critical juncture with my beloved 2005- help me decide!

Will the replacement HV hybrid battery be "New", and supplied by a local Toyota dealer?

Ask if the HV battery fan will also be cleaned. See if the mechanic will give you the OBD2 codes.

Did he put the vehicle up on a rack, remove the fill plug, and stick his finger in the hole?

 

Now you see why reputable places "dont do refurbs". You paid presumably a fair amount for this refurbished battery that lasted you 2 years and stranded you at the side of the road where you needed a tow. Worth it?

You have a car that's worth a few thousand dollars and has been 74% of the way to the moon. Everything on that car that isn't replaced is 15 years old. Only you know how you've taken care of it. If it is worth $1600-$2500 to get it back on the road, then do it. But if it is a beater, it may be time to cut your losses.

 

I find it quite unusual for 3 modules to fail at 1 time, I think it's more of an effect to have you sell the car to him really cheap.

Also why did the transaxle fluid conversation come into play? If it's a failed battery, he just wanted to add more negativity to the car so you'll let go of it? I'd would think if you decide to put a new battery in, this mechanic will try to stop you

$750 + $2500 = a very cheap car. You can easily sell the car for $4000 in California. You won't lose your $2500

I know a guy in Palm springs that will pay you $1000 for that car without the battery. And I would pay you $1000 in the Los Angeles area

 

I am not sure it's a good idea to use a Pius as an "island" car for short trips. It is simply not meant for that. It's meant to be driven a lot. Short trips will not be kind to even a new battery. If all you need is an island car, why not let this one go and get a Corolla or a Yaris or something that is almost as economical and reliable and has none of the hybrid issues.

 

it's hardly broken in. get the new battery an enjoy the next 100,000 miles

 

Agreed. I would look around before I bought a Subaru though. They have problems too. A corolla or scion is a safer bet.

 

I'm up here in Washington and will be in California in a couple weeks. A couple years out of a refurbished is a pretty good run and for under $500 I could replace the bad modules and recondition pack you could get some more months of even years out of it. Or for as low at $1650 you can get brand new pack from Toyota dealer and it takes me 2 hours / $100 to put it in and you will have a pack good for 6-12 years that you can even put in your next Prius. As for transmission, I wouldn't be too concerned, it's fairly rare for those to go bad... Private message me if you want to compare locations and schedule?

 

congrats!

all the best

 

There is no trans dipstick so I'm curious how he determined trans fluid was dirty. Unless he was giving it a very thorough inspection and undid the bolt underneath to let some drain out?

I would consider finding a mechanic that won't rip you off. It's like an hour job to remove the hybrid battery and put another one in.

Not sure what part of Cali you are in but the junkyards must be loaded to the brim out there with Prius parts. I'd go on car-part.com and get a used hybrid with like 120k on it for $600-$700 and see if they will install it for a couple hundred (it will come with at least a 6 month warranty if junkyard is reputable). So less than a 1k job. Something to consider.

 

It's $60 (in San Diego) to have combination meter rebuilt.
Or you can get a used one for about $120. Doesn't include the 1 hour labor of removing/installing part (very easy).

12V is a little over $200 at dealership but can be around $180 installed at PepBoys if I remember correctly.

Never heard of a bad spiral cable on a Prius so not sure cost of this repair.

New key fob is $300 at dealership approx.

Not sure your price breakdowns but the biggest scam is combination meter that is usually an intermittent issue and not serious to drive with blacked out odometer/fuel for a short period of time cause you can just use your GPS on phone to tell you how fast you are going (or guesstimate)...Hopefully you didn't pay to much for this repair. Pretty sure dealership wants $800-$1200 for this meaningless repair that doesn't effect how a Prius functions.

 

Good decision! Congrats... Let me know if you need any help... I'll be in California in a couple weeks.