do not even know that there is a water pump issue. The tow truck driver who admits he knows nothing about a Prius, said that the belt was off the water pump and the pump didn't turn. But then he said he saw a belt connected up above. I was 99% sure that the Gen2 only had 1 belt and the Gen3 has none. So I didn't comment. And I was told the backside of the belt spins the water pump so I don't think that is a problem. Problem is that a HUGE pile of oil came out onto the flatbed and even if I fill it back up, I'm most certain the oil will run back out. For $800 yes I took a gamble and I'm not disappointed. It's worth that in parts I believe. If it is the engine that is bad, I found an engine with 132K on it, only 2 miles from my house, for $300. And I know the seller so I can probably get it for even less. My mechanic friend told me that he can install it. I just find it hard to believe that a Prius with 183K would have a bad engine. My mechanic friend said to bring it to his shop and he'll check it out before having me get an engine. But that is another tow across town which adds up. I have another mechanic friend that I don't think can replace the engine because he doesn't have his own shop, but he is knowledgeable and he is willing to come over and take a look at the car to figure out what to do next. Me investigating before asking for advice is what I don't want to do. I need to know where to start and what to look for. Things I can do by myself are to get engine codes, but my OBDII says there are "no codes" even though the check engine light is on. Maybe they are "Prius" codes and I'm still waiting for my bluetooth OBDII scanner to arrive and I already have Dr. Prius and Torque Pro apps ready to help, I hope. But I'm worried if I don't go get the $300 engine, I might lose out on a good deal. The car needs work but it appears it's a car worth fixing. The inside is dirty but not ruined. Actually in good condition in my opinion. The outside needs some clearcoat work on the front and rear bumper covers and needs the hatchback piece fixed, but it seems to be a nice car. It looks as if it has brand new Goodyear tires. I plan to fix it instead of dump it. Now yes maybe it will need an engine, a 12V battery AND a hybrid battery and then at that point I'd say yeah the car wasn't a good deal. But at least when I'm done I'll have a new engine, new 12V battery, and new Hybrid battery. Also, the same place that has a low mileage engine for $300, is willing to sell me the battery that came out of the same car for $300 as well, with a one year warranty. So yes I do want to fix this car up and give it a new life.

 

The READY light comes on after you start the car when it's ready to drive.

Pretty sure that's right, but I can't go look at my wife's Gen 2 right now to confirm. Either way, you need to put your own eyes on it to see what the tow truck driver was getting at.

Not hard to believe at all. After about 100k miles, they start to burn oil. Most people never check their oil. Then they wonder why the connection rod is sticking out of the engine block. They also warp the heads and blow the gasket if the water pump fails. This car seems completely neglected, so nothing would surprise me.

The Prius generates a ton of codes that generic code readers don't look for. They don't even know how to query the computers that throw those codes.

As @VFerdman said, job one is find out what's up with that oil situation. You'll need to get it up on jack stands for that. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to spot a missing drain plug or filter or a hole in the oil pan or crank case. Also check on the water pump. Then you can start seeing what it will take to fire up the engine.

You might want to start a whole new thread for this project rather than nailing it to the end of a thread that's just about traction battery lifespans.

 

This!!!

 

I'm curious about this statement. Did you power down the car after loading it on the truck? If it was not powered down, but unable to start to recharge the HV battery, maybe this explains how it went from 4 or 5 bars to 1. I would be concerned that the HV battery may now be so discharged that it will not start the car even when the other issues are fixed. Hopefully that is not the case. Just be aware that if it does not fire up the ICE right away once you have solved the oil leak problem and water pump problem (possibly have even installed that used engine), don't keep trying or you might run down the HV battery further and ruin it for sure.

 

Yes sorry everyone, I know this is a thread on traction batteries. But this is also the thread where I've received the most replies from the most people and have gotten the most advice. I made a thread as a NEWBIE but it hasn't received much attention. And I see people going off topic on a ton of threads. I'm 99% sure that the tow truck driver didn't know what he was talking about since he thought the car should have two belts. I have a mechanic coming over later to assess the oil leak situation and the condition of the engine. My fear about the hybrid battery is that it appears that this car has been sitting for a long time. Maybe a year? I can't believe that there is no way to charge the hybrid battery with a battery charger. Yeah I know there is a $700 Prolong system for the battery, but when people spend $700 for this system, just imagine how much gasoline you could buy with $700. Essentially that means you aren't getting 48-51mpg when you have to shell out $700. Anyways I found two chargers that are plug and play and work without needing to remove the hybrid battery. They are both less than $300, but still, that is ridiculous. I'll stop posting on this thread.

 

True, but it doesn't have to cost $700. Here's the restyled version of the one I got when I had two 2005s to maintain that were 10 years old. ($469)
Prolong® Value Reconditioning Package - Hybrid Automotive
It's more hassle to do the discharge part, but it is cheaper. And it's not something I did to get better gas mileage; I did it to extend the lives of those batteries that, at that time, cost a ton of money.

 

Normally the ecus won’t allow the hv battery to discharge that low, which is the reason almost no one has a hv battery charger. When people are trying to help you online, you have to be prepared to check things. We don't even know if you have checked the oil or coolant. We don't know what voltage is on the 12v battery. My experience is a check engine code will come up even on a cheap code reader, just minus details like cell voltages. Sometimes jumping a dead 12v battery won’t provide enough amps to bring the 12v system voltage up high enough for everything to work. Even the best code reader is useless without system 12v and networks up. A cheap 12v battery charger and meter from harbor freight could get that part of the system functional. The tow truck driver could have pierced the oil filter or a can of oil may have been spilt.

 

@rjparker Thank you for the information. I hope the HV battery isn't too low but I can tell the car has been sitting for awhile. Yes I am definitely prepared to check things and work on things on my Prius and if guys recommend something that I am not able to check, I will pay to have a more capable person check it. I didn't get the car home until last night and today it was 38 degrees and rained all day. My bluetooth scanner arrived in the mail today and I have Dr. Prius and Torque Pro apps waiting to be used. Also, my jump pack is from Harbor Freight and I don't think it has enough power in it. It says it is charged 100% but it has a hard time starting regular cars if even at all. And yes the tow truck driver may have pierced the oil filter or a hose might be disconnected because the front of the car did scrape a tad when being loaded on the flatbed. I don't want to upset people on this site and I realize that I need a lot of help in MULTIPLE different things on the car. Engine oil leak. 12V battery probably bad. Is the hybrid battery too low to charge. And I don't want to post any more off subject posts in threads that don't apply. My original thread didn't receive much attention and my title is now changed since I own a Prius, so please everyone, stop on my thread and post. I do need all the help and advice I can get. Tedh1979 2005 Prius Project with multiple issues looking for help! | PriusChat