Hi,
I just picked up my first Prius today, a 2001, from the local Toyota dealer. Owned by the same family since new, and a reasonable mileage of 90k. Appears to be in really nice condition, other than the clear coat flaking on the hood. It's always been maintained by the same dealer since new.
The daughter of the family most recently inherited the car, and due to not being able to afford the repairs, she decided to sell it. It was still at the Toyota dealer after being diagnosed with a 'bad battery', which she decided she could not afford to replace. I spoke to her, and she claimed that several warning lights appeared on the dash, and the car lost power.
Today, I went to the dealer with a trailer and new 12v battery (the dealer said that it had been sat for a while and was dead), installed it and drove it onto the trailer. No warning lights, funny noises etc. I have been playing about with the car all afternoon, driving gently up and down my drive etc, running on the traction battery, with the engine starting up when needed, and still no problems.
She also told me that the 'battery' was replaced already in 2013, which I assume to be the traction battery, which is why she didn't really want to go ahead with replacing it again.
Now, I have a feeling that she may be getting confused by the two different batteries.
Firstly, What would the symptoms of a bad 12v battery, and also what about the traction battery?
Secondly, is there a date somewhere on the traction battery so I can verify that it has indeed been replaced? I pulled the carpet and had a look, and I can see that the bolts holding the battery have been out before, but couldn't see any obvious date markings.
Anyway, sorry about the long post and any input would be appreciated.
Ben.
I just picked up my first Prius today, a 2001, from the local Toyota dealer. Owned by the same family since new, and a reasonable mileage of 90k. Appears to be in really nice condition, other than the clear coat flaking on the hood. It's always been maintained by the same dealer since new.
The daughter of the family most recently inherited the car, and due to not being able to afford the repairs, she decided to sell it. It was still at the Toyota dealer after being diagnosed with a 'bad battery', which she decided she could not afford to replace. I spoke to her, and she claimed that several warning lights appeared on the dash, and the car lost power.
Today, I went to the dealer with a trailer and new 12v battery (the dealer said that it had been sat for a while and was dead), installed it and drove it onto the trailer. No warning lights, funny noises etc. I have been playing about with the car all afternoon, driving gently up and down my drive etc, running on the traction battery, with the engine starting up when needed, and still no problems.
She also told me that the 'battery' was replaced already in 2013, which I assume to be the traction battery, which is why she didn't really want to go ahead with replacing it again.
Now, I have a feeling that she may be getting confused by the two different batteries.
Firstly, What would the symptoms of a bad 12v battery, and also what about the traction battery?
Secondly, is there a date somewhere on the traction battery so I can verify that it has indeed been replaced? I pulled the carpet and had a look, and I can see that the bolts holding the battery have been out before, but couldn't see any obvious date markings.
Anyway, sorry about the long post and any input would be appreciated.
Ben.