I never thought I'd own a Prius...

But I've got one now, and I'm a bit hooked.

Greetings everybody.

My much missed and long since departed Grandparents bought a brand 2002 Prius...they waited months for delivery. My Grandpa was a chemical engineer/scientist by trade and loved all things technological...He loved his "Super White" 4-door Prius...Grandma loved Grandpa and anything that he was excited about and so too loved the Prius. After my Grandparents died my Dad and his wife kept the Prius...I think they liked it quite a bit...kept it reasonably well maintained (I have the records)...they liked it well enough that they paid to have the hybrid and H/V batteries replaced within the past couple years, but not at a Toyota dealer...the car now has about 105,000 miles on it. But some troubles began after the batteries were replaced and that's primarily what brings me here.

By the way since I have a fair amount of automotive and electronics repair experience, when my folks couldn't fix the Prius' issues they recently passed it on to me..."maybe you can fix it" they said.

The Prius runs and drives great...I'm really enjoying it. I'm getting 36+ mpg and I suspect that will improve with time...its been sitting a fair amount the last year or two. I've been using it as my daily driver for about a week now. Great commuter car, and honestly I think its the best looking Prius...Grandpa and Grandma ordered theirs with the alloy wheels and the rear spoiler...but no cruise control and just the AM/FM cassette audio system.

I apologize in advance because I suspect the issues I *am* having with the car are far from new and if I spent some quality time on this forum I also suspect I'd find a lot of answers. But time is a horribly valuable commodity in my world and I don't want to spend too much time wandering either.

Here are the issues in order of importance:

1. Master warning, power steering, hybrid battery and hybrid system warning indicators are light at all times.
2. Awkward dent in rear right quarter panel at the joint between the panel and the rear bumper cap...why on earth did they make it so there is passage from this joint straight up into the trunk? Moisture gets into the trunk when the car is driven in the rain...I'm not asking for assistance with this one here...its just on my list to resolve somehow without paying a mint to a body shop.
3. Headlight alignment...for the life of me I can't find screws or adjusters anywhere on the exterior of the headlamp assembly or in the engine compartment...the passenger headlight needs aligned.
4. A couple sections of dashboard lamps are out...climate controls and the section directly under the multifunction display...can't figure out how to access these to replace them...I'm usually pretty good at solving these dash panel puzzles but not so here.

Regarding #1, here is some history:

* 5/2017 at 103,443 miles the master warning light started coming on, non-Toyota service center identified P3000 and P3009 codes which would return immediately when cleared; indication was to replace the H/V battery.
* I think my folks decided the non-Toyota service center didn't know what they were talking about and next day took it to a Toyota service center: "P3000 and P3009 indicate H/V battery malfunction, current leak, cleared codes, codes reoccur immediately indicating battery failure, needs battery and retest for leaks to see if generator and H/C power cable in good condition". I see a theme.
* I guess my folks hoped the problem would go away by itself...there was some intermittent behavior with the warning indicators...but the warnings persisted and in 7/2017 at 104,192 miles they took it to the same Toyota service center; "P3000 and P30006 [typo? should be P3009?] stored in hybrid control and hybrid ECU, H/V battery voltage swing too much from min to max, indication is to replace H/V battery and possible H/V battery ECU". I have 4 pages of diagnostic reports from this visit.
* I'm not going to ask exactly why...probably because they were undecided about what to do...but my folks took the Prius to the same Toyota dealer yet a third time in 10/2017 at 104,523 miles: "P3000 and P3009 stored in ECU, cleared codes would not return as a hard code. [Customer] has aftermarket H/V battery, code indicates need to replace H/V battery due to short to ground. Contacted TAS for assistance was informed to have [customer] get factory battery installed and if codes return then call back and they will provide diagnostic help."

So...are there things I can check to confirm what the above theme screams, or do I just pull the trigger on what 4 visits to a mechanic indicate? If the H/V battery needs replaced, considering the history so far, is it best to have that done at a Toyota service center or is it a reasonable task for a fairly handy home auto mechanic? By the way I do have a good OBDII wifi port scanner and diagnostic app for my iPhone I used quite a bit to scan codes and run diagnostic reports and logs on a BMW E46 we used to own.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any replies.

 

Wow! Thanks for the replies, information, links, suggestions everybody. This is encouraging.

Are there any good primers on the hybrid system for new-to-Prius folks like me? In particular something that will help me identify components and component locations, proper procedure and safety precautions for removal of said components (like the H/V battery)? Or is getting a FSM the way to go? Of course I have the owner’s manual and it covers basic components and component locations, but naturally that’s as far as it goes.

Like, when we say “H/V battery” is that the smaller one that’s on the driver’s side of the trunk? I’ve been calling that one the H/V battery and the large one behind the back seat the “hybrid battery”. Yes? No?

Thanks for your patience with the 101-level questions. I’m still very new to this car.

 

Bummer. So the assumption here is the aftermarket H/V battery is just not going to cut the mustard and is likely the incurable cause of all the trouble?

There is a lot of surface mold in the trunk because of the moisture infiltration secondary to the aforementioned dent in the rear passenger side quarter panel. Here is a pic:

Dropbox - File Feb 13, 10 11 52.jpeg

And here is the passenger rear corner of the trunk:

Dropbox - File Feb 13, 10 12 30.jpeg

And there’s even surface mold on the H/V battery cover:

Dropbox - File Feb 13, 10 12 49.jpeg

So with those visuals, is the opinion the solution is more likely than not to be cutting bait on th existing aftermarket H/V battery?

 

Thanks again deeply for all the info and replies...the resources too...very glad to have those.

So here's a plot twist...we've had several days of dry weather here, even some sunshine. After work today when I got in the Prius to head to various places after work, surprise...no more warning indicators are lit. I've driven it about 75 miles since I left work earlier this evening...mixed city and highway...its been shut off and started back up at least three times during those miles...every time no warning indicators.

I looked closer at the paperwork...the car has only been driven about 1,200 miles in the last 9 months, 300 of them are in the last week since I picked up the car and early in the previous 900 or so miles is when the H/V battery was replaced. It sat a lot. The trunk is moldy...there has been moisture along with organic growth back there because of the gaping hole from the dent in the passenger side rear quarter panel. Is it possible just getting it out on the road and dried out and driven regularly has, at least temporarily mitigated the problem? I want to closely inspect connections at the H/V battery and do some cleaning in the trunk...also need to get the welder out and tack some rod to the quarter panel to see if I can pull the the dent out some and close the gap between the panel and bumper cap...

But it is running like a champ...I think the gas in the tank had been in there for many months (note to self...replace the fuel filter)...fresh tank of 91-octane fuel and half a bottle of Sea Foam additive went in the tank. I'm getting 46mpg easy with mixed city and highway driving.

By the way it looks like my folks spent about $2,800 on the replacement H/V battery. It *has* to be aftermarket if it was not replaced at a Toyota service center, yes?

 

So...you know my next question is how can I tell if it is new OEM or aftermarket?