I read a thread that started by member Gippah in June 08. He described a problem with his 01 Prius which is exactly what I experienced. Highway driving, engine begins to rev very high and top speed I can attain is 30mph. Also brake light is illuminated in dash. Prior to this I noted battery symbol jumping from 3/4 charge to 1/4 charge,then back up to full then to 1/4, up and down like that. "Gippah" ended his thread by purchasing a new HV battery, he said that fixed his problem. I sent a private message to Gippah to see if this has been a lasting repair. I also continued that thread with a similar message as I have written here. I believe my battery is shot. Anyone else have a similar story. To read the other thread queery "sick prius" I live in Canada and at time of car becoming a problem Temp daily about -20 to -25 C.
My 2001 prius have the same symptom and I end up have the HV battery changed. Where in Ontario you located since I live in ontario, canada too.
I agree that when you see rapid changes in the battery SOC gauge, that is a good clue that the traction battery needs to be replaced. You should also see either the hybrid vehicle or the battery warning icon light up on the MFD. This happened to my 2001 at 61K miles (DTC P3006) and the battery was replaced under warranty.
I live near Brockville Ontario. My dealer 1000 Islands Toyota say they have never heard of a battery having to be replaced-therefore I have no faith in them. I have never seen the battery symbol warning light come on but have see the triangle and the engine light and the brake light came on while driving and the emergency brake was off. I just checked the car and it is totally dead now. No power, I have not driven it in about 12 days but did start it about a week ago. Any thoughts on using a battery off of ebay. One guy I have spoken to says these batteries are on a 6 month back order from toyota? He has one from a wrecked 2002 that only had 41000 miles on it. ea8631 what dealer did you have yours fixed at. What was the final cost and how long has it been since done?
I suggest you pay for one hour of dealer labor to have the DTC read, to make sure that a code corresponding to a traction battery was logged.
