This may be the wrong forum; I was looking for a group with info from persons who purchased used vehicles. I bought a 05 Prius with 39,000 miles on it this past spring. The owner said it was package 4. He also told me it had one repair under the original warranty; replacement of the oxygen sensor. I've questioned my purchase recently as the red triangle came on and the dealership said it was a headlight sensor. I have no idea what that is or what it does but it was a 275.00 repair! Am I looking forward to more of this type of repairs? Should I sell while I have the chance?
I assume your car has HID headlights. A sensor is mounted on the body near the rear axle, and an arm is attached to the rear axle so that the sensor can report if the rear of the car is loaded down. In that event, the headlights are adjusted downwards so that the low beams will not blind oncoming traffic. That sensor is known to have problems with corrosion and binding esp in areas that use salt on roads in the winter. Prius has an unusually high electronics content given its price point. If you're unlucky you might have an occasional failure which can be very expensive if not covered under warranty and you have to rely upon dealer service. However the powertrain warranty and hybrid system warranty should still be in effect for your car.
All cars need repairs, my BMW was in the shop all the time and it was a 06, I prayed for a 275.00 problem, mine were always well over 1K, you might never have another problem or end up haveing a 3K problem but like i said thats any car, my mini lost its tranny paid 8K to have it changed out, so no longer own euro cars... hi and welcome to the coolest place around PriusChat
Loren, I know you've had a specific problem with your Prius already, but be aware that as a general matter, the Prius is one of the most reliable cars made. For every year since its introduction in the United States, the Gen I Prius, the Gen II Prius and the Gen III Prius have the highest reliability/predicted reliability ratings of Consumer Reports and its surveyed readers. For example, here is Consumer Reports' Reliability History chart for the Gen I 2001-2003 Prius and the Gen II 2004-2008 Prius: [imglink]http://priuschat.com/forums/attachments/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/15459d1244660558-prius-reliability-statistics-stay-away-2004-prius-priusratings.jpg[/imglink] Personally, if I were in your shoes I'd keep the 2005 Prius that you bought. Good luck and welcome to PriusChat. It really is the best place on Earth for things Prius. There's an absolute wealth of information here for your 2005 Prius. I think that almost every single question anyone has ever had about the Gen II Prius has already been answered (and answered correctly) on PriusChat. If you ever have any questions about your Prius, use the Search function here in all its permutations (e.g., "Advanced Search" which will allow you to search titles only, search posts, search threads started by a particular user, search posts of a particular user, etc., and "Google Search" will perform a Google search of your question on PriusChat).
The sensor contacts are prone to corrosion. Here are couple of photos I found on the web to help you out. Looks like a very easy fix.
You can fix it yourself...I actually fixed mine this weekend.. Can someone post the url to the do it yourself fix? I don't have enough posts.
Thank you for the reassurance. How many "sensors" are in the Prius or are there too many to enumerate? Is there anything I can do to prevent problems with corrosion. The car won't be used much for winter driving but occasionally I need to drive on salted roads. Should I have the underside routinely spray washed? The dealership charges 125.00 to diagnose problems. Is there anyway to know what the problem might be when that triangle lights up; I'd like to prevent a panic attack
Does knowing other dealerships charge more help? My dealer charged Toyota 434.19 Actually since I have the extended warranty, AKA prepaid service?, I paid for it. I need two more visits to get moneys worth.
