Rainwater flooded the hybrid battery compartment

I live in Western Washington an hour of South of Seattle and might be able to help you... The Toyota Stealerships are warranty specialists and they only replace everything with the most expensive brand new ones possible, even if a part only needs a little cleaning or drying, which is incredibly dishonorable.

But if you're talking about just a roof leak and not the car being submerged underwater this is a pretty common problem because Gen2 Prius have a known problem with roof leaks. Hopefully you realized the water problem before you tried to start the car so nothings got fried. If that's the case then it could be as easy as taking it apart and drying and testing everything and then running my dehumidifier in the car after patching the leak and you'll be good to go with maybe a 4 hour labor charge. If components need to be replaced, I already got most of them on my parts rack. But it'd be hard to get it done this week, so likely won't be able to get started until I get back home on the 26th.

 

That's interesting because a Gen 2 hybrid battery CANNOT be under water unless the car is submerged halfway up the doors. It's much more likely you have some cracked body seams at the top of the hatch where water seeps in and then gathers on the inside of the trunk trim panels. Sometimes it pools in the 12v battery well, the small storage cubby on the driverside, or in the spare tire well. Very common Gen 2 issue. I've also seen it leak into the HV battery fan and air ducts, resulting in moisture drops on the battery modules inside the HV battery metal case. regardless, if you strip out the trunk trim panels, pop out the rubber plugs at the bottom of each of those cubbies, and get a fan blowing air through the area, it will likely dry just fine.

What symptoms did you have that caused you to seek dealership help?

 

Yeah... Likely this Toyota dealership's definition of $flooded$ is entirely different than the real world's definition of "flooded." Out here in the Pacific Northwest with endless rain I've seen more than a few Gen2 packs that when pulled had water on them or signs of water having been on them in the past. It's quite common and could create long term problems if unaddressed, but easily dealt with in a small number of hours.

But I'm having a hard time imagining the pack and computer and wiring being unrepairable and needing to be replaced due to just a roof leak. A legit flood, yes... But not a roof leak. The shielding in the pack's design is more than adequate to protect it from a roof leak

 

You didn't state if there is an actual operating issue with the vehicle.

As TMJ said, the hybrid battery is located high in the car and can't get flooded unless most of the car is underwater. The 12 volt battery is nearby and much lower and its typically the one affected by water leaks. The upper hatchback seams are typically where the leak starts and flows down. Plenty of info on that around here.

GOOD LUCK!

 

Unless the dealer cited an actual fault in the pack you should assume that they are trying to fleece you.

Having just replaced a pack it is hard to see how water dripping onto it would cause much of an issue. 99% of what lands on top is going to roll down the sides and then flow away. The modules aren't going to care if they sit in a shallow puddle, the bottom is all sealed plastic. I mean the top cover is kind of like half a pipe, with the only holes being on the ends and at the mounting flanges on the long side. At the ends I suppose a few drops might creep around the top of the lid, but even if they land on the end modules, so what? They will again just fall to the bottom of the case and leak out there.

I suppose though that the electronics on the driver's side end could be a problem if they got wet while the car was on. This area is covered too, but since there are connectors going into it and it sort of overlaps the main case, it is plausible that some water might wick into it. Even if that water didn't blow something up it could lead to corrosion at the connectors where the various cables plug in.

Not that you shouldn't address the leakage problem. People have reported rust under the 12V, for instance.

 

Oh man, this is discouraging. I just got my dream car two weeks a go, 2007 Prius and went down to the pars store and was quoted $800 for headlights ($249 x2 ballasts, $149 x2 bulbs), the next week $2,750 for brake actuator, now the roof leaks (quite common) and wrecks the hb battery.

I want to keep this thing but maybe I should dump this off for a loss while I can?
This sucks,

ebm

 

If you or a friend or family member likes to work on cars this website can walk you through all these repairs for cheap. Like headlights... $150 for parts and an hour or two to install. Roof leaks take a 1/2 hour to clean & patch... A used actuator is $500 and 5 hours labor.

As in all these needs for your car are manageable if you're willing to do lots of research and approach it from a DIY perspective. But if you want to depend on professional repair shops and all their ways of maximizing the cost of repairs it's probably worth selling it right away.

 

My car is in perfect shape. If I wreck it, someone in a wrecking yard would come get my actuator, but it's bad. Having a very hard time with my headlights. Completely trapped. (another thread).

Thank you for the reply. I get what your saying.