[lajollajbm]

At just over 12000 miles on my (formerlly problem-free) 2001 Prius the display panel showed every warning light know to man. Driving to dealer (as advised by owner's manual) without problem I was placed in a free rental car and sent home. I will be without my Prius three weeks next Tuesday and weekly updates from Dealer report "computer on back order" and assure me I am "not alone" which would indicate Toyota may have a serious computer problem with (at least) the 2001 Prius. Should I be looking at the 2004 Prius or is this a problem confined to the 2001 model???

 

[RSnyder]

I'm surprised the dealer won't let you drive it while waiting for the new computer. Did they happen to say why not?

 

[RSnyder]

Oh yeah, as for the 2004 model, my understanding is that the computer firmware can be updated by the dealers, so there will no longer be a need to order a whole new computer just to update the software.

 

[gmott]

I have a 2001 Prius with over 42,000 miles on it. I drive it every day to work across San Francisco Bay and we also use it as a travel car for long distances. I have had no malfunction of the display/computer system. Car purrs like a kitten and am enjoying it more all the time especially when the gas prices are climbing towards $2 here in CA again.
Also have the original tires and looks like I should get almost 50k on those.
Hadn't heard any complaints before re: computer.
Good Luck

 

[mr.green.genes]

ditto

i have a 2001 prius with almost 60,000 miles on it. my computer went out last week, but was replaced in a couple days without a hitch. i didn't get any feedback from the mechanics. my toyota dealership is really lame. the last time i spoke with the people working on my car - i knew more than them. that kind of spooked me out a bit.

aside from that, i've had no problems with the car.

 

[mvalugo]

Prius COmputer

I own a 2002 Prius. Two months ago my car wouldn't start. The warning light came on and I was unable to drive the car to the dealer. After a couple of days they told me my car needed a new computer. I had to wait just over a week to get it. Last week (after two months) exactly the same thing happened to my car. They changed the main battery and tried it. After two blocks it died on them. This morning they told me they had to call California to get technical help. They are now telling me they need to change the "inverter", but they could not explain to me exactly what was the function of the "inverter". They said they would try it after they change the "inverter" and find out if this was the problem. Obviously, they don't know what is going on with my car.

 

[mrv]

What error codes has your car been giving out (should be stored whenever a check engine light or a hybrid warning light goes off)? That'll point to any issues.

Remember that there are at least a 1/2 dozen or more ECUs (computers) in the Prius, so it is helpful if you state exactly which one was replaced.

 

[RSnyder]

Briefly, the inverter converts back and forth between DC and AC voltages.

See Graham's website for the details: http://home.earthlink.net/~graham1/Prius/Prius.htm