01-03 prius what do you think
 

Hello everyone,
Just trying to get a feel for the hybrid world, I am looking at a couple of these 01-03 prius thats really the style I like and what i can afford. just wanted to see what you guys think. they range from one 137000mi to 149000 miles and an 03 on ebay with 137000 mi currently at 2550 and two at a nearby lot for 4490 with the 01 at 146000 mi and the other an 02 with 149000. what do you guys think.

any help is appreciated. I hear these cars are great if kept up on service and all three have been serviced regularly at toyota dealers.

thank you,

Scott

Check blue book value and you will see that others are not paying over $4,000 for 01 Prius', at least not with the info I put in.

The early ones seem to have more battery problems and with a dead hybrid battery pack the car is inoperable. An Echo may be a better choice.

regards
Mech

They do have slightly more problems with the battery, but there really aren't that many problems. They have much less problems than the Hondas. I personally wouldn't have much reservation in buying one knowing that I might have to do something with the pack. The procedure would be nearly identical to what the Honda guys have done here. Also, Re-involt.com is now the only company I'm aware of that does refurbished packs for hybrids. Their prices aren't too attractive though IMO. But, they do have some pictures on their site of what to look out for on the hybrid pack.

I am going to look these up real quick and see on kbb and see what they get for them. I plan on financing it. and selling my 1998 mercury mystique for 3600 thats what its worth on clean condition and its very clean. I will pocket that money off to the side in case anything major happens, MG2 failure or battery.

But what I want to know is are these reliable, from what I heard from my local dealer, they are very reliable

From what I hear, the bearing in the motor wearing out is the biggest thing you have to worry about, when that bearing goes out the motor eats the transmission and the whole unit gets replaced, or the car gets scrapped, I've only seen that happen twice and I'm not sure if regular transmission fluid changes would prevent it but it would be worth checking.
Battery issues are rare but they happen, they are also easy to spot and cheap to fix if you catch them before the trouble light comes on, biggest sign on a Prius is a sudden drop in gas mileage, when that happens a battery equalize apparently will save the back without having to do a rebuild.

The bearing wearing out on MG2 correct? is this what causes the windings to burn up in MG2. if so I saw a video of how to get the MG2 motor out of the case without fully dropping the engine and trans out of the car. easy enough. something I can do here at the house and it was in the relm of 1200 for a new MG2 which IMO is way better than a whole unit.

So how does one equalize a pack in these prius's. That may be the first thing I do with this car is equalize the pack.

Same opinion as Old Mechanic. Better to buy a 2001-2003 Echo for 2000-3000 bucks than buying an old hybrid. The Prius is like an echo, it as the same ICE 1.5L VVT-I, but with an electric motor and a battery pack. If you have the chance to get a prius with a working battery pack, buy it, but if the battery pack is not working, don't buy it.

Denis

Denis,
I have been watching the echos and watching the chevy prisms.

I talked over the phone with the lot dealer and he told me the car runs great and there are no noises, lights, and that he had the hybrid system checked and it checked out great, I think I am going to disassemble the pack and check the cells anyways and cycle any that are weak and look for corrosion. My dealer and the dealer where this car got serviced all its life gave it a good review as they knew who the owners were. the service manager told me for $85 they will do a complete hybrid check on the car should I decide to purchase it. I dont know what that entails. A load test on the hv battery and the MG2 ?? that would be nice.

here is the vin number in case ryland you wanted to run that vin for a price check JT2BK18U720068923.

im coming up with 5600 sug retail. mybe im doing it wrong

here is the link to the car for sale if you wanted to look at it.

2002 Toyota Prius Base For Sale In Akron PA 17501 - Sams Auto