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Advice on an 08 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by waldo_2001, Jul 3, 2010.

  1. waldo_2001

    waldo_2001 New Member

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    Hi all, I am currently driving a 97 Pathfinder getting a wonderful 15mpg. I am looking at an 08 Prius (not sure on the pkg) but it has Reverse cam/jbl/smart key. Anyway the car is $14900 and by looking at a couple calculators it looks like I can save around $99 dollars a month in gas driving the prius. I know the battery is still covered under warranty but one concern is that the car has been on the lot over 3 months and I hear they can have issues if the battery is not charged for a period of time? Would you suggest taking it to Toyota to have the battery tested?

    On a side note I used to have an 01 Saturn SC2 that I hypermiled and could get 45mpg and average 38 or so. I am looking forward to what I can get on the Prius.

    Thanks
    James H
     
    #1 waldo_2001, Jul 3, 2010
  2. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

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    :welcome: to PRIUSchat.

    I can't say about the High Voltage (HV) battery. :( Sorry.

    But there would be reason to suspect the condition of the small 12V
    battery whose primary purpose is to boot the various computers/ECUs
    when the car is started. (Once the computers boot up, the 12V bus is
    supplied via a DC-to-DC converter from the HV battery.)

    If the car has truly sat on the lot for 3 months without any
    preparations, there is a real chance that the 12V battery has gone
    south due a small but continuous discharge by the Smart key system.
    The Smart key system can be turned off, but who knows.

    If the car starts, both the HV and 12V batteries would appear to be OK
    and no trip to the dealer would be necessary.

    I'll let someone else speak to the HV battery by itself.
     
    #2 Rokeby, Jul 3, 2010
    1 person likes this.
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Hi James,

    As you pointed out the hybrid system including the traction battery is covered for 8 years / 100K miles (at least; more if you live in CA or one of the states following CA emissions regs) so I wouldn't suggest taking the car to the Toyota dealer for the purpose of testing the traction battery.

    Nevertheless I would suggest taking the car to the Toyota dealer for the purpose of evaluating the entire car, reporting whether there's any obvious accident damage that had been subsequently repaired, seeing whether there are any vehicle problems that are not covered under warranty, etc.

    Good luck.
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Jul 3, 2010
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