2007 Prius Hybrid battery failing- should I repair it for $3100?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by sb86, Aug 14, 2018.

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  1. sb86

    sb86 New Member

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    Can you tell me the name? I’ll call today or Monday and see if it’s possible to get it shipped. Or put my mechanic in touch with them.
     
    #41 sb86, Sep 21, 2018
  2. sb86

    sb86 New Member

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    I must have read the wrong quote. I’m on my phone - and with my 8 month old.
     
    #42 sb86, Sep 21, 2018
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    ah, i know the feeling.:)
     
    #43 bisco, Sep 21, 2018
  4. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    There comes a time in every cars life when it becomes a money pit...even a Prius.
     
    #44 frodoz737, Sep 21, 2018
  5. sb86

    sb86 New Member

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    So I’m sincerely asking what do u do with such a car? Junk yard? I would hate to throw it out bcz it still drives and I just paid $800 for brakes n battery...
     
    #45 sb86, Sep 21, 2018
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's a hard decision, because no one knows what will break next or when. also, it sounds like you don't have a good hybrid repair shop in the area, so repairs may continue to be elusive.
     
    #46 bisco, Sep 21, 2018
  7. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    You report the vehicle has over 200,000 miles on it, you are not mechanically inclined and you don't know enough about cars not to be taken advantage of by a questionable service departments. It's breaking left and right and the car has no resale value. While I understand not wanting to take a chance on another used vehicle "you don't know about", knowing about this one is not preventing the current/inevitable costs associated with a vehicle this old, including some high dollar Prius stuff. While only you can decide, I would recommend you cut your losses and buy new. The 2019 vehicles are out now/soon and all regions want to start clearing out the 2018s so the deals are happening...especially at the end of each month.

    I wish you the best whatever you do.
     
    #47 frodoz737, Sep 21, 2018
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I think people read about cars going 400k miles and think that happens without needing repair. Realistically these cars needs lots of parts once it reaches 200k miles
     
    #48 JC91006, Sep 22, 2018
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  9. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Thing that's good about Prius (so far) is you can get 200K miles (almost) before cost/reliability exceeds replacement. As a Mechanic I see both Toyota and Honda favorably this way.
     
    #49 frodoz737, Sep 22, 2018
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  10. sb86

    sb86 New Member

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    UPDATE: I did replace the combo meter: $1100 to replace and 2 weeks (they had to ship it back east). Drove it home, was like new. Next day I got in and it had all the lights on again. I called- dropped it off- got a loaner. Three days later they said it is the HV battery. I said did I waste my money getting a combo meter? They said no, you had to replace it bcz in the past the cooler temperatures messed with the visual display/readouts from the combo meter and they needed to fix that. Ok, I said how do you know it is the HV battery. They said it orignally tested fine because they tested the battery after driving it. But, learned that after letting it sit 20-30 min. that 2 of the HV cells were reading just below 14. So, they replaced the old HV battery with a brand new from dealership for $2900 . Drove it 2 times about 10 miles total. Husband drives the car halfway to store and returns to tell me "The car is f****d. All the dash lights suddenly turned on. A long sustained beep turned on and it sounded [to him] like the HV battery was off and the engine was the only power to the car."

    We called the Autoshop (the day before Thanksgiving) and luckily were able to get a loaner. They will look at it Monday and hopefully I will hear from them Monday or Tuesday.

    WHAT THE HECK is going on with this Prius. Why is it so difficult to diagnose??
     
    #50 sb86, Nov 23, 2018
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    An older prius will have these failures, it's not unusual to see these failures. And when you're done with replacing the battery, your next major near future repair may be the brake actuator. So you're not going to get away cheap
     
    #51 JC91006, Nov 23, 2018
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  12. sb86

    sb86 New Member

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    I was told that the codes went off because of the INVERTER. I asked what needed to be done to the inverter? He said they looked, and reset the code. Nothing was obviously wrong with it. hm..
     
    #52 sb86, Nov 26, 2018
  13. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    delete
     
    #53 JC91006, Nov 26, 2018
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