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2007 with 113k miles...need guidance

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Alicewave, Jan 25, 2019.

  1. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would just figure 2k in 12 more years on top of the price of the car, compared to what you will pay for a suburu, rav4h minus the gas savings.

    other than that, it's really a matter of which car you want. nothing i can think of to save the battery, as was mentioned, hills are hard, and time is worse than miles. but that being said, 12 years is probably pretty average.
     
  2. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    One of many reason to own a Toyota hybrid is the fuel economy. But to me, it's tangential to all the other benefits. If I'm not in a crazy Italian car, I don't want to feel the transmission shift. Going down a mountain every day, it's nice that the brakes will last a decade versus once a year. Lots of other pluses, I've written about it before. If you want a bigger car, they come in hybrids too...
     
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  3. Alicewave

    Alicewave Member

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    Yea I’m pretty happy that I’m getting it fixed because I just like it. The layout of the trunk especially. Excellent point about the brakes too. But it certainly has been a draining couple of days and I did not enjoy driving in “turtle mode” today. Even with getting the battery replaced repairs have been negligible. My single main complaint is the ground clearance is not compatible with grungy road conditions at times. I’ll probably get the CD changer replaced too since I’m keeping it.
     
  4. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    I would not do business with that dealer again unless it’s an emergency. The statement that 2350 doesn’t even cover the part is a complete lie. The retail price of that part is 1950 at most dealerships they pay less than that, like around 1600. At retail that leaves 400 for the labor to replace the battery, well within the means of all but the slowest mechanics time wise. I would talk to Toyota Corporate about it and make a complaint after the job is done.
     
    #84 Skibob, Jan 31, 2019
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2019
  5. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    I think you already know the answer. 12 years trouble free is a pretty good run for any car. The new battery should last around as long as the original one and you have most likely saved way more than that in gas alone.
     
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    If you tied a rope to a Prius bumper you'd soon be needing to "reel it in", lol.

    What a bunch of sweethearts... :rolleyes:
     
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  7. Alicewave

    Alicewave Member

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    I think what they were trying to do is get me to eat the core charge because a couple places said that would be $1350 but I would get it back and if you add that to the PA dealer's quote of 2350 we get fairly close to the $3670 Ithaca dealer tried to charge. Ithaca is CRAWLING with cars like mine and probably many more battery replacements to come. Hopefully this thread will help the next person.
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the core charge is refundable for an environmental reason. toyota would have something to say about shenanigans like that
     
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  9. Alicewave

    Alicewave Member

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    This dealership is known for shenanigans, which is why I don't typically go there.
     
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  10. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Perhaps a post about them trying to cheat you on the battery price on the local yelp?
    Don’t diss them just post the price they quoted and the price the other dealer quoted, then the price you actually paid. You have written evidence of both. They can’t dispute that.
     
  11. Alicewave

    Alicewave Member

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    I might do that, but I'll wait til I get my car back in case they are lurking this board ;) ;)
     
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  12. royrose

    royrose Senior Member

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    There should be a sticky thread in Prius Chat where people could post good and bad experiences about Toyota dealership and independent hybrid shops.
     
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  13. spankymcbeaverson

    spankymcbeaverson Junior Member

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    yes this happens in vws too, I had to clear codes to get my car to start one day thats why i said buy your own scanner for $60 at the parts store, itll unlimp your car till you get it to the mechanic, Thats how it worked with me, in at least one case so its worth a shot, just write down the codes
     
  14. Alicewave

    Alicewave Member

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    OK so I got my car back today. When I turned it on the hybrid battery was low, like bottom two clicks on the meter. I tried to drive it around a while to charge it back up but I couldn't get it to the green level at all. This is supposedly a new OEM part, so I'm thinking it's like a new phone and needs to charge a while. But before I replaced it it got to green very quickly (because of the reduced overall capacity?).

    Thoughts? Tips?
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no worries. getting to green depends on the driving conditions, not you.

    a good battery should spend most of its time around 5 or 6 bars

    a bad battery often fluctuates quickly between purple and green

    the icon is just telling you it won't discharge anymore, or won't charge anymore. not how much charge there actually is
     
  16. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Bottom 2 is about half charged. The bars aren't linear and ontop of that the full-to-empty range displayed is 40% to 80% (ish). That's not an issue.

    Just drive it, and you should be good to go. It's a new battery, no problemo!
     
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  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah do that first; give it a good run. If it's still languishing around the bottom of the charge display, then contact them.
     
  18. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Since you have owned the car since it was new did it go into the green a lot when you first bought it?
     
  19. Alicewave

    Alicewave Member

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    I think so but it had already been test driven. It turned to full green down the big hill this morning. Phew!
     
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  20. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Some of that could be the computers relearning the new battery. You don’t just drop the battery in and it knows it’s brand new. It has to figure that out.
     
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