This was an interesting thread to read. It's seems this was a "Eyes Wide Open" project from the purchase. Unfortunately you might not be done. I'm actually placing my bet on Hybrid Battery related issue. Because of the poor gas mileage you are getting. Plus it's a 13 year old Prius. And I'm assuming orignal Hybrid Battery, which would put it in the range for decline and failure. But I say "bet"...because I'm not sure and I could be wrong. One way or another the time and effort being put into the project should eventually return the OP a good running Prius. The most disappointing thing to me? Would be the 33-35 mpg. Unless all your driving is up and down hills and short hops, I think you should be getting better results.
I went back over some old pics, found something I'd missed the first time around The catalyst is fairly plugged up, definitely appears to have oil deposits. I'm not aware of a way to clean them once they're too far gone (suggestions are welcome). I'm figuring that's likely due to the infamous Gen2 engine oil burning problems.
I haven't had it that long, it's been less than 1000 miles all told. I really haven't noted any oil loss yet. I also had a related issue. Took it on a good long highway trip, average speed about 70 or so. Mileage has been poor, only 33-35MPG. On the steepest part of the highway I lost significant power. The car was hesitating at speed, even flooring the accelerator barely held 50MPH. No codes other than P0420. I had originally assumed it was a weak HV battery, which was down to one bar at that point. I managed to clear the hill, the rest of the trip passed without incident. Return trip was without drama.
That's the plan, hopefully the car is still there. Engines are $100 this weekend, but I have no idea of condition. I'm not sure I wanted to put this much work into it...
Well...I thought it over for a while and decided to move on. Sold the car to a nice fella with full disclosure. He lives in a more rural area and "knows a guy" that can fix the catalyst problem. I'd guess he'll take the easy way & gut the cat. I'm usually against that sort of thing, but IMHO a gutted Prius is a lot cleaner than many other vehicular options. He was coming from a C-class Mercedes, so I'm sure he'll be impressed with Toyota reliability. I have to admit I was impressed by it too. It was a pleasure belonging to this group...while I don't anticipate owning another hybrid, I'll be back if I find another problem child. Thanks for all the help, the camaraderie, and the can-do attitude!
Anyone looking for a broken HyMotion PHEV conversion? This popped up locally: 2005 Toyota Prius - Hymotion A123 plugin conversion - Insp 11/21 -... It's too far gone for me, but I could likely assist if anyone was really interested.
