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Repairing rust/welding on my Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Michael Russo, Nov 23, 2014.

  1. Michael Russo

    Michael Russo New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Our 2005 Prius remains a total blast to drive. One of the reasons it is a "blast to drive" is because it wants to BE driven. So far, it has not required extraordinary measures to stay on the road, therefor I have not had to spend much time checking out these forums. For all this good behavior it has earned a reward: a bit of body work. The left outer rocker panel has been slowly showing signs of rust and it was time to get some estimates. The local dealer was ready to replace the entire panel, including 15 hours of body labor plus 6 hours of paint labor and "6 hours of paint supplies:" total $1200. A local body shop said: "let the guys who do our welding repair the rust and we'll do the painting:" total $700. And the reason this tale gets dumped here is why? My wallet says to go with the welding/body shop "duo," but there is wrinkle: the welders have never worked on a Prius. I did some research for them. It sounds like, with the protective proper gloves, both batteries are relatively easily "disabled," normal welding occurs and does not need to damage anything on the Prius. But others say that, no matter what a non-dealer does, the Prius will end up with trashed batteries, computers, ABS and everything else that used to make it such a blast to drive. More likely, the truth rests somewhere between those two visions. But the icing on the cake has to be this particular forum, with the promising title of "Welding on a 2005 Prius." There is not much of value here. My frustration level just went over the top, and I really don't know which way I will go. In the next month I hope to come up with a way to justify avoiding the dealer's body shop and successfully getting the rust on our Prius repaired and save $500. And if that rabbit can be pulled out of that hat I intend to post a follow-up piece right here about the steps it took to make it happen so anyone else with a Prius interested in this Black Art will have a leg up.
     
    #1 Michael Russo, Nov 23, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    it's not a matter of which way to go. unfortunately, if the non dealer shop takes anything for granted, your 'blast maybe in the past'. there is no way you can know ahead of time.
     
  3. Michael Russo

    Michael Russo New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    bisco: Thank you for your thought… Today that non-dealer decide me doing battery disconnections and hanging around while the shop did the welding took place was a bridge too far; he bailed on the project. Or, more accurately, he strongly implied doing anything with me in his shop was too much trouble, and he already had plenty of work that did not involve someone who wanted to see what might happen with their vehicle. [Apply your preferred version of who would want to "watch sausage being made" analogy here.] At this point I am ready to surrender and will probably allow Toyota to have its way. Or I may still take some more time and explore other dealer or non-dealer options. But I know the work must be done, and hope to find the "right" shop to take care of it. And if that turns out to be a Toyota shop, then so be it...
     
  4. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    As long as your main relay that disconnects hv-battery when Prius is off is ok it’s enough just to disconnect 12V. And if that main relay wouldn’t be ok then you would have big red triangle warning on.

    Is the rocker panel rusting from inside? Has it ever been bended? Accident? I have never seen rusted rocker panel in Prius. If it just rusted from inside without any particular reason then maybe I should put rust preventing oil in mine. What area of rocker panel is it in? I would really appreciate your answer.

    If it’s only rust from outside cause of rocks getting paint off its better to just blast the rust and paint off and paint (unless there’s even tiniest of hole).
     
    #4 valde3, Nov 26, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2014
  5. Michael Russo

    Michael Russo New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Prius rocker panel update:
    While I shop this project around for a decent resolution (probably dealer replacement of the parts involved), I plan to post several photos of the rusted panel on this forum. It does appear to be an inside-out issue. And I must confess to, oops, hanging the Prius up on a snow-covered "curb" in a blizzard during its first winter. Don't recall the rocker panel being the fulcrum, but I was a bit freaked out when it went down. Parts replacement = payback time.
     
    valde3 likes this.