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replacing 2004 Prius Transmission dealer wants $5693

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Hunter1, Feb 4, 2011.

  1. tracysbeans

    tracysbeans Member

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    Yeah $350 was almost twice the price I paid. I just got my 12V battery replaced in my 2006 Prius and it was $138 dollars for the battery and then came to $195 with the battery, installation and tax.
     
  2. Hunter1

    Hunter1 Junior Member

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    2004 Prius
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    Three
    I only turned off the Enginer switch. As far as Pasadena Toyota knows, the Enginer kit doesn't even exist. I did a quick google of the P09A0 and after finding http://www.hybrids.ru/PriusNHW20/rm/rm1076e/m_05_0455.pdf I did actually ask for the INF code and the service advisor had never heard of an INF code.

    Car has never been in a collision. Has a clear title, was purchased from orginal owner.

    Again, I didn't "mess" with anything. Enginer BMS was installed by Jack Chen (owner of Enginer) a few weeks ago while he was here in Los Angeles.

    i am debating on calling back Pasadena Toyota and forcing the issue of the sub code INF or wondering if I should just go to the district service rep? Pretty scarey if they're telling customers they're not even aware of such codes.

    If it weren't for the Enginer kit I would really want to fight this thing but I know they're going to pull that card when they find it.

    I don't really have access to the car, till I pay them the $240 diagnosis fee. Does anyone know of a good Prius Mechanic in Los Angeles? Gees, it's not like I live in the boonies or something. More Prius are sold here then anywhere in the world I believe. San Fransisco is 400 miles away to out of staters. I can't believe this is so difficult. Once this is resolved, I'll probably be selling my Prius I'm feeling at this point.
     
  3. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    RUN from that dealer....or at least tell the service advisor you want to speak to his boss or the technician who worked on your car.

    If he does not know what an INF/subcode is he should not be working there! To properly advise customers of required service he needs to understand how Prius diagnostics work. Maybe he should be called a receptionist!
     
  4. caffeinekid

    caffeinekid Duct Tape Extraordinaire

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    It has been suggested by both myself and another poster that you simply have the code cleared and see if the car runs fine after that. That is where you should be at this point. The dealer should clear the code this time, but you can clear them yourself with a disconnect of the ( - ) battery cable where it bolts to the vehicle frame. If the code persists even when the Enginer kit is off, then something else may be suspect, but you won't know until you get the car away from the dealer.
     
  5. Hunter1

    Hunter1 Junior Member

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    I just had enough strength again to deal with it, called back Pasadena Toyota, spoke to a Director of the Service Dept. I asked him for the subcode, told him my concern that the service advisor didn't know it, he said they're not suppose to that, it's something from the technician. I told him she was even unaware there was such a thing and that concerned me. He was friendly, said he'd go get the INF code and call me back. He just called back and said it was 604. He repeated the speach about that means it's either the current sensor or the transmission and the current sensor was okay. I asked him to zero out the codes and reset the car to see if they come back on. He said okay and that's where we stand now.

    They're sticking to their belief that all my problems have been unrelated though he said something strange that I was having "transmission problems from before" I think he got confused because he saw the phrase "Transmission is locked" when my 12v died. As for the cost, he said there are 3 distributors of Toyota parts throughtout the country. I think the one here was called Toyota Motor Sports in Torrance CA. but I wasn't really focusing on that. An out of state car may have a different cost of the battery but it's still hard to phathom that it's half the price of here.
     
  6. caffeinekid

    caffeinekid Duct Tape Extraordinaire

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    Please keep us apprised of your progress and to how this ultimately turns out if you don't mind. I don't know about others, but your situation has my curiosity peaked. My money is on it being the result of a current output issue from the Enginer kit that caused the Prius software to go wonky. If this was the case, a cleared code ought to have you back in tall cotton sans the transmission replacement.
     
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  7. Hunter1

    Hunter1 Junior Member

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    Thank you all for your help, interest and concern. Much appreciated to have a link to you folks on here. I was so sick over this I was seaking help from many Prius experts. I'm normally careful to begin with, but "messing" with a my Prius scares the crap out of me.

    I called one last Prius expert a guy that helped fix my Enginer kit even though he now works for a compeditor (what a great guy huh?!!!) He said he had similar issues when he had an Enginer kit installed in his Prius. Unlike him though, he would always have a scan gauge and would record the error code it read out, then zero out the code. He suggested I invest and buy one which I did yesterday.

    Yesterday morning I got a call from the service advisor saying my car was "done" and they were waiting for me to pick it up. I told her I never heard back from the Service manager if the code came back on after it was zeroed out. She said it didn't but the tech was scared it would, didn't want to get stranded so only test drove it around their parking lot. Nice huh? Code stayed off so I payed the $240 fee and saw the traction battery was down to one bar. I drove it around some city streets and got the traction battery back up. Parked it. Had dinner with a friend for helping me pick up my car and then drove it home last night.

    I was scared it would all come back on. I stayed off the freeway. Trip home was about 10 miles. I did it all on city streets. I've kept the Enginer kit switch off. Parked it in my driveway last night and I'm apprehensive (really need to get spell checker working on here sorry all) about driving it any more.

    It appears now in retrospect, reading over everyone's comments now that my health has returned and I'm calmed down that it most likely was indeed the Enginer kit feeding to much current that periodically messed up the Prius sensors. I'd bet my left nut my 12v was probably not bad when they replaced it. They're not real through, they put my car mileage down at 222,222. Guess they couldn't be bothered with real numbers.

    I hope nobody in paticular felt be-littled because I kept asking in various ways the same question over and over. For me, it helps when I feel there's a concensus of Prius Gurus. I can now see there was. This is why I came here for an independant advice vs going on the Enginer site which I knew would have more of a tilt.

    I am now still interested in selling my beautiful blue Prius (with nav) 118k and 4Kwt Enginer pack, currently switched off. I'm not sure how to go about all this given the mixed feelings I have. Car seems fine now. It now appears all the error codes had to have been caused by the Enginer kit. But maybe knowing what to expect, being prepared with a scan gauge and not freaking out if something happens it's a better fit for someone else.

    How does 13k for the car including the recently installed 4kwt Enginer kit sound? I'm not sure how to go about seperating them and selling them independantly. I'll add Prius is still averaging high 50s even with kit turned off, so traction battery is in fine shape plus I now know traction battery on Gen 2 is warranted for 10years/150k
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    13k sounds high, isnt the kbb around 7500.?
     
  9. Hunter1

    Hunter1 Junior Member

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    On what planet? Try finding a clean title Gen 2 Prius in a non-snow state for under 10k and it will have over 150k. 7500????!!! OMG. I'd sell the car for 11K if I could get 2K for the Enginer kit. I think they're selling them for about twice that now. I just don't want to fiddle with the car and would rather sell it all as a package.

    Just looked it up, you're right KBB doesn't seem concerned with reality. I suggest you try autotrader.com to get a better idea of what cars are selling for in each area. In areas that they have been exposed to road salts they are valueed lower then here in the west where rust is almost unheard of.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks, i'll check it out. never heard of it before. all the best!:)
     
  11. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    This is a common problem. Your converter needs adjustment. Contact Jack, maybe he did something when he personally installed your new BMS. I don't understand why you would sell your car. Maybe you'd be better off selling the kit.
     
  12. kutcht1

    kutcht1 Member

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    Hi Paul, doing an engine transmission swap on a 2008. Have an engine from a 2005 and have located a low mileage transmission form a 2004. You mention that some connectors are different on the 04/05 transmissions, do you know which ones or do you know how to figure this out if I purchase the 2004 transmission?
    Thanks!
    TomK
     
  13. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    I believe 04-05 connectors are the same but different from 06-09. Compare the electrical connectors at the front and left side area of the transmission. They can be moved over if necessary from your old trans to mate the connectors on the car wiring harness. On the engine you'll need to swap the entire wiring harness.
     
  14. kutcht1

    kutcht1 Member

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    I only have my harness from the 2008 which is going onto the 2005 engine. Is is different? Are you saying the 2008 harness will not directly swap over to the 2005 engine?
     
  15. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    Use the correct harness for the car. It is wired slightly different but will mate with any engine 04-09. Just compare everything it will make sense and should work.
     
  16. kutcht1

    kutcht1 Member

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    So being my car is a 2008, swapping in the 2005 engine the engine swap is a direct plug and play. The 2004 transmission that I found if I buy it will have some slightly different connections if I understand right?
     
  17. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    Yes on the engine, just don't try and install the 2005 engine harness into the 2008 car, it won't work properly. Trans may have 1 or 2 connectors different but they are easy to swap over if you do it before installation.
     
  18. kutcht1

    kutcht1 Member

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    Whoooow, you had me worried there for a bit. Yes, everything is going to be out, harness and all. Planning to mate the 2005 engine and 2004 transmission using the 2008 harness into the 2008 vehicle. Will hopefully be able to figure out the connectors that may be different on the trans. Thanks for the help and clarifying!