You have a piece of automotive history. It's a dinosaur today but back in it's day, it was a very technologically advanced vehicle signaling the coming electronic boom which is the norm today. Pretty amazing.
Thanks for your comment. It is pretty amazing to see hybrids and EVs become the norm as time progresses. Yes, it’s a dinosaur today but it’s interesting how Toyota is using the same NiMh battery chemistry in the new Land Cruiser hybrid system, so it’s not as antiquated as one would think a 23 year old system would be. It’s neat to see their systems be refined through the years. Nothing is perfect but Toyota’s hybrids are pretty good.
They’re pretty great but it seems as though high voltage diagnostics are manual up to the tech. Dr. Prius and other scan tools would not work with my first gen, so I had to manually check the cells for voltage to monitor and test them.
@@tinuthomas531What has your experience been with your 2nd gen? How many miles does it have and have you serviced the battery? I’ve heard Toyota fixed the corrosion issues with the 2nd gen NiMh cells. Next time I have an issue with mine, I’ll rebuild it with them instead of the 1st gen cells. 👍
@@airborneadventurer I just bought mine last year, so no real experience. It had 230k original battery, and it gets about 40mpg rn in this colder weather. It has 240k on it now and it’s been a great car. I absolutely love everything about it. I bought it as a run around car so I don’t have to take out my car when I need to travel short distances, and it’s been great for that. I’m not sure if mine has the rusting issue and if that has anything to do with the rear hatch leaking. I did have water in the 12v battery compartment, so I used seam sealer on every vulnerable area and haven’t seen water in there since.
@@tinuthomas531That’s some incredible mileage on the original battery. I wish you the best with your 2nd gen and I’ll be on the lookout for one as well.
Ah the memories! I had one of those, leased back in late 2001 until the 2004 came out. Back then I got so much attention, not because of my good looks, but because of this extremely uncommon car. Random people would come out of the woodwork to check out this car. In fact, it was so uncommon that the Toyota dealership from where I got the car could not actually service the car. There was only 1 certified Prius mechanic in all of Toronto at the time, and he worked at a different dealership. So, even though I lived just down the street from a Toyota dealership, I had to drive 6 km away to get my 2001 Prius serviced. BTW, the main reason I got the 2004 was just because the rear seats in the 2001 didn't fold down. I'm driving a 2012 Prius Plug-In now.
Fascinating, thank you for sharing about your experience. It’s still an uncommon car, I never would have owned one but when I found it for sale dead where parked, I couldn’t resist a good project. It’s still going at 182k miles and I drive it daily without issue. That’s interesting no one would work on it, I’ve found most mechanical attributes are common with the Echo and Yaris, with some uncommon attributes of its own. I’m the only mechanic who wrenches on my cars though, so I’m sure I’ll come across more interesting things in the future. The bar has been set high with this being my first hybrid. Before finding it, I was told to buy new. However, there just isn’t any new car that can be operated for less than $150 a month after fuel, insurance and maintenance here and there. This is a special situation and I’m appreciative of it. Just today, a bed frame fell out of a trailer ahead of me on the highway and I was boxed in. Ran it over, pulled off to check the tires, etc. and realized I had no stress over any potential damage. Had I been driving a new car, I would have been very upset at scratches, etc. Rear fold down seats would be nice and ev range would be amazing but I will be content with this one until something catastrophic happens… even then, I’ll just fix it again, make another video about it and continue daily driving it. lol
@@airborneadventurer Just to be clear, it wasn't that nobody wanted to work on it. It was because nobody was allowed to work on it. I was told back then that Toyota required the mechanics to have gone through Prius-specific training, or else they wouldn't be allowed to work on them.
@@EugWanker I see, that’s what I figured. I acquired Toyota’s comprehensive mechanical and electrical manuals before wrenching on it and the level of complexity amazed me. It’s not a 2001 Ford Focus, that’s for sure. The Toyota specific scan tool was $300 alone, so I’m sure back when they were new, everyone was in the dark about how to maintain them.
you scored big time on that Gen 1, very clean. I used to make fun of the Prius, but the more I researched them the more I liked them. Super technologically advanced for the time. I have an 06 Gen 2 Package 6 that I picked up in 2023 for a commuter and it's been great. 209k when i got it but it has every service record from the dealer from day 1 including a new HV battery and oil changes every 5k miles. Runs great. 46MPG was my best tank, average non-hypermiling 41-43.
Excellent! It’s good to see the early ones taken care of and enjoyed. Simple and durable tech. I finished a 180 mile route yesterday between little towns and it averaged 54 mpg at a constant 60 mph using cruise control on a fairly flat road. $15 in fuel to drive 180 miles. Impressive for being a ‘classic’. A Carvana quote last week out of curiosity returned a $100 purchase offer so it’s my $100 car that reliably just works from day to day. Seats are comfy, interior has plenty of room, minimal maintenance, no blind spots, no car payment, cheap insurance, what car could be better?
Currently drive a 2010, but I’ve always wanted one of these original ones. I could bring all of my actual mix tapes out and play them again lol! Great find and great video!
@@mbrotz86 Good old cassettes! I like tech that is physically owned and doesn’t change with software updates. All the best to you and your 2010, hopefully a good first gen will come across your path. Their main Achilles heel is the battery corroding and lack of spare parts. I got a vent phone mount for mine since I drive it for work as a laboratory courier and pushed too hard… the dash cracked apart due to age. The replacement dash bezel that holds the radio and screen was $3k from Toyota and discontinued. No junkyard in the PNW had the part so I had to get one off eBay in NY for $300. It arrived broken but I plastic welded it back together and it works. Not perfect but the car now has 186k on it, I don’t expect it to be. Thanks for your kind comment, have a great day!
Nice Prius! You are going to love it. We are on our second 1st gen now. Our first one was an ex car share unit and the victim of a transaxle leak from an undetected impact crack on the pan. We got it very cheaply in 2008. The fluid had leaked out entirely and the sun gear self destructed as I found out on autopsy. I replaced the entire transaxle myself with a very low mileage replacement and we drove it until last year when MG1 finally died after 501,000 km. We will keep buying and driving these cars until there are none left. They are reliable, sporty, comfortable, handle well and sip gas.
Thank you! That’s an amazing story and report of your 1st gen Prius. I changed the transmission fluid and dropped the pan to clean the pickup screen and install a new pickup tube o-ring and it was incredibly clean for never having been opened up. These are nifty little cars, I appreciate mine.
Great looking Prius, and it was so cool looking at the dashboard with the tape deck and CD lol...you have a piece of history there. Original owner of a 2010 3rd gen, and I LOVE my Prius!
@@airborneadventurer my 2002 has the EXTREMELY rare factory navi system. Bought a 6-CD deck to build my own fully-specced Gen 1, but it was DOA. I'm going to try to find another 6-CD deck, I'd like to have all of the options (mine doesn't have side-curtain airbags though, and those can't really be installed after the fact.)
Thank you! Great choice for a good car. Thanks, but it’s just an average old car. It was towed by an RV approximately 60,000 miles on top of the 177k driven, so the hood paint is gone under the leather cover I installed. The paint is also oxidized giving it a matte finish but I don’t mind. I’m now at 181k miles and everything is running like it should still. Best car I’ve owned.
It looks in mint condition. Amazing the hybrid tech in that car 22 yo car is basically the same as in my brand new Corolla. If it's not broken and it's smart, don't change it.
Thanks for the compliment. It’s far from mint but it works and I like it. You are absolutely right, it’s not yet broken beyond repair and the tech is good. So good, Toyota is selling its new Land Cruiser with the same NiMh battery chemistry in the hybrid battery. Pretty cool.
Nice find and nice video. I bought mine in 2002 and am at just about 196k miles. The brake booster needs to be replaced soon and it seems some of the braking system parts specific to gen 1 are no longer available new. I do love my car though and hate the thought of having to move on if the system can't be reliably repaired. I'd like a real radio but having to accept a large tablet built on the dash is not worth it. Visibility in later models can't match gen 1, either. So here's to the gen 1 Prius and hoping those still on the road keep on rolling.
Thank you for your comment. Hopefully your brake components can be rebuilt or replaced on a budget and you can keep it on the road. I agree with you about the screens. I’m sensitive to PWM on new OLED screens and sitting in new vehicles for even a short time gives me a headache. I wish this would be refreshed and the ‘Prius Classic’ no nonsense model would be built. I’d buy one.
@@Westman5 I agree. I’m a medical courier and rely on it from day to day. It’s rock solid at 43mpg, currently has 186k miles and the only issue I’ve had was entirely my fault… I got a phone mount that clips onto the vent and it broke the vent. I then tried to disassemble the dash to fix the vent and the entire center dash bezel shattered. The only option was a used bezel from eBay for $300 it came with the screen and tape player so if those ever fail, I’ll have a backup. Besides that issue, it’s been great. No complaints here. 👍
0:10 I love doing that in my '02. Quite a bit of torque from 0 to 30! 6:30 despite the fact that the generation one Prius uses a belt driven air conditioning compressor, the engine does not have to run continuously for the air conditioning. There is a thermal-storage evaporator core that keeps the AC blowing cold with the engine off, up to about a minute depending on the ambient temperature. And if the engine needs to run to cool down the evaporator, it'll only run as long as it needs to.
That is too cool, thanks for sharing. It’s awesome to learn more about the first gen, they’re a special car. They sure do have a nice torque band at low speed.
i love my 01 prius. it had barely any mileage on it when i got it and it has a lot of strange problems but i like it. Sometimes the engine wont turn on when your start it and the dealership said they couldnt find anything wrong so i just live with it.
@@vanillash7489 That’s great that you have a low mileage first gen. These are designed to only run the engine when the battery is low or the air conditioning is turned on, so most of the time I jump in, turn the key, shift and go without thinking until I drive other cars and I have to slow down, wait for it to start then be careful to shift when stopped. The Prius uses a planetary transmission so you can shift from reverse to forward while in motion for a seamless transition from reverse to forward. I feel as though it was way ahead of its time. Great little cars!
@@airborneadventurer Yeah ik how that part works. I mean that sometimes when i turn it on i get an error message accompanied with absolutely nothing turning the engine on. Trying to drive faster than 20 doesnt work and the ac doesnt work. and it only fixes itself when i leave it alone for a few hours. Ive had it for abt 5 years and its always done it
Love the video as Toyota hybrids are amazing system. Even though I have much more advanced one a Prius Prime 2018 I love this car. I bought as I wanted something with good gas millage as drive a lot. Saving on gas are paying for the car it self.
That’s great to hear! Per my calculations, I broke even yesterday driving it instead of my 13mpg Sequoia I used to drive daily. Now I’ve got as close to a free car as possible and despite being old with its random issues, I couldn’t be happier. Insurance is $25 a month and fuel is $60 a month. Compared to $400 a month with the Sequoia, it’s a blessing to have an economical car.
I don't know if cruise control was a common feature in 2001. I have it on my 2007 Prius but I see you also have it in yours. CD and cassette, not aa lot of cars had both of them at the time. It's a bit slower than mine and consumption is a bit worse, but it's a great car. Generation after generation they've managed to make them better and better. Enjoy a lot this beautiful car as I enjoy my almost 210000 miles one.
This was an awesome video, Jared. As a previous commenter has stated, that little Prius is a peace of history. If you dont mind me asking did you get this as a project car or as a daily commuter? Do you think it is cramped or does it have enough space? It is so cool to see how far the Prius has come over the past 20 years, the latest generation especially looks great. Thanks again for the video.
Thanks, Nick. It is history but continues on as living history. Since overhauling the battery, it hasn’t experienced any mechanical or electrical issues. I looked for one to learn about hybrids with as little money involved as possible because my vehicle budget is small. Also, I was daily driving my 2003 Sequoia and the fuel bills were killing me financially with its 13mpg. I bought it to be both a daily commuter and a project. Also, the original owner listed it for $500 as a dead old Prius due to being evicted from her RV park for having too old of an RV. I gave her more for it to help a little bit with her situation. The risk of getting into a dead hybrid has so far paid off with fuel savings, but only because I repaired the battery myself at my own risk. Had any other major issues been at play, I wouldn’t have economically repaired it and it would have financially burned me. It was a blessing to have it come to life and so far not experience other issues. They’re good cars and I’m glad I own this one. As far as space, I’m 6’6” and fit just fine with an inch or two to spare. It’s a comfortable car to whip around town in and I’m not afraid of it getting dented, etc. so it’s a peaceful ownership experience.
@@airborneadventurer Whoa, talk about Toyota's bulletproof reliability. I am tempted to try something like this myself, but even used Priuses (Prii?) are pricey. If you can comfortably fit in one at 6'6 then I should be fine since I'm way shorter. I hope your channel can grow in the future. This was a great project.
@@nicksalvador9729 Thank you for your encouragement. My goal isn’t to grow my channel, just to share information about projects and random things as they happen. If you like to tinker, I’d say go for it. Owning an old hybrid isn’t for everyone and as they age, parts will inevitably become harder to find and more expensive. I’m going to drive my Prius until it completely dies in some catastrophic way then sell it or give it away as a project car. The nice thing about getting into a cheap car is that there is very little stress involved. If something happens to it, it’s not the end of the world. I’ve been down the new car route and it’s stressful and expensive. I’ve learned it’s best to be your own warranty and with how big vehicles are getting these days, slipping into tight parking spots then having tons of room to open doors, etc. since the Prius is so narrow is a really nice feature. All the best to your vehicle journey. 👍
I remember being very interested in these when they first came out in the US, when the idea of recapturing the kinetic energy of the moving car for reuse was still novel - an appealing technology to me at the time. It was so obviously the future of things. It would have to wait another 2 decades before I could afford it and the technology matured to a level I was satisfied with, but I finally got a Model 3 Highland a couple months ago; it's everything I imagined electric cars could potentially be as a kid twenty plus years ago. I don't really understand where the corrosion came from on the battery contacts here. Isn't it sealed in a box away from the elements? The chemistry doesn't usually leak on these like on lead acid I don't think. Hopefully the old battery was sold for scrap? Beyond the nickel value, the old NiMH's contain an absolute shitton of lanthanum.
The corrosion came from leaking terminal seals on the early cells. When I replaced the original cells, I sealed every new terminal and bus bar with Noco terminal anti-corrosive paste to prevent the buildup again. So far no issues have become present. I tried recycling the old cells but no recycler would accept them. The recyclers wanted the battery electronics more than the failed cells and wouldn’t take the individual dead cells. After six months of seeking a recycler I gave up and discarded the old cells. They were worthless to me and apparently the recyclers.
@@airborneadventurer Interesting. Maybe the blue was actually from nickel salts then rather than corroded copper. Too bad about the inability to scrap them, probably 30+ pounds of lanthanum in there, and about as much nickel.
The terminals were corroded and vinegar cleaned them. The alkaline solution corroded the wiring and terminals, I had to check each line for corrosion and neutralize it before it spread further. The one voltage detection line that ‘snapped’ from corrosion was replaced but it amazed me how it was chemically dissolved in that one section. Batteries corrode, wear out and fail over time and I am amazed how many are on the roads today. Given enough time, every single one will experience battery failure and I’m not so sure they’ll be as simple and inexpensive to repair as this first generation hybrid system given the increasingly complex computers and components involved. Time will tell but until this dies, I’ll be content with this old marshmallow of a car. 😅 Yes, it’s unfortunate no one would take the old batteries. I even attended a local recycling ‘fair’ to bring all sorts of batteries and I was turned away. A bit odd considering they were just dead as a door nail 1.2v NiMh cells packaged in groups of six completely dry as all the alkaline solution leaked out and crystallized. I brought them clean of corrosion with electrical tape over the terminals with the 0v voltages sharpied on and was treated like I was doing something wrong by not recycling them in the battery housing with the BMS and relays.
I have a 2001 with 99k excellent condition, just had the inverter coolant changed but dosen’t seem to be blowing as cold as it should here El Paso, should these cars need refrigerant charge?
Very nice! The inverter coolant cools the inverter only, the ac is a different closed system. Strange that it would blow warmer air after the inverter fluid change.
@@airborneadventurer thanks for the quick reply, it’s not been driven for the last 3 weeks as it was being transported on truck from guess where, “Seattle”. it’s the left vent that is not blowing as cold, and are you saying this car would not need a refrigerant refill?
That’s a good find for sure, it may need a refrigerant refill, hard to say without actually working on it. Everything on this car is about the same as every other car. You might want to check the cabin air filter for debris and follow online procedures for cleaning the condenser. That helped mine blow ice cold again.
I try to fill up once it’s at 1/2 tank to prevent the fuel pump from overheating as the cold fuel keeps the pump cool. Five gallons every two weeks on average.
@@TolgaDag-nk5wg Fuel cools the fuel pump. I try to not run it low for that reason, to lengthen the life of the fuel pump. You’re not damaging your vehicle by filling up when the light turns on, although your pump could heat up more when it’s not being cooled by fuel in the tank. That could shorten its lifespan.
