A local guy is selling an 02 with the following problem. Can you tell me what it is and how difficult to fix? "The component that's bad is the component that connects to charge the battery. Its failing and makes a clunking noise."
That's about as bogus a description as I've ever seen. This is an '02, so it's not a plug-in, so that eliminates anything you would connect to charge the battery, whichever battery he means. If he means the 12 volt, there isn't anything that "connects" to charge it and would make a clunking noise. If he means the 274 volt, there is a system main relay that connects every time you put the car in READY at all, not just "to charge" it, and it does make some clunk sounds, which are normal. If he can't give you a better explanation of what's failing, and what diagnostic codes or other evidence led to that conclusion, I would pass. -Chap
Could he be talking about the inverter? Or the coolant pump maybe? I'll try to get the codes. Thanks!
Neither clunks. I guess a pump could clunk, if it wore out in just the right way. But the only way you got there was by pretty much discounting everything he actually said in order to arrive at a guess that's not loopy, and by that point there's not much left to go on other than getting codes and looking them up yourself. -Chap
How much is the seller wanting? I bought a Prius (cheep!) in April with the thought that it might end up a parts car--it's going in on Saturday for a paint job. I guess I'd go have a look and see what he means by a 'clunk'.
If you call me during the day I can talk through a few things you could check on and what to watch out for. I don't have time to type it all out. I see there are other "dead" Prius in the area. You may be able to get two and make a good one.
Thanks for the offer, but I'm not up for that much of a project right now. If it were something simple, maybe.
Just make sure to set aside money for a replacement Hybrid battery. And check out your options for battery replacement ahead of time. That way you won't have to scramble when it does die. Good luck in your search.
Grab the VIN and check it on the Toyota Owners web site. You want to see if it has been in for a recent Hybrid Battery failure. At $2,000 obo you'll have some leeway to set aside money for when you need to buy a hybrid battery in the next 10 to 20 thousand miles.
