'01 battery needs replace?

Not sure why you were quoted that much, the battery from toyota costs $2,300 currently. I know, I just bought one. Unless they are charging ridiculous amounts for the labor to install it?

I wouldn't bother with the salvage yards. I tried that route and wound up wasting money because all of those batteries will have sat for months unused and will be dead.

 

You are right that the hybrid warranty is 8 years/100K miles on 2001-2003 model years.

I agree that buying a Classic salvage battery is pretty risky because 1) they are 7-10 years old now, and 2) they are pretty costly, around $800 or more.

If you can deal with high voltages and want to DIY, you might consider buying two 2G salvage batteries as the price is around $400 each (plus shipping) and you'll end up with 56 modules. You should be able to find batteries from 2007 or 2008 model year vehicles that have been totaled. Pick 38 modules to repopulate the Classic battery case.

Tech manual info can be found at techinfo.toyota.com and you can also do a search for posts by Classic owners who have recently done this work. I highly recommend that you obtain the repair manual info as it provides safety tips, etc. Good luck.

 

I'm not sure since you are in California. But I would imagine the vehicle would be worth between $5,000 to $8,000 here in Texas depending on the interior and exterior condition.

 

Have you looked at eBay? There is a guy here in NC that rebuilds them using Gen II cells. It's a bit cheaper at $1500 but shipping could be the issue given you are in CA. There is also another alternative where you can rebuild them yourself but not sure that is a great idea with the Gen I cells given the problem they have with leaks.