GEN I has kicked the bucket

My gen I hybrid battery has failed at 100,600 miles. I bought it right after 9/11 and, not being a car guy, loved it dearly. When I first bought it I would go weeks without seeing another Prius, when I saw one we would wave to each other. It was magic. Now here I stand looking for another Prius and it seems that I haven't kept up on the generational changes that have taken place and like an old man trying to learn email I am lost. I am going to miss my HOV sticker, I am going to miss the soothing sound of SUE directing me to take the next exit. I loved her dearly and unfortunately I am not in a position to take my time and grieve her untimely loss.

So I'm looking to get a III with Navi. I tend to buy Toyotas and drive them till they are dead dead. Should I spend the extra $ and go for a IV with Navi? Thoughts? And please say a prayer for my dearly departed Sue.

I thought the battery was covered for 150k miles or 10 years if you bought in CA...

No, internet misinformation. It wasn't until later that it was covered until 150K. Although i did get a recall notice last week that extended the warranty on something unrelated until 120K.

What are you planning on doing with your car? I might be interested in purchasing your HOV stickers..I believe they are transferable.

You can't just buy the stickers from him.
However, you could
- buy his Gen-I for $1 and transfer the title and stickers to your name
- you can junk(desclare totalled) the gen-I and buy a new Prius
- then, transfer the stickers to the new Prius.

If you still like your car, I'd look into a salvage battery and then drive it until the it dies/the car starts giving you too much trouble.

Since you're in So Cal, it might be advisable to park in the shade and put up sun shades to keep the battery temps down and (in theory) prolong its life.

Is there a non Toyota Prius repairer in Cali? I thought there were several. I'd try them to get a salvage replacement battery fitted even if it was just so you can trade the Gen I for a Gen III.

100K on a Gen1. If all else is in good condition I would get another battery and drive it 8 more years.

With a written post, it's sometime hard to gauge sarcasm. However, if you really aren't ready and willing and WANTING to move up to a new Generation 3 then certainly replacing the battery would be cheaper and remove many of your concerns about "change".

However, if it is time for you personally to leap frog graduate from a Generation 1, to a Generation 3, then the battery dying is a good excuse. As far as information about the 2010....You are in the right place. Just hunt around, you'll find as much information, feedback, opinion and insight as to the 2010 and features as you could possibly want.

Specificly a III with Nav vs. a IV with Nav? How important is leather? I know a few other bells and whistles are included with IV, but it's my singular personal opinion that Prius II and III are good bargains for what they come equipped with, and again personally I wouldn't upgrade to IV or V, unless I wanted the "Uber Goodies" in the form of either a Solar Sunroof or The AT package respectively. That's just me though.

Now whether you should get a Sunroof or the AT package? Don't ask me, I've been debating that for months.

If you do decide to move on, could you keep the forum updated as to how much you get for your Prius as either a trade in or sale? I'd be curious as to the value of a older Prius when the battery has gone dead or is close to being dead. Just because I plan to keep my Prius for as long as viable, maybe even including a battery replacement when it eventually would become necessary. It's just interesting to me, because uniquely I think Prius hold their value very well as a used automobile, but there has to be a tipping point where value is lost when the battery becomes obviously in need of replacement.

Thanks. Sorry about your car dying bt the way.

I'm having a VERY hard time understanding why you can't just throw a new battery in it. Worst case you are talking ~$3k from a dealer, best case you have to spend less than a grand on a low mileage salvage battery. Either way it's cheaper than a new car, and if you like the one you have then why not save it? Batteries aren't cheap but it's a plug-and-play part...very little teardown required to replace it.

How about a plug-in conversion from:

Frequently Asked Questions

I've been debating changing the battery, the cost I've been quoted from the dealer is about 3,500.00 I've researched non dealers but cannot find anything in the LA are. I have found batteries on ebay but I dont feel comfortable with that. Another thing is right before the battery started dieing one of the tires went kapput. So The tires need to be replaced and when the car went to the dealer for diagnostic they came back with additional work that needed to be done totalling about 2k more including the brakes, which I had yet to replace after 100k miles, those suckers really last which makes up for the tires which I had to replace every 25k miles, those things suck. So instead of putting the money in to fix all that I dont feel it makes sense.

if you trade in your car the trade-in price will be...

car value
-battery replacement
-tires
-brakes


seems your going to loose the money either way.




as for a salvaged battery. go to the salvage yard, they should all be hooked on a computer system to check with other salvage yards.

fix it... drive !

TROJANS,

Don't ever fully believe what a shop tells you, especially the service department at dealerships. You may very well need new brakes, but there's a chance that you may not need them yet. And it sure as heck doesn't cost much to replace them if you do.

105,000 miles is low for a Prius, unless it has been treated like trash. There are plenty of places that will install a brand new OEM replacement battery for $2,800 out the door. (a quick Google search showed quite a few) There's also the option of going with a salvaged battery. Another option is to contact the Toyota Customer Care line and file a complaint. I wouldn't expect anything, but they may be able to cut you a deal since yours failed just outside of the warranty period. (worth a try)

As for tires, get away from the dealership and you'll spend $360-$500 depending on the model you choose. And for the brakes, I would take it to Firestone or Midas and have them check them for free. You can do much better than what the dealership is quoting you...

It would be easy to revive your Gen 1. But if the Gen III is calling your name, well, it's always fun to get a new car!

Bryan

I think you just want an excuse to buy a 2010

Or do what we did... fix your Gen I AND buy a new Gen III!! My wife's Gen I has 136,000 mi. and is still going strong. Just came out of the body shop after a minor fender bender... looks like new! And I just got my Gen III after trading in my old Explorer using Cash For Clunkers. We're a 2-Prius family!

The Gen I is a classic... I vote for fixing it.

We just did the same thing -- turned in our 1997 Explorer and now we're a two Prius family too!

Bryan

That would be sad to scrap a car at just over 100k miles.

The whole thing about reliable Japanese cars like a Corolla is you buy them for well under $20k, then drive them well over 200k miles with no problems.

Here you've got a 2001 Prius and I know they were at least $20k back then, just over 100k miles and it needs $3k or more in repairs.

I think I'd be pissed about a $3k fix needed on a Corolla at 100k miles.

Tell you the truth, I wouldn't have bought a Gen2 at 8 yrs /100k hybrid warranty. It was 10yr/150k mi or no go here.