Bought a hacked prius

With so many codes I question the condition of the 12 volt battery. As a starts to get weaker the confused computers can generate strange codes.
The battery is located st the right side of the cargo area.

 

Warranty in California is 10 years or 150k miles, this car would have been out of warranty since it's 13 years old.

Not all prius cars have a smart key, the base model doesn't have that feature

Problems on a 13 year old hybrid are to be expected, especially if it has over 230k miles. Hope it was Really good deal

 

A complete and accurate list of current stored codes will help us get a clearer understanding of what you're facing financially, but a few thoughts at this point:

As you well know, the cat is a pain in the nice person in Cali as it is for me in New Yorkistan. Cat code P0420 almost always indicates the cat is indeed bad, and it also confirms you've got an oil burner. But if the engine hasn't been run too low on oil too often, it will run indefinitely so long as you keep it topped off. JC, do you have a reasonable Cali cat work-around dialed in?..

The speedometer/mileage board (combination meter) goes bad in Gen 2 ('04-'09) Prius causing the entire display to go black and making it difficult to shut the car off. Toyota warrantied this for something like 7 years but the warranty ran out maybe 3 years ago. This makes for a solid chance your combo meter was replaced with a salvage unit and the mileage not corrected. It's not right but it's not unusual.. My point being, the mileage discrepancy may not be so malicious in intent.

file:///C:/Users/Wynns/Downloads/T-SB-0172-09%20(1).pdf

Honestly not sure what to make of the "VIN can't be pulled from the computer" issue.

The hybrid battery cycling very quickly is a most definite sign of failure, as is failure to achieve hybrid mode (not shutting off the engine at stops signs). Is P0A80 among your codes? Is the battery fan running, sounding like a small vacuum cleaner on the passenger rear seat? There are several methods of repairing/replacing, ranging from very little cost up to full dealer retail. Level of success is directly related to cash output, of course...

Does the key fob have a black or silver Toyota emblem on it's backside? Black is non-smart key, silver is SKS.

As JC says, hopefully you bought on the cheap.

 

A cat work around would be buying an aftermarket cat for $100 and welding it on. But that's not exactly legal in California, although people do it.

You can also buy one from a wreck, but they tend to be expensive and not guaranteed to be better than yours.

2 biggest problems with high mileage hybrids, cat and hv battery. Both killers in California

 

don't you folks in cali have to sign for correct odo mileage when selling a car, or else confirm unknown?

 

Hopefully the OP doesn't have a transaxle code...

 

They don't really care after 10 years. The value of the car remains the same after 10 years and 250000 miles. You can plug in 800000 miles on kbb.com and the value stays the same as 250000 miles. It's already at its lowest value. $3300 is the going rate for these cars......based on kbb.com

 

interesting. that may be the case here, i'm not sure.

 

Shouldn't it be getting harder to do this? The advent of digital odometers is making "rollback" trivial it seems.

 

If the codes haven't come back, then just don't worry about them. Keep an eye on the oil level, you might have a burner on your hands.

Make sure your front tires are the same size and properly inflated.

 

Just sue the seller to get your money back. Rolling back an odometer is a criminal offense.

 

Putting the VIN into the Toyota owners site should show dealer service performed. There may be odometer readings ther that could be used as proof, especially if there are multiple over the current reading.

Toyota Owners Official Web Site

 

I can imagine you didn't meet this guy at his house. Met at a gas station or similar place. He's selling on the car after rolling back the mileage with no attachment to his name.

 

So due to lack of interest, manpower, resources, this guy has a lucrative, ongoing source of illegal income.

Funny thing: I'm starting to think this is one of the cornerstones of free enterprise.