Most likely, the 12V battery either has failed or has a loose battery cable. Check the tightness of the cable connections and use a voltmeter to measure voltage across the battery.
Yes, I would say that this car is not right for you given the circumstances. Was the car in a significant accident at some point prior to your ownership? Wiring harness problems can be tedious to locate and solve, and thus the labor charge for doing so can be quite high. Good luck.
I'm still new with my '02 Prius, but before I washed it the first time, I crafted a piece of duct tape to cover the battery vent on the driver's side. Stick it on and wash the car. Just don't forget to peel it off. Worked great. Thinking about crafting a little piece of plastic with a handle for something better. Just being cautious.
The battery was put in by the last owner- he rebuilt it himself. So sorry for not getting back to you sooner- I haven't been on in a long time.
LOL Yeah, still here!!! My car has been doing great!! The battery hasn't been giving me any problems since I replaced the 12 volt. I replaced the horn, but it turned out only to need a new relay, but now everything is replaced so that shouldn't be an issue for many years. I've been doing some minor repairs to the inside- fixing the door actuator on the drivers side and fixing the broken glove box door. It still badly needs a paint job, but the main issue with it running has been going great- which is what really matters. There was an interesting thing going on with the horn relay- there was a wire running a loop around it, from one end to the other end- which is why my mechanic didn't want to mess with it at first. But after it was removed and a new relay put in, there have been no issues of the car shorting out during car washes, so I believe it may have had something to do with it. I also haven't had any smoke or electrical smell coming from the hood. I don't know why the wire was there, my mechanic said he's never seen that before, but it seems to have been the problem. But thanks to this wonderful forum, I've been able to get a good idea on what was going wrong, (disconnecting and reconnecting the 12 volt started it right up after it shorted out) and also fix the drivers door lock on my own. I am at the moment trying to replace the rear view mirror because it looks like there is hot glue all around the edges of the mirror- almost like it melted. It's looked like that since I bought it, but wasn't a priority. But now that I'm getting around to it, something that sounds like such a simple fix is hard for me (of course)!! The mirror is mounted to the ceiling, instead of the windshield and I can't for the life of me, figure out how to disconnect it and replace it. If I could take the whole mount off and replace it with a windshield mount I would- because that's all I can seem to find in the stores. So if you have any idea on how to get that off, I'd appreciate it. Other than that, the car has been doing very good- the gas mileage is great and I haven't had a single mechanical issue since the car wash- YAY!!!
