Is my battery dead? I don't think so!

Download Dr. prius app and take screen shots of the voltages.
Check for any codes and write them down.
Then at least you will know what you need when you try and get it fixed or fix it yourself.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

In both instances, the businesses you talked to didn't want to fix your battery pack, or even diagnose what specifically is wrong with it. All they care about is making a large amount of money off of your misery.

Meanwhile myself and others on here can often detect very minor problems with the hybrid system and have you back on the road for just a few hundred dollars.

It's so disappointing, not to mention wasteful, how often your situation has become the norm... But if you can find an honest local mechanic that works on packs, or a friend or family member that wants to learn via our help on Prius Chat, let us know and we'd be happy to help.

 

Before you spend a penny on anything else.......

You need to get the 12 V battery tested to be SURE it is not failing.
That means insisting that whoever tests it do it two or three times in a row a minute or two apart.
And if that battery is more than 5 years old, just pony up the $150 or so to replace it.

The 12 V battery might not be the cause of all of your troubles, or maybe of none of them, but
ignoring that possibility and going right for the obvious and expensive things the codes point to
is just not prudent.

Note: What exactly makes you think that the hybrid battery is NOT going bad.
With that kind of mileage, it is a good possibility.

 

You can get a small multimeter from autozone or walfart for about $10.
Check the voltage on the 12v battery, right rear corner in the trunk.
If it doesn't read 12.5 or above, it's probably due to be replaced.
Is it the original battery? Being 8, almost 9 years old, it's due to be replaced.
Pretty easy to do with a few simple tools.

If you read through Prius chat, you will find similar problems like what you are experiencing which
are related to the 12volt battery.
That doesn't mean the hybrid is NOT bad, but it's not necessarily likely.
Do you have anyone who can help you that is mechanically incline, IF you are not?

 

Nobody reading this thread even knows what the codes are yet, so making assumptions about what "obvious" or "expensive" things they "point to" is getting a little ahead of the story.

Often they end up pointing to rather simple and inexpensive things. Not always, but often enough that not to read them and find out is just not prudent.

 

Don't NEED to know what the codes are.......to KNOW that anyone with any troubleshooting savvy at all will know that the reasonable thing to do it to check the power supply first.

YOU can choose to ignore that and run off in some stupid chase of un-verified codes.......but recommending that others do that too is just being irresponsible.

But it appears that you will CONTINUE to give irresponsible advice.
And I will continue to call you on it every time that I see it.

YOU are in total control here.
YOU can stop it anytime you choose.

 

If you paid Toyota to read the codes, they belong to you. Ask for a printout and post them here