dead battery and awful mpg

Hi donee,

Are you referring to the transmission input damper assembly? If so, that is priced at $662, plus of course the labor time required to remove the engine/transaxle, separate the two, install the new parts, then reinstall.
ToyoDIY.com

If you have in mind some other part, please identify it in the parts catalog cited above.

I haven't heard of problems with the transmission input damper, but it could be that other transaxles were replaced although the root cause was a failure of the one part.

 

Absolutely not. The Prius will be great for those conditions. The one thing you may want to do is turn off the SmartKey system is leaving it parked for more than a few days (there is a button right on the dash board to do it, so its no hassle.) Most folks say the battery will keep for 2 weeks with the SKS on, but you might want to turn it off anyhow incase of week battery and cold weather.

Here we go Steelers, Here we go. :cheer2:

 

The transmission input damper is not a clutch or torque limiter. It can be confused with a clutch because clutches also have a damper which is of similar construction, but the damper is bolted to the flywheel, where a clutch would have a friction plate to grip the flywheel's surface.

You can see a picture in Art's transaxle replacement pictorial.

I would imagine that if one of the springs were to go, it would lead to some nasty vibrations, but I don't think it can slip.

 

Hi Donee,

Wow, who knew! Your explaination sounts exactly like what was happening. It slipped just like a "regular" clutch would. I was surpised when the dealer said that there were no codes.

The prices you mentioned are far less then what I actually paid. I should have posted my questions BEFORE I took it to the dealer and the trans shop.

At this time, it is at the shop awaiting the arrival of a gently used battery. Once it is installed, I'm hoping that it will be back to it's old reliable self.

With a newer battery and a newer trans., I'm hoping it will go another year or so. If this Prius lasts until 6 months or so after my husband returns from his most recent deloymet, then we will have more options.

Thanks for your help!

 

Hi Mike,

I have seen that picture before. It still looks like a fixed clutch to me, but without any way to declutch it. I have seen such things in non-automotive machies. Unless I took off the pressure plate looking thing, I could not know if there was a friction disk in there or not from the picture. Thanks for the info.

Hi Patrick,

Yes, that is what I was thinking about. I guestimated the price based on the cost of clutch parts in the past, and inflation. Guess its more. Others on PC have said they had to have it replaced due to slipping. They must have been mistaken, and I repeated the mistake.

Hi WC422,

Probably have to X off my comment there. It seems its not a friction assembly afterall.