Can you check hybrid battery health on Prius like the 12V?

No, the MFD doesn't have the capability of displaying traction battery block voltages.

You will need to use an interface for the OBDII port underneath the steering wheel to achieve the ability. Priidash and Torque are two applications that run on of a laptop, which are
the least expensive ways of reading the battery block voltages.

And yes, it seems your traction battery may be getting "tired". Until the red triangle of death makes its unwelcome appearance some day (hopefully not too soon), there's not much you can do.

 

The HV battery health can be determined by reading out the module pair voltages and series resistances. You can do this with either a "Prius Aware" OBD2 reader:

• Toyota Techstream - expensive
• Autoingenuity (sp?) - more reasonable, but some limitations
• ScanGauge2 - $150
• Priidash - Open source "techy" SW for Windows/Linux plus a BlueTooth OBD2 Dongle
• Torque Pro - a $5 Android app again with a BlueTooth OBD2 Dongle

Or by purchasing a $50 OBD2 data logger at: Traction Battery Health Monitor for Toyota Prius - OpenElectrons.com

JeffD

 

The mini VCI from eBay could get added to that list.

 

I bought techstream software and the mini-vci cable. It works great.

 

...also a couple weeks ago a guy from Virginia posted a Prius battery checker he was developing. Not sure if anyone is trying that yet.

Traction Battery Health Monitor for Toyota Prius | Page 2 | PriusChat

 

This is a reference to the same device I linked to above at: Traction Battery Health Monitor for Toyota Prius - OpenElectrons.com

JeffD

 

It sounds like you need to get one of the Traction Battery Health Monitors listed above. You plug it in your OBDII port, drive the car, download the file and examine the battery voltages, resistances, temperatures, etc. This will give you a baseline for the current health of your battery.

Then periodically you can do this again and compare to your baseline and see if there are any unusual trends. Also if you notice a change in the way the battery behaves you can plug in the monitor and compare the data to your baseline data.

 

Apart from those people that do not have a laptop or equivalent I do not see the point of buying the "Traction battery health monitor".
The Mini VCI with Techstream comes at half the price, monitors the HV battery including temperatures for as long as you have room on the hard drive "not 2 to 10 seconds", and is capable of virtually every service task you can wish for. Plus you can do this on the move if you wish "preferably by someone in the passengers seat". The TB health monitor would have to be unplugged to be able to see it.

John (Britprius)

 

The Traction Battery Health Monitor is only $45. I actually got mine for free since I was a Beta test.

Can you get the Mini VCI, cable, and all for $20? Plus you need to have a laptop.

If I had a laptop I would probably be interested in the Mini VCI. If someone figures out how to run this on an iPad let me know.

In lieu of having Techstream, the SGII and the Battery Health Monitor suffice for me now.

 

The BH monitor appears to be $49.95 and yes you can buy the mini VCI with Techstream for under $25. Also the first line of my post does state "apart from those not having a laptop or equivalent". The mini VCI is capable of so much more for people that that do have a laptop including complete HV battery monitoring and the ability to control and monitor the cooling fan.

John (Britprius)

 

Hi there I am looking at buying a mini VCI with Techstream and it will be the first reader I have ever owned. Anyway what I really would like to know before I purchase is the one I am looking at on Ebay says that it is a mini VCI J2534 OEM will this one work for my 2006 Prius?

Sorry if it seems like I am highjacking this thread but I saw it and I am also in need of an ODBII reader that will work on my Prius.

Thanks in advance for your help to those who reply

 

Yes that is the model I have and covers almost anything on the Prius. It will also do emissions related problems on most vehicles with the same OBD socket in the vehicle.

John (Britprius)

 

That is great thank you John for your reply.

 

The same thing with the battery draining happened to me today and it was very hot. Not sure if the heat was at fault but I also heard a strong fan like sound coming out of the vents on the side of the back seats. And it took roughly 15 minutes to go from the lowest pink bar charge just up one more to the second one. I'm concerned my hybrid battery is losing is charge hold capabilities

 

are you still under warranty there? if so, get it checked out before it runs out.

 

Heat is the enemy of battery longevity. The battery cooling fan running audibly is an indication that the battery is overheating. The battery charge control won't allow any current in until it cools down again. Make sure your battery fan is clean (instructions on this site and youtube) and use the A/C, as that is what keeps the battery air intake cool. Avoid parking in the sun, and use heat reflectors in the windows. The premature battery failures that are posted on this site seem to originate more from hot climates.

 

I guess for now I'll just keep an eye on it. If I have anymore issues I'll take it to the dealer. The hv battery should still be under warranty. It's only 7 years old. Warranty is covered until it's 8 years

 

If you haven't done so, you can register your Prius @ Toyota. Once you do that you can see when the car went into service. A 2007 model could well have gone into service in 2006, which would mean the warranty will expire this year.

Toyota Owners Official Web Site: Service Coupons, Owner's Manuals, Service Scheduling And More