Inherited Low Mileage 2007 Prius

No issues... You really lucked out with such a nice Prius... Just enjoy and don't worry about alignment unless you see uneven tire wear. Also don't let anyone try to scam you into thinking you need to replace brake pads and rotors because Prius mostly uses electricity generation as braking so it's normal for rotors to look rusty and unused. If you want to clean them, just put the car in neutral when you're getting off the freeway and you'll use 100% mechanical break and they'll be shiny again.

 

The traction battery is affected by age whether it is used or not, and they test good until the day they test bad.

Honestly this would be one to keep and drive, since it's been in the family. You can account for its history better than most used cars.

I do recommend that you start a battery replacement fund. If you pay Toyota to put in a genuine part it'll run you around $3k, and that's the right way to do it.

I say just drive it. Enjoy it. And when the traction battery dies, don't hesitate- put a real Toyota pack in there and keep going. Just be ready for that to happen suddenly one day.

 

I agree Lead.

UL thanks for posting the mileage don't see that much on here. Long sad storys with no mileage so we never know how old and beat up the car is.

I have owned my g2 for 14 years I can tell you at 42 mpg's the hybrid battery is getting a little tired its just the age. But that battery is ripe for an easy reconditioning.

Many of us have bought and used a hybrid battery charger/discharger called Prolong made by hybridautomotive.com.

It will really wake that expensive battery up and restore its mileage and power. I was able to keep mine when it started to fail for another 3 years. It really woke it up. You may get better results. The best thing it does is kick that battery replacement down the road a little and as time goes by the dealer battery's are getting cheaper and cheaper.

So hang out here a little there's alot of Prolong guys on here and in your area maybe you can pay a guy to install the $100 battery interface cable then borrow or rent the charger/discharger unit. It is well worth the time and $.

The Prius is all hybrid battery.

Go up top and use the search forums link:

Search PROLONG then search HYBRIDAUTOMOVE so you can get a feel for the charging/discharging process.

At 38,000 miles it well worth keeping just have to get the mileage where it belongs by waking that battery up.

Good luck.

 

OK good luck sounds like a keeper.

 

BTW no reconditioning needed for that yet, just drive it and enjoy the high mpg, go up some hills then go down them as well, if you brake it charges back even quicker. Get used to the system, it will condition the battery to the way you drive. The system itself is the best "conditioner". Later on when it does come up with a hv batt problem is when to consider a conditioner. Or you can do like I did and drive it until it dies then get a new battery. There are quite a few options here. I went with a newpriusbatteries pack 2 years ago and it is still like when it was new, even gained a few mpg! And the cylindrical cells stay much cooler than the stock modules. Something to consider but not now in your case, you just need to drive it.

 

Parking on the street, eh?

Good Luck with the cat.....

Catalytic Convertor Stolen Even with Cat Shield | PriusChat

 

It's a good car, the price is right, and you will enjoy it.

I put 175,000 miles on my 2002 gen1 and the battery was still functioning when two of the battery cell cases broke and leaked. The battery replacement (OEM replaced by Toyota) ran 1300 for the battery and 700 for the installation. It would have been much less if I got it replaced by the Prius shop in San Francisco.

Since you are in Benicia, there is likely to be less chance of a stolen cat converter. One of the crooks working your area hit a tree last month while being chased by a cop and is now out of commission.

 

You can get the struts for $118.26 free shipping here (not always in stock). And most mechanics would charge 2 hours of labor (probably 3 even though only takes 1 hour lol).