Tow truck coming in the morning

Caveat: I'm not as mechanically savvy as most Prius Chat users so please go easy on me!

My 04 Prius with 172K miles has been running rough and giving me the red triangle of death, so I had the error codes read and was told I needed 2-3 new ignition coils.

I bought four ignition coils on Amazon, we watched a video on YouTube about how to change them, and my BF did that -- only to have the car start but then immediately die.

(A year ago, he changed out my spark plugs, which requires removing the ignition coils to get at the spark plugs, so he'd done this before.)

So we took out the 4 new ignition coils and put the old ones back in, only to have it then not run at all! I got a big "Problem" banner on my dashboard screen and, although dashboard lights came on, it didn't turn over and I can't put it into gear. When I tried to put it into reverse, it ended up in neutral. I could hear a fan running in the back passenger side, which I've never heard before.

A tow truck is coming in the morning and I'll have it taken to a shop for diagnosis. Any idea what I might be facing? Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

Thanks for the reply. Does not sound good.

 

I included a link to the actual item on Amazon in my post, but then got a message that I'm not allowed to use links. Anyway, these ignition coils had lots of positive reviews, with an average review on a 5-point scale of 4.4, with 344 ratings.

The name on Amazon is:
SCITOO 100% New 4pcs Ignition Coil Set Compatible for Scion xA/xB for Toyota Echo/for Prius/for Prius C/for Yaris 2000-2019 Automobiles Fit for OE: UF316 5C1293

Hopefully a bad ignition coil did not fry my HV battery.

Still waiting for a diagnosis from the auto repair shop.

 

Got the bad news today from the shop: they found 28 error codes, including one for the hybrid battery. Toyota dealership quoted me $3,500 parts and labor, but there are also places like Green Bean battery and Greentec who will install a "reconditioned" battery with a lifetime warranty for $1900.

My concern is all those other error codes; I don't want to replace the battery only to find that I also need, for example, a new inverter.

 

No, $3500 is just for a new hybrid battery. I asked the garage to email me the code and they refused, but I'm gonna call the garage back tomorrow to get them to read them to me over the phone. I need to know everything that's wrong in order to decide if it's worth fixing.

 

Thanks for your suggestion. It's hard to have a dialog when my comments stay in moderation for such a long time. I can see that my comment from 13 hours ago is still awaiting moderation.

 

We tried your idea -- disconnected the battery for 5 min and then reconnected it--but car still won't start. Probably having it towed to the Toyota dealership tomorrow.

Thanks for the suggestion! I see that my comment from last night was deleted, perhaps because I mentioned a few places that sell reconditioned batteries by name.

 

Thanks for your comment, although most of it is over my head. BF said that there is a YouTube video showing how someone replaced a Prius HV battery, but he isn't willing to try it, I believe due to the risk of electrocution. I was told that the batteries are shipped fully charged. How much does it weigh? I don't know if I would be able to help him lift/carry it.

He does a lot of work on his own cars (Mercedes and Mazda) and on my car has replaced the muffler, the catalytic converter after it was stolen, the spark plugs, the brakes, the 12 Volt battery, and fixed the AC when it stopped cooling.

Interesting about work on the coils breaking the connection to the fuel injectors. I'd like to read that thread so will try searching.

Yesterday was an all-day ordeal to get it towed 4 miles from C & C Garage in Vienna, Va to the Toyota dealership, using State Farm's roadside assistance. I got a text at 8:30 am saying the tow truck driver had been dispatched and would arrive in 30-60 min, and he marked himself as "onsite" an hour later, but actually didn't arrive until 1 pm and couldn't put the car into neutral so unable to tow. Another tow truck was dispatched at 1:30 pm, but he also did nothing, claiming, unbelievably, that he was unable to find a white Prius at a small repair shop with about 15 cars in the lot and staff in the office. So in exasperation I finally called a tow service directly and it was towed by 5:30 pm. State Farm roadside assistance is apparently completely worthless.

Now it's at the dealership, and their shop foreman owns three Prius and has replaced the HV battery in all of them. Two have over 200K miles on them and one has over 300K miles, so he should be able to figure out what's wrong with my car.

 

Here's the diagnosis:

It def needs a new battery, 2 of the cells are bad (out of 128), one of them is really bad. Also needs a Hybrid Control Computer, which has been discontinued, would have to get from salvage and they run about $600.

The misfires could be coming from the engine, he could run a compression test if I want.

Surprisingly, he was able to drive it around the building; yesterday they couldn’t even get it into neutral at C&C! Does not recommend driving it on road however.

He didn’t mention anything about the inverter and I forgot to ask. He had said earlier that it would be unusual for it to go out on a 2004. He saw no error codes related to ignition coils.

He said he wouldn’t put much money into it, being 20 years old, and it has other issues, such as the “sway bar links” are loose and making noise.

He said that if it was his car he would rebuild the HV battery using one of the solo mechanics nearby who can do it for about $600, and then, if I get a “communication error code,” (gearshift indicator will start blinking) also replace the Hybrid Control Computer, and then drive it till it dies, which could be a year or 5 years.

 

I probably am willing to put with pesky problems, since I drive very little and BF can fix most issues.

A lot will depend on whether I can find a solo mechanic who seems trustworthy to replace the battery.