First Prius!

Hello, I’ve recently purchased my first Prius. It is an 04 Prius 2 that I bought for 5,000 on Craigslist. It was basically the cheapest one by a good amount. I think it has been sitting a month or two. 182,000 miles. Last owner did no mechanical work on it, just an oil change, tires, and a cat protection thing.

This car actually turned off on my way out of town after buying it, ended up towing the rest of the way home (AAA). The READY went away and I lose power (dash was still on). The AAA driver said I must be out of gas, I said I swore it was half full when I bought it. But he was saying the last bar was flashing when he jumped it, saying it was empty. Upon reading about these gas tanks, that may have been possible.

First thing I did was buy a new 12V battery and fill the tank. She turned on like a champ immediately.

it comes with a nice little set of issues: when I bought was test driving it the guy/kid told me the engine ran loud (it does not, it doesn’t idle loud or when you floor in in park/neutral) I’m pretty sure it’s the wheel bearing as it only sounds when you go over 25mph. so I’ve bought a set of front ones and will be jacking up the car to test the wheel play.

the car has a red triangle, and will turn on once or twice (rarely) before having to do the battery trick I’ve been reading about (disconnecting and reconnecting). Upon turning it off and back on, READY will not come on, or come on for a second then go away.

tank is full (I filled it to the tippy top) but when it fails to display ready, the tank will show empty or 1-2 bars. If it is after the battery trick, the tank will flash empty or close, but then when it flashes back on it displays full bars. This is only when READY does come on. Otherwise it will just saw empty or close to empty.

After coming back from work on a hot day the dash will not come on at all, until later in the evening when I try again (must do battery trick still) and it’ll work fine and I’m able to drive off. The red triangle light will still come on after a mile or two. I suspect this one in particular is a combo meter issue- I plan to get a new chip.

the hybrid battery seems to be charging fine, engine won’t kick on until after a few minutes of having the car on READY or its about halfway down. It charged full going downhill last time I drove. The arrows coming from the engine to the wheels and inverter are orange if that matters. I can pay more attention or take a photo.

after a drive with the red triangle on I will park the car, turn it off, and it will not turn back on, unless I do the battery trick.

I just bought a Toyota mini vc cable and software and will be connecting my laptop this weekend (once the package arrives) and will have more info on codes. I’ve also purchased a voltameter to test my traction battery if I must dig her out of the back. Oh and dc voltage gloves.

tldr
I bought a cheap, needs tlc, 04 Prius 2. I am hoping isn’t going to cost too much more to get going. I am pretty mechanically inclined and love to DIY. It functions semi well with a few “tricks” but may need a new HV battery. I’m seeing some deals out of Sacramento for 480-800 dollars WITH installation, tempting if it turns out to need a full replacement.

way too long I didn’t read anything
Despite its issues- IM IN LOVE WITH MY PRIUS AND EXCITED TO WORK ON IT