Hello Everyone. New to the forum and new to the Prius. We purchased a used 2002 Prius from our brother-in-law's family and we're the third owners. Car has around 80K and we've owned it for about a month and a half. Before we picked the car up they took it to a dealer and checked it out. They put a new aux battery in the trunk, changed the oil and gave it the green light. We picked it up in Philadelphia and drove it home to Chicago. Today my wife was returning from a trip down to Missouri. After a stop for gas and refreshments and just getting back on the interstate the car started to die. The warning lights came on and the battery indicator as well as the red triangle. After sitting a little while she was able to start it again but only made it to the next exit where it officially died and needed to be towed to a dealer just outside of St. Louis. It was 104 degrees out this afternoon and she did have the AC, radio and other necessities running during the trip but she had gone less than 100 miles today before it died. Tomorrow the dealership (Pappas Toyota) will be calling me to discuss what they found so I'm doing a lot of research on what type of issues it may be. I've not owned the car long enough to learn what I need to so I need some help and would be happy to provide any other information I can. It sucks to be 300 miles away (I'm home) from the car/dealer not really knowing what they'll find or say they found. Thanks and if anyone knows anything that will help me I'd appreciate it.
I suggest that you find out what DTC was logged by your car. Assuming that the repair is not covered under warranty, please post the diagnosis, the parts to be replaced, and the estimated repair price for comment before you authorize the repairs, if the $ amount is significant. Good luck.
Thanks. From reading here I've already asked for the DTC codes and the rest of the information and I'll put it up as soon as I have it. I haven't had the car long enough to know it very well so I'm a little ignorant but I've been reading the forum for a few hours to get educated. I need luck right now, the car has been great for us and also great for my brother-in-law for the last few years.
A few likely possibilities: If the DTC is P3191 or P3190 which relate to low engine power or the engine not running, try throttle body and throttle plate cleaning as a low-cost measure that may help. If the DTC relates to a traction battery failure, there are alternatives to installing a new battery, such as installing a "remanufactured" battery made from salvaged 2G modules. That might save you $1K. If the DTC relates to the inverter, the inverter coolant pump may have failed (and not the inverter.) If the car will run after it has cooled down then the inverter is likely OK. If it is clear that the inverter itself has failed, you may want to consider use of a salvage part instead of new. If the transaxle has failed (the most costly scenario) then you'll have to either install a new part (although the repair cost will likely exceed the market value of the car) or install a salvage part whose longevity is unknown.
Thanks for the input. I remember my brother-in-law saying something about coolant that was low before and they had to have the dealer put more coolant in but now knowing anything about a Prius, I didn't know (or really pay attention) if it was a special coolant or that there was a thing called an inverter. He did say there was a check engine light and the codes were relating to a coolant being low. If that holds true then I guess there could have been some type of leak and possibly the coolant pump may be at fault but this is totally a guess. I'm not sure when I'll get the codes or estimate but since the car is 300 miles away I may have fewer options than if it was home. That part worries me.
Looks like inverter pump. $500 to fix. Could have been a lot worse so I'm good. I'll keep checking back. It a nice resource to have and thanks for all you help.
Thanks for the update, good to know that the repair cost is not too overwhelming. The coolant is either Toyota Long Life Coolant (if a red color) or Toyota Super Long Life Coolant (if pink.) The change interval for the former is 30K miles while the interval for the latter is 50K miles. The inverter is under the shiny aluminum cover in the engine compartment, and is responsible for AC to DC, DC to AC, and DC to DC power conversions. It is a very important element of the hybrid drivetrain.
Wanted to update this thread. Looks like there's a national backorder on inverter pumps and this dealer in St. Louis (Pappas Toyota) did absolutely nothing to help me out. I finally went to a local dealer here in Chicago (Continental Toyota) and while they also did not have any inverter pumps they did a nationwide search and found a few dealers who showed the part "in stock". I got on the phone for a while and found a great dealer (Rivergate Toyota outside Nashville) and they overnighted one to Pappas and I now have my Prius back. Very frustrating but finally done with it. IMO Pappas Toyota should have done more.
