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Help! Garage can't find problem

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Marielapoe, Mar 19, 2013.

  1. Marielapoe

    Marielapoe Junior Member

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    I could really use some suggestions on what my car's problem is and what I should do about it. The car is a 2005 Prius II hatchback @ 70,000 miles. I like my local garage and they have a good reputation but bad things keep happening. I'm ready to lose my temper but I don't want to. Thank you for any input. Here's the summary:

    1) 3 weeks ago - Started gettting the red triangle of death. Had trouble starting. Finally, the car would start, but only go into park or neutral. Towed to garage.
    Garage put in a new 12 V battery. The car drove away fronm the garage nicely.

    2 ) 2 weeks ago - Same thing. Red triangle, trouble starting, finally shifting only into park and neurtral. Towed to garage.
    Garage replaced the large battery. Said the computer codes showed the large battery was fried. They apologized for not catching the problem the first time. Big Bucks. Car drove away from the garage nicely.

    3) Last week - Same thing. Towed back to garage. The garage diagnosed it as the inverter and said that the car had indeed needed the new large battery and it was only now that the inverter codes were showing up. The garage towed the car into the Dealership for them to do some recalls and replace the inverter under warranty.
    Someone at the Dealership, (or Garage), dropped the ball and miscommunicated. The Dealership just did the recalls and said they knew nothing about the inverter and that it wasn't under warranty anyway. The person I talked to at the Dealership when I called to see when I could pick it up, outright lied about a number of things but wouldn't admit it later. The car started and went into gear when I picked it up and I drove it home. My garage said to see if the problem had cleared as one of the recalls was the water pump for the inverter.

    4) Today - Yup, you guessed it. Same thing. Except I waited awhile and got it started, in gear and made it home. But I don't know who to believe, who to call and what to do next. I have limited funds, especially since I have spent thousands in the last three weeks on the car. There is another Toyota Dealership in the next town. I'm in South Florida, somewhat in the boondocks. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you!
     
    #1 Marielapoe, Mar 19, 2013
  2. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    Wow!! That's terrible and so sad. I'm sorry you had to go through that.

    1) The 12 V is still a possibility, even with a new one. What did it cost? What battery did they install? What is the voltage reading on that battery now? You can get the readings needed for the 12V by following this procedure. Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat

    2) What was the cost of the HV battery replacement and where did they get it? Do they still have the one they removed?

    3) It's getting silly now. It would be like the shop hitting the lottery for the 12v battery, HV battery, and inverter to all go out at the same time. Sounds like your garage has found their limit of competence. What exactly did the dealership do? You have a statement or receipt from them?

    4) I would not take it back to the first shop or the last dealership. The one in the next town may be an option. But there are some here on PC from Florida that may be able to recommend a shop. You need the codes that are coming up now. With them someone here may be able to advise you better.
     
    #2 SteveLee, Mar 19, 2013
  3. Eclipse1701d

    Eclipse1701d Prius Enthusiast

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    #3 Eclipse1701d, Mar 19, 2013
  4. Marielapoe

    Marielapoe Junior Member

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    #4 Marielapoe, Mar 19, 2013
  5. Marielapoe

    Marielapoe Junior Member

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    Thank you Steve Lee - will do
     
    #5 Marielapoe, Mar 19, 2013
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The Prius hybrid system warranty is for 8 years/100K miles. Since your car has 70K miles it should be covered under warranty unless it was first sold more than 8 years ago. This warranty would cover the large traction battery as well as the inverter.

    Even if the hybrid warranty had expired, you might have been able to get help from the Toyota Customer Experience Center with regards to lowering your repair bill. However that would be the case only if you had sought service from a Toyota dealer, not a "Garage".

    I suggest that you obtain the current list of diagnostic trouble codes that your car has logged, and post them. Good luck.
     
    #6 Patrick Wong, Mar 19, 2013
    JMD likes this.
  7. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    I sure hope this isn't because of another brand new and bad 12volt Optima yellow top battery!
     
    #7 PriusCamper, Mar 19, 2013
  8. boppo

    boppo Active Member

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    I take it the optima would not be your first choice. :)
     
    #8 boppo, Mar 19, 2013
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i don't know where the 'garage' got their 'good' reputation, but it couldn't have been for working on hybrids. if it turns out the 12v is bad, i would demand my money back on the hv battery, or threaten small claims court. all the best!
     
    #9 bisco, Mar 19, 2013
    JMD likes this.
  10. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    Let us know how it works out for you.
     
    #10 JMD, Mar 19, 2013
  11. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Put the car in ready mode and put your hand on the little water pump in the front left corner of the engine bay just poking out from under the fuse box. If you cant feel it rumnning replace it, if you can feel it running replace it any way. This is the hybrid system cooling pump and they do fail. I believe this pump should be changed at 100,000 miles or 160,000km as a service item. There is a chance it was the subject of a recall.
     
    #11 patsparks, Mar 19, 2013
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