Considering buying a gen 2 Prius. Need advice.

welcome!
unfortunately, hybrids are much more complicated to work on, and not designed to go a million miles. more like 180k, so after that anything could go wrong, although, many go a few hundred thousand without a major problem.
the biggest thing is the hybrid battery. everything on the car is diagnosed with tech stream software, which you can buy cheap, and you need a compatible laptop.
if you want to move forward, i would advise reading some of the major system problems and what it took to repair them in the ben 2 forums.
something as simple as a mouse chewed wiring harness can be a $7,000. bill at the dealer.
all the best!

 

let's put it this way, with a prius, the risk increases as miles pile up, and for the battery, years are worse than miles. they like to be exercised.

 

I'd say that's a good rule for any car, Prius included.

The Prius is a very reliable model in general - roughly the same reliability as a Toyota Camry or Corolla. Some of the Prius-specific things to look out for are: headlight issues, low voltage on 12v battery, oil burning, HV battery that rapidly charges and discharges, clogged battery fan intake by rear passenger side seat, unresponsive or dim/flickering center display, flickering or alert lights on the instrument panel.

 

It can be worked on like other cars but the engine compartment is much more cramped and often times the air filter assembly needs to be taken off for a lot of it, which is what I'm going to to with the pcv valve this fall. A socket is almost too wide so I had to buy a 19mm wrench. There are a lot more sensors and computers on this car, probably more than most others in 2007 however I'm not sure if there are more electronic components than todays vehicles or not. The master mechanic Scotty Kilmer said it right when he said today's vehicles are made with cheaper parts as time goes on which is why they don't last as long. I'm debating keeping mine until it has a repair too expensive to replace, however changing the trans fluid (which toyota automatic transmissions are the most reliable out there as far as automatic is concerned) and keeping up with regular maintenance, I would say it is worth the risk. The blue book values on Priuses are very low due to it just being a hybrid. You can use that value to try to talk down a seller. I figure since it isn't worth that much,I may as well get my moneys value out it by driving it.

 

Also another thing to look for when buying a prius is the trans axle oil changes. Id stay away from any prius thats over 100k miles with one or 2 trans fluid changes. Just replaced my 3rd 04-09 prius trans today. Oil changes for the trans are seriously important and should be changed every 25-30k miles to extend the trans life. Thats just my opinion. All 3 trans ive replaced failed from 90k - 130k miles. Again these issues were usually a assembly screw up. Or just plane neglect to fluid changes.

 

Funny I haven't seen any trans failures reported here. do not know anyone who changes trans fluid every 25K. I think this is a very unproven theory.

 

You do realize that these cars DO NOT have a "transmission", much less clutches, valves or a torque converter right? The "ATF" is simply lubricant for the planetary gearset and MG1 & MG2 bearings, nothing more.

 

Toyota sells batteries for about $3k or lower installed now and aftermarket ones can be had for under $1k.

The HV battery is NOT difficult at all to replace, in fact I watched a video over the holiday that showed a guy do it in under 15 minutes. It's really just a dozen bolts of various sizes and a few electrical connectors after the HV safety is removed. They are heavy.

We got our '05 for under $2k because it needed tires as it drove HORRIBALLY, but I knew why and we got a deal on it.

 

Whoever said no trans failures have been posted here. You my friend need to learn how to read. Ill post links of people replacing trans. Atf fluid is a big importances. Go ahead dont change your fluid. You will learn first hand. Ive replaced 3 gen trans axles AKA synergy drive. For you **** who feel the need to troll someone. YES A PRIUS HAS A TRANS. THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND ALSO THE PART THAT CHANGES THE GEAR RATIOS IS MG1. the engine is never directly putting power to the wheels. Mg1 and the engine act as a genorator to power mg2 which has a planetry gears. Which is concidered a CVT (constantly variable transaxle) a CVT IS A TRANSMISSION. please goto school for automotive and learn something before looking like a ****. People these days. Extremely said. Im a prius tech for toyota. Im 99% sure i know what a prius is and isnt. Gen 1 prius had trans failures. Gen 2 is rare for a cvt power split unit(transmission) to fail but they can and will with neglect to fluid changes. The power split is like a engine. Your not gonna not change your oil. So why be stupid and not maintain the trans fluid which is a lubricant (which breaks down over time) ****.

 

**** a prius gas a CVT which is a **** transmission. A transmission changes gear ratios. A prius changes gear ratios. Its not a conventinal auto trans. But regardless its a trans and the atf fluid lubricates parts. Over time lubricants break down. Do not listen to these retards. A prius NEEDS Trans fluid changrs! Period. Go ahead dont change the fluid bet any money you will be spending 4k to have someone teplace the trans. And even the engine if the planetry gears lock up from lack of oil. And just for you sweet heart ill post some pics of the 3 trans i tore down for parts that all failed because the atf fluid was black. And caused wear to the planetry gears in all 3 CVT trans from 3 diff gen 2s so you can learn something for a change. Tell me how many prius power split units have you opened up? Bet its NONE.

 

I have not had to mess with my battery since the previous owner had just replaced it with a Dorman product. I was under the impression after watching a few youtube videos that working with the battery was not that bad considering you might very well be able to identify a few offending cells and replace them to get a functioning pack again. Longevity is questionable at that point, but I didn't feel like there were lots of failures on reconstructed batteries. I guess results might be different if the car has sat for an extended time. The process required that you check voltages and only a few should go bad at a time. Working on them didn't seem too bad. No messy fluids or rusty bolts. Just time and a reasonable back to lift the pack.

A shop that specializes in this type of work might have much more sophisticated equipment including special chargers/reconditioners, but for the backyard mechanic, fixing a battery looks feasible. I looked for a car when I got mine that had a bad battery pack. I found one with a bad transmission instead. That was much more involved.

The wrecker that sold me the transmission $250 also said that he had battery packs (used) for $300. That seemed cheap to me and I would have opted to do a swap of the complete pack if one was available that was working and inexpensive. I also see people asking $600, but I guess the point is to shop around a little.

 

I'd add this: Avoid the car generally if:
1. The previous owner transported pets in it. Their fur can clog the hybrid battery fan and lead to premature battery failure. Smell the back seats for dog/car smell.
2. The car was owned/operated extensively in a hot state like Florida/Arizona, etc. Heat degrades the HV battery more quickly.
3. The hybrid battery was replaced by something other than a new Toyota Hybrid Battery or the previous owner fixed the battery on their own.
4. The car was driven up and down mountain passes daily. This causes deeper charge/discharge cycles than other uses on the HV battery.
5. The car has very few miles. The HV battery is happiest if the car is driven daily. Low mileage usually means the car has spent a significant part of its life sitting.
6. This applies to buying a Prius - You don't plan to drive a significant amount, I'd say at least 10k miles a year. The Prius makes good economic sense for people like me who do 15-20k miles a year or more. If you don't drive at least 10k a year, the battery will fail on the car due to age before you're able to take advantage of the number of miles you could have put on it.

Car will likely be a good buy if:
1. The previous owner replaced the hybrid battery and it is still under warranty with Toyota (this is an ideal buy, extremely rare however)
2. The owner has good service records including changing transaxel oil
3. The car has been garaged for the majority of its life (good for hybrid battery)
4. The battery isn't too old. I would choose a high mileage 08 or 09 versus a lower mileage 04 or 05.
5. You think you can handle a full HV battery pack recondition on your own.

Obviously think about everything else you would think about when buying a Corolla as well.

The very best way to shop for a Prius is to get a Mini-VCI cable and install TechStream on a Laptop and plug into the OBD port on each car and see codes and the health of the hybrid battery (by difference in voltage between modules).

 

it takes me on avg 2hours labor and 80-100 in new cells to rebuild a hv battery. Its really not hard at all. You need a volt meter. 8 10 12 13mm sockets to do this job. Its honeslty nothing over complicated. Just replace every bolt you remove. There are plenty of right ups and youtube videos on how to repair a faulty battery cell. Most people dont know a prius battery is really a glorified capacitor. Its 30+ cells. 75% of the hv batteries ive replaced usually had 1-4 bad cells out of the entire pack. A cell thats good should be 8volts. I find on avg 7.7-8.2 volts across the entire pack is a good hv battery. Now on a bad pack i found a 7.5v cell that triggered the hv system failure indicators. Replaced that one cell and the hv battery has been fine 4 years later. (03 first gen) that costed me 40$ to fix vs a 4k repair bill from toyota. Plus being a prius guru for the past 7 years. Ive found these cars can and will out last most cars on the road IF you maintain it properly. But the biggest issue with prius's will always be the hv battery. Other problems can be avoided. Aka. If the engine shuts down on you and you keep driving it till the battery dies. Dont be shocked when you see this customers 09 prius i just swapped the engine and trans because the owner drove the thing for 2 years never checked or changed the engine or trans fluids. You fluids in these cars a serious. You should always change the oil in the engine and trans. 30k miles is toyota call. These trans have a chain inside them and the DO have a oil pump to keep everything oiled right. These things get HOT and will wear out the atf fluid. Causing premature and avoidable trans problems. I will say gen 2s have the better trans vs the gen 1s. But again. If you starve a dog it will die. Same goes for these hybrids. Fluid is more important and requires more changes then any normal gas car. Overall gen 2s are good cars if the owner takes care of it. Fluid costs 40-50$ at toyotal for the atf. And a allen key socket set. A 24mm socket. A funnle and hose any avg joe and change the fluid.

Also if your a tech or have a good amount of experience definently a good side gig fixing these things. I fix hv batterys on the side for $600-800 depending on the amount of cells needed. And not one car has come back yet. So just cause a battery has been serviced dosnt mean bad news. People also dont know your old battery thats replaced by toyota will be inspected. Bad cells replaced. And all cells volts balanced with a balance charger. And place into another car that needs a (New HV batt) *cough cough* dont be scammed. There are shops all around the country now that will fix hv battery for 1/4 the cost toyota charges. They just dont pay their techs the time to fix the batteries and is fast and cheaper on labor to replace the pack and send the bad one off to be fixed and sent to another dealership anywhere to be deemed (new). It takes me on avg at my dealership 45min to replace a hv battery. Vs 2 hours replacing bad cells. Toyota makes more and pays me less to have me swap it with a already repaired unit.

 

Please don't pass off misinformation as fact, if you don't know for sure, that's ok. This is not a transmission as the industry and consumers think of it. The gearbox performs the same function by providing a method to allow variable engine speeds to produce equally variable road speeds, but it does not do so by "changing gears".

Question: Which of the gears in a Gen2 Prius CHANGE?

Answer: None.

Every single gear is constant mesh to another, the "transmission" you are so convinced this car has, is nothing more than a FIXED RATIO gearbox. The gearbox has a single planetary set and a couple bearings, therefore it CANNOT change "gears" as you suggest; either manually or automatically.

Why?
1) none of the gears move (slide to engage/disengage)
2) no synchronizers
3) no clutches
4) no torque converter

Gen2 Prius "transmission" for reverence:



The RATIO of speed between MG1 and MG2 determines the speed of the output gear and subsequently the chain and final gears, which in-turn drive the differential assembly (not shown in above). Gen3 models did away with the chain and it's direct gear drive all the way through.

Furthermore, the Transmission Fluid used in this gearbox is not subject to the high pressures, heat, metallic clutch wear or fiber clutch wear particles found in a normal automatic transmission. The sole job of the ATF in THIS gearbox is to provide lubrication without being electrically conductive. This is one reason that the WS fluid is required, others *might* be non-conductive, but if they are not, bad things can happen. Also, because there are no clutches (steels or frictions), no sliding dog-rings, synchros or a torque converter, the ATF has a comparatively easy life in a Prius.

 

****
. A CVT IS A TRANSMISSION PERIOD. Your obviously not a certified toyota hybrid tech so SHUT UP with your misinformation. CONSTANTLY VARIABLE TRANSAXLE. WHICH IS A TRANS MISSION MG1 CHANGES THE GEAR RATIOS BY HAVING A MAGNETIC FEILD GENERATED TO PUT RESISTANCE ON THE SUN GEAR CHANGING THE GEAR RATIOS FOR DIFFERENT SPEEDS. GOTO SCHOOL holy crap. You gotta be the **** to ever reply to a post here.

 

here is more proof your terribly misinformed. A prius has a slipper clutch as well. So again you obviously have never worked on a prius. Heres a pic of first and second gets slipper clutch with a fly wheel and pressure plate. Soooooooo again my friend your wrong ALSO a prius power split device HAS a OIL PUMP THAT DOES PUMP AND PRESSURIZE THE ATF FLUID. Also mg1and mg2 DO NOT EVER SEE ANY ATF FLUID AND IS COMPLETELY SEALED OFF FROM ANY FLUIDS. also a prius (trans) power split unit get twice as hot as a basic auto trans. Avg temps on any auto trans is 150-190 degrees and the atf fluid breaks down ALOT slower. And they do NOT have coolant flowing to them for cooling like a prius does. The prius trans run 230-250 degrees and will cause the atf fluid to break down much faster. So once again you are wrong. Also heres the atf fluid drain plug from a 09 i just had to replace the power split unit BECAUSE OF OIL NEGLECT. metal shavings are obviously seen. This unit has 130k miles. Both mg1 and 2 are healthy. The planetry gears failed prematurly locking the engine mg1 AND mg2 all as one solid shaft. Meaning when the car would only move on mg2 the engine was cranking over with simply just pushing the car. So go ahead think what you want. You my friend will be paying someone like me to replace your COUGH COUGH TRANS.