Well the triangle of death appeared today on my 2004 Prius with 113,600 miles. I drove it right to the dealer. I had noticed that it was noisier than normal yesterday and couldn't quite figure out why. They said it is probably the hybrid battery or computer. I gave the OK for a $200 charge to diagnosis exactly what is wrong (will be applied to repairs if I fix it). I have been looking at the new Prius models for over a year now so I will probably be buying a new one. But what are my options for the 2004 Prius if I chose not to fix it? I'm sure Toyota will take it as a trade (and make money on it). Do people buy these knowing the battery costs almost $3,000? Would Carmax give a value on it?
You will be lucky to get $2000 for it with a bad traction battery. If it's in good condition otherwise, it could be worth $6000 with a new traction battery depending on your location. 113K miles is fairly low. It could last another 200K miles with a new HV battery. It all depends on where and how often its driven.
Let the bidding begin - I will do $2500. Look on eBay or Craigslist for replacement batteries. $1000 or so. iPhone ?
Yep, and not some refurb carp. A real, honest to goodness NEW battery for about $3000 That should get OP another 10 years. Fantastic deal.
OK....just heard from the dealership. It is not the battery. It is the motor/transmission which according to the dealer is one unit on the 2004 Prius. Cost to replace is $5303. Well I'm not putting that much in an 11 year old car but I also feel like I have no options with it at this point. Any ideas anyone?
Update your profile w/ your location (exact-City, State, General-State, vague-Region (MidWest)). Doubt anyone here will be stalking you. Besides, the criminals responsible for all the data breeches, know everything about you anyways. If you liver near Scottsburg, Indiana, contact Steve at Prius hybrids sales and service Scottsburg Indiana, for repair options. Should be a fraction of the randoms $5303 from the Stealership. If in California: Luscious Garage, Art's Automotive, Avi's Advance Automotive. What were the error codes they gave you? Your repair estimate should list the codes. If its the stators in the transaxle, installation of a new or used stator is an option. Granted this is a Gen1 repair article, but some Gen2 have suffered same burning of the stator. Luscious Garage | Blog | Gen 1 Prius Transmission Repair, P3009, P3120, P3125 You dealer SUCKS! $200 to run Techstream diagnosis. Here in the Los Angeles area, diagnosis for warning lights is usu $100. Never take their first price. Had you said, they could do less than $200, the service writer would probably go lower. If not, then call his bluff and go somewhere else; he'll probably stop you from going away b/c connecting the USB cable into the OBD2 port, and letting the laptop and software do all the work in about 5-10minutes is EASY MONEY and ALL PROFIT!
Where do you live? CARB state? Just a couple ideas people have tried: One thing you can do is appeal to Toyota for customer loyalty discount on the repairs. That probably works best if you are orig owner and maybe helps to be in CARB state. Some dealers seem to help more with Toyota than others. Basically the big dealers are probably best. another thing some have tried if you buy a new Prius, they may replace battery for free (for example) on the old one, and then you have two Prii. You take it from there, find a use for 2 Prii.
Well here are the codes they pulled: P0A2B and C1300. I'm going to drive it home today and try to figure out if there is a place that may want it besides the dealer. I never like to buy a new car with a trade-in as it's too difficult to separate what you are really getting as a discount and for the trade in.
Nah. You could negotiate on the car. Then before signing the paperwork, tell them you want to trade the car in and will take $xxxx for it. They will be pissed, but the stealership is not your friend, and will likely cave b/c they know the sale is at hand; just need to give the consumer what you want, assuming your price is reasonable.
Definitely a way to go but I did find a place online (not sure if I'm allowed to post it on the forum) that is in my town that is willing to give me $1,050 for the car. Seems pretty reasonable to me. I was honest and told them it needed a new transmission.
I'd give you $1100. Your first post seems like it's drivable still? Luscious garage can probably put in another transaxle for about $2500.
I asked the dealer that. He had a long pause and said "yaaaa, but I can't tell you if it will go for a day or seven months but at some point it is just going to stop running."
DTC P0A2B means there is a problem with a temperature sensor in the transaxle. The problem either might be with the sensor itself or the transaxle actually is overheating. If the car still can be driven, then my suggestion would be that you continue using it until it dies since you are not going to get any reasonable salvage value out of the car as-is.
Why don't you call Luscious Garage (San Fran) or Art's Automotive (Berkeley), and tell them your situation. Maybe they have encountered this situation before and can better tell you what the repair would cost. Obviously, they would need to see the vehicle for a through inspection, but at least you would have an idea. Maybe the sensor is bad? Maybe the transaxle truly did overheat? Was the transaxle fluid ever changed, by the way?
