New Here. Buying Prius with a bad Hybrid battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by littlehandegan, Oct 13, 2014.

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  1. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    Hello

    I have a chance to buy a 2005 Prius with 127,000 miles. The seller tells me it needs a new hybrid battery.

    I understand I can use Dorman, or another number of other companies that sell remanned batteries for around 1,500 to $2,000 with anywhere from $300-400 to install.

    Is there a way to confirm it is in fact the hybrid battery?

    He mentioned it can be driven, but shouldn't be driven anymore than necessary until it gets it replaced.

    Thanks!!!!!
     
    #1 littlehandegan, Oct 13, 2014
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Drive it to the dealer and get a full diagnostic.

    Don't second guess
     
    #2 JC91006, Oct 13, 2014
  3. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    OK I will try. He may even have had it diagnosed, will see in the morning.

    His price is $2,250
     
    #3 littlehandegan, Oct 13, 2014
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    At that price and mileage, it's a steal

    I would actually try to get a new battery for $2500 diy. Then you'll have a nice reliable car for under $5000
     
    #4 JC91006, Oct 13, 2014
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  5. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    My next question is: Can this car be safely driven 10-15 miles as is?
     
    #5 littlehandegan, Oct 14, 2014
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Are you in a carb state where the car is still under warranty?
     
    #6 JC91006, Oct 14, 2014
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  7. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    No unfortunately not.
     
    #7 littlehandegan, Oct 14, 2014
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You should be able to maintain highway speed without issues, the battery is used very little at those speeds.

    If you attempt this, bring a 10mm wrench so you can reset the car by disconnecting the 12v battery negative for a few seconds. The reset should allow you to drive until the fault is picked up again by the ecu
     
    #8 JC91006, Oct 14, 2014
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  9. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    At that price its pretty hard to beat, but still would be a good idea to get the codes. Battery problem could be masking other expensive issues. If it needs a battery and an inverter and a transaxle, well let just say that free might not even be a good deal ;) Its probably not likely that there are more failures, its just hard to tell for sure without the codes. Other than the dealer, you can also get them with a "Mini-VCI" cable and an old windows laptop if you happen to have one laying around. I believe other alternatives are an android device with the "torque" app and a bluetooth OBD2 adapter, or perhaps a scan gauge but don't have personal experience with those methods. A regular vanilla OBD2 reader won't cut it though.

    Good luck!
    Rob
     
    #9 miscrms, Oct 14, 2014
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i hope you are handy with hybrids. here's another idea, have the owner replace the battery and give him $4,500.
     
    #10 bisco, Oct 14, 2014
  11. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    We shook on the price and I am picking it up this afternoon. Its in good shape, black with tan, rust free, no dents, 2 keys. I figure at this price I can do the HV and a few small things and have a great daily driver for under $5,000. (I drive only 50 miles a week or so, college student living in the city)

    . Had the warning lights on, and the gas engine never stopped going. It did drive smooth the short distance I did drive it.

    He has service records from Toyota back to when he bought it in 2009 with 67k. And I checked services via Toyota owners login

    The local AAA club shop diagnosed it as bad HV (looks like he has had a few oil changes through them). Carfax is clean and shows services its entire life, has had the water pump done at around 90k.

    I am going to tow it to my local indy (Lex Tech, well versed in Prius). Ordering the Dorman battery via Sunmmit Racing ($1,300 + free shipping).

    Anything else I should have them do while they have car? (will do oil change)
     
    #11 littlehandegan, Oct 14, 2014
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    has it had a tranny service? coolant? seep belt? water pump? plugs? struts? brakes? wheel bearings?
     
    #12 bisco, Oct 14, 2014
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  13. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    Maybe I will have the trans service done, and a general mechanical inspection. I am fairly mechanically inclined.

    Coolant and water pump was done.

    I can handle brakes if need be, but the rotors were in good shape, had no pulse/grinding etc.

    Struts seemed good, no knocking over bumpers or harsh ride.

    Thanks for looking out
     
    #13 littlehandegan, Oct 14, 2014
  14. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You can go to Dorman's website and look at their installing video. You can do it yourself in an hour. Very easy and low risk
     
    #14 JC91006, Oct 14, 2014
  15. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    Wow, I had no idea it is that easy. - On another note, I called my local shop and they WILL NOT install customer supplied battery, and will not install a Dorman, or any other aftermarket company. Kind of annoying.

    Well I am picking the car up this evening. Looks like I may go ahead and order the Dorman unit and the gloves and just tackle it myself. Save the install money for anything else that may need attention

    EDIT: I also ordered a Scan-gauge II
     
    #15 littlehandegan, Oct 14, 2014
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2014
  16. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Last time there was another member that ordered a Dorman battery from Rockauto, I believe that was the lowest overall cost. Just another option for you to look at.

    I swapped my battery using the Dorman videon instructions. It was very easy and straight forward.
     
    #16 JC91006, Oct 14, 2014
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  17. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    JC,
    Can you gauge the difficulty involved in swapping the harness/ECU between batteries ?
    This would be required of a purchase of just the battery from an OEM/New Toyota dealer.
     
    #17 SageBrush, Oct 14, 2014
  18. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    When I did my swap, I swapped the entire battery with the ECU in place.

    Once the case is opened, swapping the ecu over is very easy. I took it apart just for fun. I think it's only held by a couple/few screws and a wiring harness here and there. I don't think it will take more than half hour, even for an amateur (once case is opened).

    I would take a picture of the unit before you take it apart. That way you can refer to your picture if you have a question where the ecu parts go.
     
    #18 JC91006, Oct 14, 2014
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  19. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Why can't I get a deal like this?/?????
     
    #19 usnavystgc, Oct 14, 2014
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  20. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    [/QUOTE]
    Last time there was another member that ordered a Dorman battery from Rockauto, I believe that was the lowest overall cost. Just another option for you to look at.

    I swapped my battery using the Dorman videon instructions. It was very easy and straight forward.[/QUOTE]


    Good looking out. It looks like Rockauto is out of stock. I sent an email.
     
    #20 littlehandegan, Oct 14, 2014
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