Car just stopped.

Welcome, sorry for your troubles. There's no alternator on a Prius. Probably not the fuel pump either. What does the battery gauge on the dash read? You don't give much info, so probably you'll end up having it towed to either a hybrid shop or the dealer.

When my 02 did that it turned out to be the inverter coolant pump. The inverter got too hot and shut the engine down to protect itself.

A word about those check engine lights that you ignored. They come on for a reason. Ignore them at your own peril. You can badly damage your car, to the point that it won't run anymore and will be expensive to repair. Do you check the oil and get it changed once in a while?

 

theres a really good prius shop in San Francisco, Luscious Garage. Run by women, with women mechanics, and very environmental operation.

 

NOT a good plan.
Sometimes ignoring warning lights can do additional damage.

Yes, have it towed to a shop.
After ignoring the warnings for 45,000 miles, expect a BIG repair bill.
A LOT of things could be wrong......and probably are now.

P.S. Do you ever check the oil or the air pressure in the tires ??

 

It's in the past. Deirdra, are you going to fix it or sell it? 165,000 is pretty low miles. I suspect you'll need a battery, and at least an inverter coolant pump, which is almost a maintenance item. Probably looking at a repair bill in excess of $2500 (that's the break it to you gently cost.) It would make someone a nice fixer upper.

 

Dierdra, 2004Superglide is looking to get rid of his first gen Prius, probably cheap. He's in LA and might be a source for a cheap parts donor car to keep your's running. Gen 1 Prius's can be towed with a car dolly like the ones Uhaul rents.

 

you've got a classic. imo, it is worth whatever it takes to keep it running and reliable.

if you decide not to, there's a member here named beth, looking for a rust free gen 1.

all the best!

 

Never Mind.
Deleted Original Post.
Made one, realized it sounded Snarky, mean, and was absolutely NOT helpful.

Best of luck with diagnosis, and the inevitable decisions ahead.

 

This kind of conflicts with your earlier statement about ignoring some warning lights FOR 45,000 MILES.

 

We run the risk of sounding like a bunch of judgemental old ladies. I know, I was the first.

That one down in LA was an asking $1000. Lots cheaper than a $3000 battery. It could probably be driven home as it's showing a code for a misfire. Wish I needed it. . .

 

Some of us have old cars because that's what we can afford. My Prius was a jackpot from a fairly low expectation gamble. If mine needed a new HV I wouldn't be able to afford a new battery, I'd have to find something like the one in LA and mine a battery out of it and maybe some other parts.

Besides, the gen 1's are only classics among those of us that own them.

Beth has found a nice one in VA, btw. She messaged me to find out what I thought. I gave her the link to Toyota Owners where she could look up the service history.

 

My understanding is that it's got 60,000 miles since the battery was new. He's asking $1000. And it's got a misfire code so it could probably be driven home. A lot cheaper than a $3000 battery, and a fairly easy, tho heavy, swap.

Just trying to help Deirdra!

 

if i could only afford an old car, and couldn't diy, it would probably be something any local mech could repair reasonably.

 

I'd probably have a nice old Dodge Dakota. Oh wait! I already do.

 

me too! '05, so not too old.

 

Nor a 96. They don't make 'em like that anymore, if fact, before owning my current truck I would have said they never made 'em like that. 253K on the original V8 and never misses a beat--tho it does leak oil like an old Brit bike.