Concede Defeat - 2002 Prius

I probably should have joined this forum long ago....Anyway, I've decided to do my due diligence now and report on my experience with my 2002 Prius. It's been a good 10 years and I'm conceding defeat because it's just getting old. I have 181,500 miles on it. The check engine light went on earlier today (something I've become quite familiar with these past months) and then a couple hours ago, the brake light and ABS light came on at the same time with the buzzer. It turned off in less than a minute but the headache of having to bring it to the dealer is something I'd like to avoid. Here's the history of the car's repairs and services outside of the recommended ones. It only lists the ones I'm able to trace back from the service invoices I have managed to keep. Also, I've always been very good about all the oil changes and recommended services, and all but one service (major service) have been done at dealerships.

11/21/2012 - $1645 had 180,805 miles, Hybrid battery rebuild with Gen II pack
10/17/2012 - $112, had 180,667 miles, Check engine light came on, HV battery replacement recommended
05/14/2011 - $311, had 153,854 miles, A/C not working so I brought it to the dealer, A/C service evac, recharge, added dye - Turned out A/C was leaking, did not decide to repair
03/05/2011 - $219, had 150,669 miles, Fuel injectors cleaning, throttle body service
08/16/2010 - $598, replaced the brakes (I'm unsure of the mileage but it was well over 100k)
11/28/2008 - $1856, had 109,035 miles, Check engine light came on, Replaced catalytic converter
09/18/2007 - $226, had 87,685 miles, Continuation of the repair for the clicking noise (which by the way I swear to this day still clicks), This was the labor charge only.
09/15/2007 - $657, had 87,614 miles, Front tire making clicking noise when turning so I brought it to the dealer, Special part ordered, shaft assembly, FR drive, This was the parts charge only.
04/11/2007 - $445, had 78,500 miles, Replaced belts
03/20/2007 - N/C, had 77,461 miles, Master warning light on, the service log is really long for this, if you want the full details let me know, the code was P3000. They fixed it at no charge.

I'm assuming there are a few repairs that didn't make it in, one of which was a $500 repair made at the dealership around 10/9/2012 because I caved and brought my car to a regular mechanic for major service to save money. Although he reassured me on three separate occasions that he knew how to work on the Prius, he put too much oil back in my car and made a mess of things. The dealer took my car apart to figure out what was wrong, in the end had to clean the throttle body and whatever else to get it running again. For all I know, that one service is linked to the issues I have now. 0_O

All in all, the car's done me well. My dad had the car the first couple of years, so if there were major repairs then, I am unaware. I got the car around 2004 when in college. It is my first car so I don't know if the number of repairs is normal or not, but to me, it seems cheap (without the cat replacement) since I was able to afford it through college and during my first job out of college.

The major issues are the ones listed but there are a couple of oddities with this car:
1. I took a trip to Lake Tahoe around 2005 that brought my car to a halt. Something about oxygen levels and calculating fuel. I spent an entire day at the dealership instead of the slopes. I believe they updated the software and that's it. I was a lot more naive then so I didn't ask too many questions on what they were doing.
2. I've had probably six separate instances in which the warning lights came on and the car started buzzing at me. Three of the instances it actually slowed my car down. And one of the times when the car was slowing down it brought it completely to a halt and wouldn't restart for 10+ minutes. The other times I stopped the car then restarted it and everything went right back to normal.
3. Two of the locks don't work with the remote as of two or so years ago.
4. It has a sunroof. Yes a sunroof. The dealer apparently put it in right when he got them on the lot and I've been told this is bad for the hybrid system.
5. I pretty much only drive highway and I have a lead foot, so I avg 36.5 mpg.

Total repairs over the lifetime (including the $500 fix at the end): $6,578

Now I have no idea what to do with the car. I'm going to see if the man that rebuilt my battery wants to buy it from me, or at least the rebuilt battery since I replaced it less than a month ago. I didn't want to sell it online because I was worried I was just giving someone a car that's more headache than they realize. Now with the check engine light on and the possible brake issue, I really don't want to sell it, seems dangerous.

Anyway I'm really going miss my first car and I hope this post helpful to someone.

 

Orange county, CA

 

Haha, seems far, I have no idea. I'll going to see what the guy that rebuilt my battery says.

 

Good idea, maybe I'll bring it by autozone see what they say. Yes it stops ok. And the brake fluid level looked fine. I'll have to check again in the morning when it's bright out in case I am seeing things incorrectly.

 

I had that thought too because of the posts on the forum, but I'll have to take it somewhere to get the battery checked, I'm no car guru.

 

Sounds easy enough, now to get my hands on a voltmeter, I'll ask my car friends.

 

And ron thanks for the feedback. Yeah maybe I should find out what's wrong first, I really did want to keep the car for longer, that's why I spent the money on the rebuild.

 

Sweet, thanks for the input, I really appreciate it. I'll try to get the codes pulled in a week or two and report back.

 

Yeah, the major service I did at the mom and pop shop included transmission oil, not sure what they used. This was done in Sept 18