2001 Prius Main Traction Battery Failure/Replacement

2 wks ago, my 2001 Prius with 113,500 miles suddenly failed...no power steering, no acceleration, engine seemed to die. I coasted into a parking lot. Dash warning lights were dire...triangle of death, red car w/ !, main battery, power steering. After powering the car off and on 3 times, everything reset and it drove fine. Took it to dealer next day...ICE not getting fuel and 12v reading low. Cleaned throttle, replaced 12V...things ran perfectly over Christmas weekend...over 400 miles driving all types of roads/conditions other than snow. Dealer had said there was a power steering recall...so I took the car the next week for that work. Car failed within 7 miles...same warning lights but an entirely different feel to the failure...felt like the transmission was bumped into neutral...no acceleration...but retained PS and was able to steer car easily to a pull-off spot as engine(s) didn't die. Restarted w/ no problem...we limped home, having to stop and restart car 2x in 20 miles as the feeling of transmission in neutral returned. Returned car to dealer next day...they say hybrid battery has failed. I can drive the car short distances but every few miles, I must stop and start it...almost like re-booting a computer...so I'm driving it very little. I do not have the codes from the 2nd failure...I was too shaken up to ask...but will get them ASAP.

Dealer says new traction battery is a $3000+ repair but, as a gesture of good will, they and Toyota will comp everything except $200 labor. Part of me thinks this is a good deal and worth the $200 gamble...another part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop...a bad computer, sensor, etc. that we'll find half-way through the battery repair or 500 miles out of town.

Up until last week, the car ran great...it's been an excellent car and I'm made sure it's been well-maintained. I did the battery-sealing recall when I received the notice.

What are the chances that the replacement will solve the problems? I need a car I can trust, cannot play the game of "Hmmm...well, let's try this and see if it might work" and cannot buy another car right now. $200 is very affordable but not if it's not going to fix the real problem.

Any gut feelings or mechanical insights? It's just me dealing with this...I know no one else with a Prius.

Thanks so much!

 

Thanks for your reply.

(There are 20 sentences and perhaps hyphens would have been less annoying than ellipses. Sorry!)

 

Thanks so much for your input. I plan to try to get the diagnostic codes tomorrow. Will post as soon as I get them.

I did agree to the $200 battery 'deal' just on general principle. I was astounded since I did not buy the car from this dealer but have used them exclusively for the 8+ yrs I've owned the car. I just want to know that this battery is all it's going to need to restore it to health. I don't expect a similar break on any other major repairs this 'system failure' might entail and don't want to be taken totally by surprise if I'm asked to cough up a lot more money for 'unforeseen' issues.

I'll get the codes and post them ASAP
.

 

OK...these are the codes the service dept has given me: P3006, P3017, and P3020.

 

Just got the Prius back from the battery replacement. We also had to replace plugs and 2 main battery cables which had corroded.. My cost was $100.00. The rest was charged back to Toyota. Somehow they got Toyota to do the repairs as though the warranty was still in effect. I did not buy the car from this dealer...I bought it used in 2003...but this dealer has done every bit of service to it for over 8 yrs so they knew my service history. They said this was their first main battery replacement. Hope it's their last.

 

Repairs done. 1 hybrid battery, plugs, 2 hybrid battery cables..$100. The rest was charged back to Toyota who agreed to treat the warranty as still in effect. I'm thrilled.