Before I spend a lot of money

1. Which battery are you referring to? If the traction battery, you need to see what the DTC are before you commit to a replacement.
2. I suggest you buy more fuel, soon.

 

generally yes, that means your battery is bad. how many miles on her?

 

ouch, just over the limit. still, you're might get some financial assistance from toyota.

 

unfortunately, the arizona weather seems to be tough on batteries.

 

Looking at only your dash lights and symptoms, what we know is that you have a problem of some kind, and it even probably has to do with the battery. Waiting for the Mini VCI will make it easier to decide whether there's a problem that can be inexpensively repaired in the battery you have, or one that essentially requires a rebuild or replacement.

-Chap

 

mine just lost power while driving and I can't get the dash on. It's a 2005 Prius with 89000mi, yesterday while driving my dash lights came on and I got to see a Problem message before coasting to the curb. I took the 12V battery to the Toyota dealer and it was good, dropped it in and tried to start the car but all it does is show these rectangles(can I upload a video?) for a second and nothing happens. The rectangles are the ones around D ,P ,N ,B. Any idea?

 

You need to have the codes read, there's probably a serious issue with your car

 

will do asap!

 

Based upon your message, I assume that the dashboard is dark after the gear selector rectangles go away?

1. My first idea is that you need to buy a digital multimeter so that you can measure voltage across the 12V battery and resistance across a couple of fuses.

2. My second idea is that you need to measure the voltage reading across the 12V battery. A fully-charged AGM battery will measure ~13.0V while a discharged battery will measure ~12.0V. (You can see that I would not trust your dealer's tech to be able to evaluate the battery condition.)

3. If the battery is good, then my third idea is that you need to inspect the following: AM1 and AM2 fuses, and IG1 and IG2 relays. Use an ohmmeter to verify the fuses are good, do not rely upon visual inspection. To check the relays, remove each relay, apply 12VDC to the relay coil terminals and measure resistance across the switched terminals. Replace if resistance exceeds 0.5 ohm after accounting for resistance of the meter leads.

4. If you don't find a problem with #2 or #3 above, then buy Mini VCI so that you can have the DTC read to get a clue about what is wrong with your car.

 

It is a catch 22 situation, a computer to test for a bad battery would be powered by the same battery it was trying to test.

 

I have a 2006 that had the dash go out 9 years and one day from the date placed in service. Toyota said no.

 

The stupid thing is these cars do not come with a 5 digit display from a $2 calculator that would just display the codes.

Before you get your Mini VCI read this short thread. Unable to determine the cause of the triangle warning | PriusChat

It will show you how to use Techstream to monitor a charge and discharge test. In less than 10 minutes while sitting in the drivers seat you will know the condition of your battery before taking anything apart.
Brad