Britprius

To me these look as though they have been re built with new batteries, and valve stems. Magnifying the pictures if you look particularly at the potted area away from the batteries if I am not mistaken you can see some of the original white potting compound that has not been removed. However I see no problem with this as far as use is concerned, but they should not be advertised as new if they are not. One other point is that the cover has a metal strip attached, and this acts as an aerial for the transmitter. If this is not in place it could reduce the range, and reliability of the signals. John.

The reason the hybrid batteries in general are likely to have problems has little or nothing to with the current load at start up. This current is in the range of 60 amps. Or the assumed fact that the charging rate is low. The charging rate in fact can easily reach 80 amps and more with a well discharged battery on the hybrids this even though the battery manufacture gives a low maximum charging current. This in it's self does not do the battery any favors. The battery voltage is critical to the various computers for booting correctly. The batteries generally are of low capacity "typically 45 AH", and this reduces as the battery ages. The battery is also under constant load, and as many people have found if the vehicle is left for a period of only a few weeks there is a strong likelihood the car will not boot. It is the fact that in a normal car the starter motor pulls high currents, and shows signs of of poor output by turning the engine slowly that warns of problems. The battery in these cars also has higher capacity, and is designed for high charge rates that the AGM battery that is not. If you doubt my above figures put a clamp type amp meter on the 12 battery lead on a hybrid for confirmation. John.

With the display used in earlier cars turning the lights on and off three times in quick succession in accessory mode takes you to the hidden display. I believe on later cars you hold the menu button down, and the operate the lights three times. Not having a later version car I cannot confirm this, but no doubt someone will or give the alternative procedure. John

Forgive me for saying this, but that's like saying I put 2 stroke oil in my 2 stroke mower, and that runs perfectly on it. Because a given fuel runs in one manufacturers car does not translate into it will perform better in an other of a different make. To me that £5 or £6 pounds saved is another gallon of fuel that will take me another 40 miles rather than loosing 1 or 2 MPG using a higher octane fuel that the engine was not designed for. Yes cars with engines designed to run on high octane fuel will get better MPG from that fuel against a lower grade, but that does not translate into a higher grade will give more MPG in engines not designed for it in fact the reverse is the case. Check calorific values of petrol grades. John.

The question is what is normal use? To some that is a daily drive covering 100 miles to others a 50 mile run once a month. It is generally the cars that get little use that suffer problems. Long stay parking at airports can be a problem to hybrids partially due to the small capacity battery used in many of them. With Hybrids the problem is there is no advance warning that the battery is getting tired or just discharged from lack of use. With a normal car you hear the engine struggle to turn over in the morning particularly in cold weather. A sure sign that the battery needs charging or replacing. With a hybrid nothing changes until the car will not boot into ready mode. A voltage display or simple green orange red display of battery state on the MFD would be very useful instead of hiding the same information away on a hidden menu that is not in the handbook, and that most people do not know exists. John

Pleased to hear your problem is now fixed. I feel it is somewhat of rip off that Lexus do not supply some of the smaller component parts costing perhaps a few pounds for there cars, and instead only sell complete assemblies costing many hundred sometimes thousands of pounds. The list may be added to, but here is some items I know of. Ride height and headlamp adjuster links that snap due to seized ball joints. You have to buy the complete sensor costing £150 upwards. Reluctor rings. You have to buy complete drive shafts at many hundred pounds. Gearbox oil pump bearings "less than £10". you have to buy a complete pump at an eye watering £2500. Traction battery replacement modules. You have to buy a complete battery. Again circa £2000 plus. LED rear light units sealed so you cannot replace faulty LED's. I had a Prius where all the other lights were bulbs, and could be changed except the stop lamp. Cost £186. Ok not strictly Lexus, but the same stable Toyota. I know to some degree all manufactures do this, but that in it's self does not make it right. John.

Lee. Using neutral forces 100% of the hydraulic braking system as the two motor generators are electrically disconnected in this mode. This is the best way to clean up the discs, and pads. This is also why the car should not be left in neutral, and ready mode. If the engine is not running already when put in neutral it cannot start, and therefore cannot charge the HV battery. If the AC is on this will quickly discharge, and have no power to charge the 12 volt battery so this also becomes discharged. If left for too long the HV battery will not have enough power to start the engine, and an external charge is then required. John.

The batteries in the hybrids are AGM batteries, but you do not need to pay dealer prices to get AGM batteries. Exide do a direct replacement AGM battery however the best AGM batteries to buy are mobility scooter batteries. These are available in the same dimensions as the OEM battery, but have a higher capacity typically 55 or 60 amp hours for the OEM 45 amp hour size. The only downside is the terminals are usually bolt on type, but this is not a real problem. They are deep cycle batteries, very ruggedly built, and cost around £75, John.

The power of advertising never ceases to amaze me. John.

As the above. A total waste of money buying premium in fact it can reduce your MPG. John.

Corrosion of the connecting links has been a problem on the Prius, and all subsequent hybrids. This is due to the electrolyte " a mixture of KOH & NaOH" leaking onto them. This is very caustic eating some metals copper, aluminium, some stainless steels, included, and even glass. The modules have a pressure relief valve set at 80 PSI but having done tests found over time these all stick taking double that pressure to release. This forces out the electrolyte around the seals where the terminals exit the modules, and onto the copper links. In rare cases the top of the module blows completely off The idea that covering the cooling vent on the GS is very valid. It has been found in hot climates the hybrid batteries have a much shorter life span due to drying out of the electrolyte. The centre modules in the battery tend to dry out first. One cell fails with low capacity then gets reverse charged in the series string of cells. This then goes high resistance causing more heat, and destroying other cells close to it. Having owned a Prius for many years I was a long term member of the US forum "Prius Chat" doing many experiments on the battery modules including a non destructive method of rehydrating them with much success. It is a slow process requiring the handling of the very caustic materials. John.

Just looking at the MOT again, and in 2017 two shocks were listed as misting. There is no MOT for this year as yet, but I would be concerned about these, and if they have not been replaced they should be as part of the deal. It is probable under normal circumstances it would fail the MOT on these, but how well does the dealer get on with the MOT station? John

In the add the millage is shown as 102000 miles. Otherwise the MOT history is good with no failures. John.

The shocks even when worn out make no difference to ride height. Broken or sagging springs obviously can affect the ride height as can badly deteriorated rubber bushes. Member "Farqui" above has a very good post on fitting spacers on top of the spring mounts. John.

As well as the above there is a huge amount of information on the US Prius chat forum. This includes detail such regenerating the modules with chargers as well as re hydrating the modules. The modules "6 cells" are the same across almost the complete Toyota/Lexus range of cars making them interchangeable from one car to another. There are 40 modules in the GS450H. The battery can basically be electrically split in two by a safety link mounted on the battery. This halves the available voltage to make it much safer to work on around 140 volts. Removing copper links between modules reduces this again. If you choose a link half way along one section of the battery the voltage would be reduced to 70 volts. The average person does not feel this voltage. LOC member Richard of "Hybrid battery solutions" can repair your own battery, and give a guarantee or even rebuild it with new cells, and give a longer guarantee than Lexus does at considerable cost savings. Battery failure is rare and not the catastrophic event that the press has made out in the past. When the Prius first arrived on the scene they were saying the batteries would only last 2 years. There are now cars on the road at 15 years without problems. John

This sounds more like air in the system than any other fault. John.

The windows need resetting from each door switch to make them work correctly. Open each window half way then close, and hold the switch in the closed position for 5seconds. This needs to be done any time the battery is disconnected. The fob batteries are CR1632 button cells. John.

All still have hybrid batteries, and are not in the same liege as a GS. Having had a Prius I can say I think it is a better car than the CT, particularly for ride comfort, but noise levels were high in both cars. Running costs again are cheaper for the Prius I will agree with zero road tax, and mid 60's mpg easily obtainable. However they cannot be compared with a GS450H. John.

It does look as though the rain and frost problem has been dealt with. If you look at the shots of falling rain on the "mirror/camera" it goes to an infrared shot showing the camera is heated in much the same way as ordinary mirrors are but would require much less current to keep the small area of lens dry. A very small wash jet could also be incorporated. John.

The GS300 uses a V6 engine of similar weight, and all the other suspension components are the same. As I said the thing you loose is the sport setting of the adjustable units. The only reason I suggested this is because for those on a tight budget you can replace all 4 for close to the price of one adjustable unit. Fitting is a DIY job not requiring a spring compressor. John.

I do not find that in any way is tyre ware a problem. All the tyres on my car ware evenly across the tread. I do not rotate them. The fronts last around 30K miles the rears around 25K miles. The battery is not that expensive to refurbish depending on if you DIY or have it done by a professional. A new battery is circa £2000, But member Richard of Hybrid Battery solutions would refurb your battery, and give a guarantee. for much less than this. Again it is not that the battery is unreliable in fact the very opposite. My own car is a 2007 with 135K on the clock with no signs of problems. John.

The primary faults to look for on the GS450H are leaking shock absorbers at the shaft seal, and exhaust leaking around the area of the "Y" piece where the exhaust splits into two to go to the rear silencers. The rear silencers also rust into holes on the top of them this does not seem to make the exhaust noisy so can be difficult to spot. The shocks are around £250 each, and there is no alternative. The exhaust rear section is around £600 from Lexus, but most here have systems made from stainless steel for much less money with a life time guarantee. A few have had a problem with the gearbox electric hydraulic oil pump. Cost from Lexus £2500, but can be simply repaired by changing the bearings for an outlay of less than £10, and a couple of hours work to remove and refit the external pump. Minor problems that apply to most of the Toyota/Lexus range are seized rear brake caliper slide pins. These can be usually freed, and greased without problems. As they are not considered a service item Lexus will just fit new calipers. There were a number of Lexus recalls for some items on the car, but do not worry if these have not been carried out. Lexus will still carry out any outstanding recalls free of charge, and usually with a loan car if required along with a wash and valet. I am in the same position as you, and find the 450H a better proposition than the 300 being lower road tax, and better fuel consumption. Do not let these seemingly expensive problems put you off these amazing pieces of engineering. If you try one you will buy one. John.

As already said in my earlier post if it is an acid spillage "and this looks very typical" the damage will continue to spread unless the area is treated. An upholsterer would replace any damaged foam. In my opinion this damage is not likely to be caused by a problem with the car although there have been a few reports of Toyota Prius replacement batteries having a shorted cell, and the rest of the cells being over charged, getting hot, and gassing profusely. This however is very noticeable by a strong sulphur smell inside the car. John.

There are no alternative shocks for the GS450H. The only way I know of to reduce the cost is to fit the shocks for the GS300, and that means loosing the adjust ability. It does however reduce the cost to circa £75 each. John.

While I agree the rear parking brake shoes in theory should never ware out, but in practice particularly if you bought the car second hand you do not know how the previous owner drove it. It would be annoying to say the leased to start working on the car on a Sunday only to find shoes are needed and not available. Also why I said have them available on sale or return or at available at your local motorist parts shop "if open". When I did my own rear pads on the GS "the discs were fine" I found the shoe linings were down to about 0.5 mm at one end on each of all 4 shoes. This was at about 100,000 miles. My Prius that I had from new at 140,000 miles still had what appeared to be have no measurable ware on the linings. John.