Car accident, Body shop, Hybrid Battery disc....

jlbeerhour · 01-17-2006, 10:11 PM

Lovely Prius(2005 Top Package available) got hit by Brother-in-law on Christmas Eve. (Very Talented Artist, not very good driver) Brought in for several bids. Husband chose the one who said they had the most experience.... The damage was minimal, front bumper, but while we were doing that we decided to fix all the rock chips in the front hood as well. We were told about 4 -5 days.

Brought in the car Monday AM. On Tuesday of the following week, my husband called the shop to see what was up. There had been some issues with the car...but the manager was not made aware of the situation until Tuesday AM.

At this time we were told they needed to pull the hybrid battery, which I guess is standard practice to fix any hybrid car issues. (They actually do not pull, they flip some switch in the back) When they went to start the car on Thursday, they put the key fob in the key slot, (deactivating the smart key function..thanks for the many helpful insights on this!) however the car did not start.

They tried many things, calling the dealer finally on Monday after they could not get the car started. The dealer was not sure what the problem was. Finally on Tuesday morning, the guys in the shop shut the hood on the car, and they say the car started--no problems. Toyota says, No, this is not correct. There is not a hood switch, allowing the car to only start when the hood is shut completely. The mgmt at the body shop insisted on this, until I drove down there and showed them the car started with the hood open. I also had them talk to Toyota on speaker phone to discuss the situation. This body shop that had so much experience with the Toyota Prius had never heard of the Smart Key Function.

The car does now run, they say they did not charge any batteries, but we are very angry,

(they didn't offer any compensation for this...very bad bad company!!) The body shop is not yet done with the work, as we found more rock chips when we showed them how to start the car..( .and yes, we did offer a tutorial on this when we brought the car in...but with their experience....)

And also, are wondering what the problem is. We already called Toyota, and they want the car in for a check up, as we only have 6000 miles on it. And, since the Hybrid Battery was unhooked, they want to check to see if anything was hooked up wrong.

Any suggestions????!
Thanks!

galaxee · 01-17-2006, 10:21 PM

i'd trust your local prius tech over your local body shop tech, simply because they've got more experience tearing apart and putting back together the guts of a prius. go ahead and bring it in for a quick look over. do you have one particular tech you go to and trust at the dealership?

the car will indeed start with the hood open, and with the hood closed but not all the way latched.

i'd have it checked out, sounds funky to me

imwoody36 · 03-21-2006, 10:13 AM

As a Prius repair tech...
I wonder if the body shop failed to reinsert the service plug in the battery all the way. It hinges out and must be reinserted with an in and then down
action. A very good precaution but not as difficult as removing the battery.

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01-17-2006, 10:11 PM	#1
jlbeerhour Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: St. Paul, MN Posts: 3 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Lovely Prius(2005 Top Package available) got hit by Brother-in-law on Christmas Eve. (Very Talented Artist, not very good driver) Brought in for several bids. Husband chose the one who said they had the most experience.... The damage was minimal, front bumper, but while we were doing that we decided to fix all the rock chips in the front hood as well. We were told about 4 -5 days. Brought in the car Monday AM. On Tuesday of the following week, my husband called the shop to see what was up. There had been some issues with the car...but the manager was not made aware of the situation until Tuesday AM. At this time we were told they needed to pull the hybrid battery, which I guess is standard practice to fix any hybrid car issues. (They actually do not pull, they flip some switch in the back) When they went to start the car on Thursday, they put the key fob in the key slot, (deactivating the smart key function..thanks for the many helpful insights on this!) however the car did not start. They tried many things, calling the dealer finally on Monday after they could not get the car started. The dealer was not sure what the problem was. Finally on Tuesday morning, the guys in the shop shut the hood on the car, and they say the car started--no problems. Toyota says, No, this is not correct. There is not a hood switch, allowing the car to only start when the hood is shut completely. The mgmt at the body shop insisted on this, until I drove down there and showed them the car started with the hood open. I also had them talk to Toyota on speaker phone to discuss the situation. This body shop that had so much experience with the Toyota Prius had never heard of the Smart Key Function. The car does now run, they say they did not charge any batteries, but we are very angry, (they didn't offer any compensation for this...very bad bad company!!) The body shop is not yet done with the work, as we found more rock chips when we showed them how to start the car..( .and yes, we did offer a tutorial on this when we brought the car in...but with their experience....) And also, are wondering what the problem is. We already called Toyota, and they want the car in for a check up, as we only have 6000 miles on it. And, since the Hybrid Battery was unhooked, they want to check to see if anything was hooked up wrong. Any suggestions????! Thanks!

01-17-2006, 10:21 PM	#2
galaxee mostly benevolent Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: MD Posts: 9,810 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 331 Times in 85 Posts Friends: 27	i'd trust your local prius tech over your local body shop tech, simply because they've got more experience tearing apart and putting back together the guts of a prius. go ahead and bring it in for a quick look over. do you have one particular tech you go to and trust at the dealership? the car will indeed start with the hood open, and with the hood closed but not all the way latched. i'd have it checked out, sounds funky to me

03-21-2006, 10:13 AM	#3
imwoody36 the prius parts guy Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: southern Indiana Posts: 116 My Car: 2008 Prius Model: Package: #7 Thanks: 42 Thanked 84 Times in 51 Posts Friends: 13	As a Prius repair tech... I wonder if the body shop failed to reinsert the service plug in the battery all the way. It hinges out and must be reinserted with an in and then down action. A very good precaution but not as difficult as removing the battery.