1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

prius repair scam in las vegas

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by rockwind, Aug 12, 2008.

  1. rockwind

    rockwind Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2008
    9
    2
    0
    Location:
    las vegas
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    V
    hi again, posted this in repairs, but this forum seems to have a lot more viewers. any help would be appreciated

    i have a 2001 prius, bought new. it just turned 100K and i get all these error symbols and the engine refused to turn over. so i barely make it home on battery power. let it sit for a few hours, then it starts up, most of the error symbols except one, are gone so i drive it to the nearby toyota dealership. it doesn't drive right, kind of hesitates, but the farther i went, the better it acted.

    they say that the ecm "logic programming" went bad and needs to be replaced. they also say there is a dent in the gas tank and it is reducing flow.

    they want 2800 dollars to fix all this, claiming the ecm all by itself costs 1400$


    does this sound reasonable to anyone? has anyone here had their ecm replaced?

    would appreciate any help.,,,i've rebuilt lots of american muscle cars so i am very handy. but the computer stuff is a mystery. has anyone put in a ecm themself?
     
  2. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    a dent in the gas tank shouldn't reduce fuel flow. that sounds like a load of crap.
    the ecm replacement itself is a pretty easy diy job.
     
  3. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2007
    4,319
    1,527
    0
    Location:
    Tampa Bay
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Go to this link that covers problems with the 2001:

    Tech training

    Go to part three.

    I am having some similar issues today with my 2001. The throttle is getting cleaned and spark plugs replaced. The ECU is always the favorite target of technicians that are confused. Rarely the target of technicians that know what they are doing. No way I'm letting that get replaced till all the known simple things are taken care of. If you can find out the codes, then more specific help can given.

    It does not bother me to replace the cheap stuff first and then if the problem remains, fix the expensive stuff. Too many ECUs have been replaced with no fix resulting.