Walmart then triangle RED light

Get it to an independent prius specialist and tell them exactly what happened. Ask them to start by checking all the fluids (oil, ATF and coolant), then the throttle body and the condition of both batteries.

 

I would just weigh all my options before deciding what to do with the car.

 

Good Luck in whatever direction you go in.
Tough situation.

My only advice would be "try" if possible not to do anything without a solid definition of what is actually wrong with your vehicle.

At this point, you don't really know if you've hit an iceberg, or if it's just a broken pipe.

Unfortunately, it seems it has proven difficult and expensive to find out.

Also IMO YES...you are paying for the work being done. You have a right to the revealed codes, and it should be possible for the dealership to give them to you. Also the dealership can say "It's Not Overfilled Oil" but have they proven or checked that it's not? That's kind of an either/or situation...if the oil was overfilled and damage was done, that should be easily evident.

But whatever happens, good luck. In my history, I have memories of used vehicles that became expensive Albatrosses around my neck.

I would still hope you find resolution that is affordable and allows you to get more usage out of the $6000+ investment you have already made.

But I would say, at least the consideration of "abandoning ship" might have to be considered. But try to find out exactly what you are abandoning first.

 

It's more likely the used car dealer fixed the bad hv battery by replacing the bad modules. That repair is like a bandaid and you were able to get 2000 miles out of it. I don't see how it's possible that the dealer had all these codes and you were able to go 2000 miles without some type of repair.

Since it has been 2 months and 2000 miles, I don't really know what other options you have in returning this car. I would think the return policy at a dealership will only be a few days....longest maybe a month.

I don't know if Walmart contributed to the failures you are now seeing but since there was a prior history of this car having issues in Oct2013, it would be hard to hold Walmart responsible for any of the damage.

 

I would think if they were liable at all they would have knowingly sold you something bad. They don't have access to the information that Toyota dealer has so it's hard to say they knew everything. You were also able to put 2000 miles on the car so it's not like it was instant.

But you have to understand this car has 200000 miles on it, I don't think any reasonable person would say this car will be trouble free for a certain period of time. At that mileage it's already past the service lifetime Toyota has set for this vehicle, which is 180,000 miles. It would be very hard for you to argue the dealer did something wrong. When they sold you the car, it was in working condition.

I would still post all the codes that you can get from the Toyota dealer. Just to confirm their findings. But before you bring it to Luscious garage, think if you would be inclined to do the repairs if the problems were really the HV battery and transaxle. Replacing those two even with used parts can be over $3000-$4000

 

I don't believe there is any prohibition in California (or elsewhere for that matter) against a used car dealer making minimal repairs to get a used car ready for sale. You've pointed out that the car was driven 2,000 miles before a problem developed, so its not as if the car failed as you were leaving the dealer's lot.

The purpose of a warranty is to allocate responsibility between seller and buyer for a product failure. If there is no warranty, the buyer has the responsibility.

The car had logged 206K miles which is past design end-of-life. Since the service history was documented by Toyota's website, it probably was also available to you via Carfax - or by your looking at the Toyota website - prior to your purchase, assuming you had written down the VIN. So hopefully you did not have the expectation that ownership of this car was going to be trouble-free.

Unfortunately for you, now that you own this car, I believe you are stuck with resolving whatever problems the car has. Luscious Garage is a great choice to figure out what is going on with your car since they have substantial experience with Prius cabs that have logged a similar amount of miles. Good luck.

 

Put an ad on Craig's List and see what happens.

 

For $1000, I would buy it as an educational piece....I may sell it back to you when I'm done

 

Well damn, I have 4 in my possession now and I can't get rid of the 4th one until next month when the owner come back into town.

This will also exceed my AAA 100 mile tow

 

Used Prius buyers pay attention.

Take your car for inspection at dealer before you buy it. Thousands of old Prius's out there. Thousands of accident repairs. Thousands of Prius's totaled out and slapped back together. Its a hot car and lots of people think there going to outsmart a used car dealer. Your not. Buyer beware.

The dealer will charge you $100 diagnostic fee to check hybrid battery out. The software they use can read all the 27 Hybrid battery modules health. And see if all TSB's were performed. And see what service was needed and refused. And also for that fee you can get a Print out of its dealer history. Its referenced by the VIN. Everytime a Prius goes into service at an authorized Toyota dealer they put an entry on that site. Every time they hook the software to it to check out a trade in its listed on that site.

Its free to all Toyota owners. And the owner can make there own diy entry on that site also. Everything that I have done and the dealer has done to my 07 is on my Toyota.com/owners site.

 

Yes many are finding out a hybrid with high miles car cost more money than the money it saves in fuel. I have this fear once my HV battery warranty expires, I would get stranded if I drive far away from home. I don't like that feeling when I drive far.

 

In Ca, if you bought it from a "Buy Here Pay Here" then you have a 1,000 mile 30 day warranty. if you financed it through a bank, then I'm not sure. also where are you located I may be interested in it.

 

I find it strange this Toyota dealership that has the car needed to diagnosis the car twice $160 + $160 when all the information about the history is on their screen. I would argue that point if I was paying for this service.