Dealer says...

Welcome regardless of the number of posts. <grins>

Recommendations:

1. Confirmation requires one of these:
   1. Graham miniscanner (I rent them)
   2. ScanGauge using Vincent's codes
   3. $400 Auto Enginuity
   4. $1,200-1,500 TechStream Lite
2. Independent shop: call Remanufactured Hybrid Vehicle Battery Packs , Taylor Automotive, Sanford, NC, 919-774-4037. Dave does good work.
3. It sounds like a traction battery replacement is needed and the price should be in the $1,500-2,000 range depending upon how much labor you do versus hiring it out. I helped a local boy swap his traction battery, $1,700, in a 250,000 mile, 2001 Prius and it took us four hours. So off hand, the vehicle price should equal the repair price or ~$2,000 broken.

Swapping the traction battery is not that bad with two people:

Existing battery is behind the rear seat. Easy enough to reach.


One mounting bolt needed a little Dremil tool adjusting. The head of the bolt is on the reverse side so once the outer hole was slightly enlarged, we installed the pack. It is always a good idea to check the mounting bolt holes before putting the traction battery in the car.


Halfway through, we're installing all the fasteners, connectors before the start test. It works and he is still running.

BTW, his car has a couple of other maladies but is otherwise working fine:

• catalytic convert is toast - probably due to ICE oil consumption that may have been induced by chronic over filling. Alabama has no emissions testing and the front O{2} sensor used for fuel trim is working.
• noisy steering torque sensors - he has a switch that turns off the power steering ECU making his car a manual steering Prius. With over 250,000 miles, his car does a lot of high-speed driving so it isn't that big of a problem. He can turn on the ECU when power steering is needed for parking.

Bob Wilson

 

They read the vehicle codes and other engineering data like the shop instrument, a TechStream. But it is a lot easier if you can get get codes from the shop where the car is now.

We haven't seen many battery ECUs go bad although it can happen.

I would be cautious of the 'short' code, P3009, only because a second short at another part of the battery could turn ugly. This is very unlikely but we only have one well documented, battery short and fire in Australia and that one may have had other causes (aka., critters.) There was a recent 'hit and run' posting of someone claiming they had a traction battery fire from the P3009 short but they provided no photos, backup data or follow-up.

As a general rule, we've seen folks eek out a couple of weeks before it fails hard. But usually the hard failure happens sooner rather than later and at a bad time.

If you are planning to take it to Re-InVolt over in Summit NC, I think the risks and rewards are acceptable. Plan a leisurely drive and have your back-up plans worked out (aka., Who will you call? What funds will you have? Review the tow options.) We'll also go over driving to minimize the battery stress and heat.

One thing I didn't ask, do you have a tow qualified vehicle possibly with a 2" receiver hitch and/or willing to go U-Haul? There are several alternatives:

• U-haul has a flat bed that the car can ride on but it was several hundred dollars. This would let you move the car where ever it needs to go if you have (or rent) a tow vehicle.
• Front wheel trailer, there have been reports of problems with low clearance at the rear. Just get the front wheels on the trailer and tow it.
• I have this tow setup. If you have a tow vehicle with a 2" receiver, we can do a deal.
• The tow loop and rope - meant more for very short, very slow, emergency tows (aka., out of a ditch or to a safer area,) the tow eyelet is in the trunk on the right hand side (if I remember correctly.) Check the owner's manual . . . requires two vehicles, a stretchable rope, and 'nerves of steel.'
• The tow loop, bar stock and receiver ball - only slightly less 'exciting' at least the risk of snapping the rope is reduced. Only known example exists in Maryland.

Bob Wilson