I just recently bought a used Prius and I am really starting to worry and maybe even regret my purchase as I cannot find how to fix these problems. I just tried to get my car inspected to have it registered and it failed on many accounts. Some of the things it failed on I can understand but other things seem to be more unfixable or it may cost so much money I will not have a car at all anymore. The things it failed on are: Dashboard lights not working (that front speedometer computer) Headlight working intermittently Neutral safety switch not engaging Pulling alignment Right rear strut blown Poly rib belt cracking Water pump drive belt cracking I know every now and then I'd say once every two weeks the front speedometer will go completely dark and of course since the car need that to pass, it didn't work. I've done the simple unplug from battery reset but I would like to permanently fix it and not be doomed to pay over $1,000 on repairs on it. My center console computer also doesn't work and i was wondering if there may be some way to fix that without going to a salvage yard. And I'm also wondering what the hell that damn triangle means? it only comes on for me when I go a little quick around a left turn. I've already dumped $800 dollars on this car to fix both the struts and get the belts replaced and alignment done. I really don't want to pay $600 just for them to pull apart my dash and look at my electrical to tell me a problem and then charge more on fixing the damn thing. I really need to know if there is any way i can fix the underlined things on that list? The non-underlined things are already being replaced. I am 17 years old and any money I can save would be a life line. I am quite competent on how to do electric work, programming, and mechanical fixes. I could easily solder things and re-attach wires. I just have no clue on what to fix. Please someone help I have a 2004 Prius with 181,000 miles.
You just learned a very important lesson about buying a car: get it inspected by a competent, trustworthy mechanic BEFORE you buy. One easy fix is that your intermittent headlight lamp needs to be replaced, but be warned: the HID lamps are crazy expensive.
I wasn't too worried about the before buying since I got the car on a huge deal price. Like this car was wayyy worth it. (I only paid $1000 due to the car being in family)
Since you say that you can do electronic work, you can repair the combination meter: combination meter repair - DIY | Page 4 | PriusChat For headlights do you have HID? Maybe you just have bad bulb. What do you mean by neutral safety switch? Get Mini-VCI and you can read the codes from the Prius and do other stuff like bleed brakes. Mini-VCI is cheap and good but you do need Windows laptop.
Head light amazon.com/Philips-Standard-Xenon-Headlight-Bulb/dp/B00480J4KA Serpentine belt amazon.com/Bando-3PK860-Quality-Serpentine-Belt/dp/B000Q08RLI Complete rear struts amazon.com/2004-2009-Toyota-Complete-Struts-Assembly/dp/B00QH1EQKQ I do not know how much you are a DIY mechanic. but those are the easiest to fix with a youtube video. Small hands greatly helps the headlights.
That's pretty easy really. You get someone who knows what they are doing to fix ONLY the items that affect it's ability to run safely. Anything that is just inconvenient you just learn to live with........and save that money for your next car.
Correction: A 13 year old car that needs several thousand$ in repairs, is NOT "wayyy" worth it (regardless of how much you love your family). This is exactly why you should have gotten a professional inspection, with an estimate for needed repairs.
Whelp it's all I could get and I only need it to last me two years. If I have to pay above a certain price maybe then I'll start regretting but overall I think my POS car will be a better financial decision in the long run. My 13 year old car cost a couple thousand less than others at its same mileage and year. So I'd say it's worth it. I got a car I knew never got in an accident and I knew I'd actually get a car. If you only have $2000 on a car to buy in the first place I'm lucky I didn't get a scrap car.
Accounting questions: Did your car cost a couple thousand less than others because it needs MORE than a couple of thousand dollars in repairs? Isn't that "above a certain price"? Did they sell it to you for "wayyy cheap" or did they sell it to you for its actual value? Your trusted family should have told you about these expensive problems before they sold it to you. Now let's try to diagnose another item on your list: what do you mean when you say "Neutral safety switch not engaging". What exactly is/isn't happening?
OK, here's a cheap one. The CEL (check engine light) is going off during left turns because the oil level in the gas engine is very, very low. This means either no one is checking it over long periods of time or the engine is a "burner" and consuming a lot of oil. It's usually a combination of the two but mainly the latter. GOOD LUCK!
You forgot to mention that anyone who doesn't know to check the oil level AS THE FIRST THING TO DO, probably can't reasonably expect to be fixing other "stuff" on the car......without some "onsite" help.
I get it, you're quite adamant on making me feel like this was the worst decision I ever made and I should regret my purchase. But overall I don't need your help in feeling buyers remorse. My family actually sold the car to me for cheap and didn't rip me off in any manner and are assisting me in paying for the struts and belt replacement. Neutral safety switch seems to be the car will start in something other than neutral or park.
Got the oil done today so that should be solved. I'll make sure to check it daily too. I don't think it was a burner because it wasn't really checked in a while. My grandparents owned it before me meaning that it probably wasn't checked.
Thank you for the videos and DIY's that really helps, I think I do have HID but I'll have to re-check when it's out of the shop. I only paid $800 on my last visit so that isn't too bad. This neutral safety switch problem may have to do with the combination meter.
I have NOT been questioning your decision, but in general, for most buyers, just barely being able to afford a Prius is a bad choice. The Prius is a very reliable car, but when things do go bad, most mechanics can't actually fix it. The just replace entire components, which is expensive. If you are willing to YouTube your problems, many have less expensive fixes. We do not know your level of expertise, so as an example I showed you complete Strut assemblies. That is more expensive than the bare strut, but requires less expertise to do safely. (you have to compress the spring to install the bare strut, and that is dangerous)
That's an interesting statement to make because a hybrid doesn't really need to prevent the "system" from "starting" when it's in gear.......because the computer really has control of when it will actually move........and there really aren't any "gears" in the conventional sense. If it is in Park, you should not be able to move the gear shift if the "system" is OFF. Not sure about N.....but it should scream at you if you try to turn it off while in N. If you DO manage to get it completely OFF in D, for example, I see no reason not to allow it to start up again in that position.......but I haven't actually tried that.......and probably won't. Summary: It does NOT have a "neutral safety switch" in the conventional sense. P.S. And I'm pretty sure that NOBODY is trying to make you feel bad about this "purchase" but several of us want to help you understand the situation that you have gotten yourself into. If you do get all of the critical systems fixed, the odds get greater with each passing year that the hybrid battery will wear out. Fixing that (right) will cost something like $1.500 or more. In general, a person with a tight budget is MUCH better off with an inexpensive conventional car with high mileage rather than a hybrid with the same age and miles. The likelihood of ongoing expensive repairs is much less........if you shop carefully. Good luck. Start saving for your next car as soon as you can.
If Gen 2 is like Gen 3, it just silently goes to Park any time you turn it off, whatever was selected before. So any time you start it, you are starting it in Park. The only exception would be if the last shutdown was actually a hard powerfail that left the park pawl disengaged, in which case you're basically in neutral. -Chap
