2001 service codes "wanabe owner"

How long of a test drive did you take, and were all warning lights off during that period?

I hate to be a "wet blanket" but unless you are a competent DIY auto mechanic who wants to have a hobby of working on your Prius, I would discourage you from buying this vehicle. The repair costs are likely to be quite high over time.

The catalytic converter will fail eventually and cost ~$1,600 to replace as it has a unique design.

The P3191 engine does not start code is probably related to the need for the engine ECU to be updated, which will cost ~$1,000 if new, maybe a few hundred $s if you can buy a salvage unit with the correct part number. If you already owned the car you might be able to achieve temporary relief with a complete tune-up and throttle body cleaning.

The P3130 inverter cooling system malfunction probably means that the inverter coolant pump is not working. This results in the inverter overheating, failure of the DC to DC converter, and causing the Cxxxx codes shown. This will cost a few hundred $ to replace. However, the inverter may have been damaged due to the overheating; hard to tell until the pump has been replaced and the car has been driven for a while.

What if the electric steering gear fails, or the transaxle starts to make a whining sound, or the traction battery dies. Any of those failures would not be unheard of at the odometer reading your car is at, and each will result in a healthy four-figure repair bill.

 

Its hard to determine the health of the car given at least one pre-existing problem; who knows whether another problem is hiding in the "noise" raised by the DTC that had been previously logged. If you only drove the car for a couple of hours, depending upon the ambient temps in your area that may not have been enough time for the inverter to overheat (assuming that the inverter coolant pump is not functioning per DTC P3130.) That pump is located near the driver's headlamp and sounds like an aquarium pump. The inverter itself is probably OK if you could drive for two hours without incident.

I agree with your mechanic's suggestion to clear the codes, then drive the car for an extended period to see what comes up. However I understand this is not feasible since you don't own the car.

You should understand that with respect to the electronic parts of the car (such as the traction battery), it is difficult to forecast remaining life. One day the car is working great. The next day several instrument panel warning lights are on and you are facing a $3K bill.

Depending upon the acquisition price and your appetite for risk, this might be a good purchase - or not. Good luck with your decision.

 

If Mr. Consignment Owner believes problems don't exist why hasn't he had Mr. Moonlighter clear the codes? Sometimes idiot lights come on without codes and sometimes idiot lights go out after the code is set. IMO if you really want the car then stick to your original price or get a better warranty or walk away. In NJ that car won't pass inspection and you'd be stuck fixing it.

My position is that $8500 is the asking price for a car in good working order. If ~$2000 worth of parts are going to be needed soon then your offer is fair. If all those codes can be cleared by a Scangauge it takes 30 seconds & <$200 for the Scangauge. This place does not instill confidence. Walk away. You might get a call if the car doesn't sell.

 

The check engine light will appear only if the engine ECU has logged a DTC. Prius has several ECUs capable of logging DTC, including the systems controlling the engine, hybrid vehicle, and traction battery.

The inverter coolant pump, if faulty, will eventually cause the inverter to overheat and voltage on the 12VDC bus will sag. This will cause the hybrid vehicle ECU to log a fault, and will probably cause the skid control ECU to log a fault since that ECU is very sensitive to bus voltage. At that point I would expect the master warning light (the red triangle), the hybrid vehicle warning icon in the MFD, and perhaps some brake warning lights to appear. I would not expect the check engine light to come on.

However the inverter overheating doesn't happen immediately. Depending upon ambient temps in your area the car may have to be driven continuously for a few hours at high speed. Or, in very hot summer weather, a fault may be registered in a much shorter time.

Hence, if the car has recently been driven for only short distances, any warning lights may go off since the codes are not being currently logged. However the codes remained in memory so your mechanic was able to retrieve them.

To clear all DTC and turn off all warning lights, all that is necessary is to disconnect the 12V auxiliary battery negative terminal for several minutes, then reconnect. However, the car will not be ready for an emissions test until it has logged a reasonable amount of driving time without 12V power interruption.

To me, $8,500 is a fairly high price for a car with that many miles and with at least two known faults (catalytic converter seam crack and inverter coolant pump failure) - unless it is in perfect cosmetic condition inside and out... A new pump will cost a few hundred $s and you could replace it yourself without much trouble - if you have reasonable DIY auto skills.

 

Typically I would chime in as the fanboy and say Patrick is pessimistic. But I am currnetly working with a 2001 owner on PriusOnline who has a bad HV, maybe 1 month past 8 years, and Toyota is slapping her around. In other words, perhaps beginning to tire of defending NHW11 against all comers.

Stand by your first money offer or walk away. Other used Toyotas, or Hondas, aren't such bad cars either you know...

Couldn't that cat conv be MIG-welded, though?