safety, disconnect the traction battery

There is absolutely no need to do anything with the traction battery, when the 12V battery is replaced.

 

To add to that. I don't think there is any procedure that would require you to fully discharge the hybrid battery. In fact, that would be very harmful to it.

Your dealership is either totally incompetent or ripping you off.

You don't even have to disconnect the hybrid battery. When the car is off (not in "ready"), the battery is already "disconnected".

 

i think you, your mechanic and his dealership are the only ones concerned/worried. no problem for the rest of the world. relax and enjoy. if you look at page 52 of the safety manual, you won't find any precautions regarding a change of the 12v auxiliarry battery.

 

We've already told you that you've been cheated once regarding the need to discharge the traction battery. I do not understand why you continue to do business with that dealership.

You can leave whatever notes you want in the car; they will probably be cheerfully ignored.

 

I would think a call to Toyota customer services explaining the situation, and where this "work" was carried out would do more good. I would further ask difficult questions like how did you recharge the HV battery after discharging it. This can only be done by the dealer by ordering in a special Toyota charger that is not part of the dealer equipment. Toyota will know if this equipment was used or not.
Pulling out the HV battery service plug "totally unnecessary" would remove any possible danger from an already disconnected battery.

John (Britprius)

 

The only time you really need to isolate the traction battery is when you're working on or near the high voltage components. And that only requires the service plug to be removed, it never requires the battery to be "drained". The whole point of this question is moot anyway. The time required to disconnect and reconnect the service plug is a few minutes at most, so whether or not the technician feels the need to isolate the HV battery is pretty much irrelevant to the time/cost of the service.

Referring to your original thread on this, total discharge of hybrid battery performed, effects? | PriusChat , the total cost of your replacement was $375 Au. Though I haven't personally had this procedure done at a dealer, it really doesn't sound out of the ordinary to me. Compared to the US, we always pay about 50% more for parts here in Aus, and even more for labor/service. So the price doesn't sound that far out of line to me, it's just stupid that the dealer lied to you regarding the reason.

BTW. There are legitimate reasons why the Prius 12V battery install involves a bit of extra labor compared with most conventional cars. Things such as disconnecting and reconnecting vents and ducts, and removing the brake capacitor. It just doesn't involve anything to do with isolating or discharging the HV battery.

 

Forgot to add ...

As others have previously said: If this dealer has lied to you before, if all previous attempts at communication to resolve the issue have been fruitless, then going back to this same dealer and leaving that note will be counterproductive if anything. Your best option is simply to find another dealer.

 

Haven't we been down this road before?
I remember the original thread.
I thought it was pretty well explained and established the first time around. There is no need to discharge the hybrid battery to replace the aux battery.

Where can you find the safety precaution recommending doing this? Nowhere. Because..

Whatever mechanic/dealership/service advisor is saying this is standard operational procedure? Is wrong, lying, or being misunderstood.

Don't really know why we are having this discussion again. Thought this was all settled in a long thread back in Aug and September of 2013.

total discharge of hybrid battery performed, effects? | PriusChat

You're asking for documentation for a procedure that I think YOU are the only one that has ever had it recommended or been told it was necessary.

The answer now, isn't obtaining more proof one way or another...the answer now, is seek a different dealer/service department. But I thought that was long ago settled.

 

X1000

Never did anything with the traction battery when I replaced my 12V aux battery.......anything to the contrary is terrible advice.

 

I hope they drained the gas tank while they discharged the HV battery. That gas can be really dangerous too!

 

.

 

Sorry don't mean to be adversarial or upset you.

But the problem I think is that you are asking for "documentation" about something that is so obviously NOT the procedure that finding specific statements that you DON'T need to do it...will be near impossible to get.

It's like asking for the section in the Garbage Disposal operations manual that tells you that "You shouldn't put your hand in the disposal and turn it on".

Also I think for whatever reason...you're dealing with a pretty unique and individual case. I've never read any other post where someone was being told the Hybrid Battery needed to be discharged before replacing the Aux Battery. So I question the "need" for documentation.

There are plenty of posts and information about how you replace the Aux Battery in a Prius. I don't think you need a specific statement that discharge or disconnect of the Hybrid Battery is explicitly unneeded.

But if this quest is entertaining to you....may your journey be fruitful.

 

I was going to recommend to drain the mechanic's brain before the battery replacement procedure as a safety precaution but then I concluded that my recommendation was to late. Nothing to drain there.

 

SonjainVictoria | PriusChat

Please take this with a grain of salt.

I think what has happened in your case is that you have simply been taken advantage of. It is unfortunate for you that this has taken place.

By purchasing the additional capped service plan and paying the extra money in essence you are letting the stealer rob you blind in more than one way.

As other's have said, I would suggest you find a different mechanic or try an alternative dealer. I understand that down under sources of service/repair for the Prius can be difficult to find. However to allow the people you are dealing with to invoke tactics that they are using seems a little on the side of unwise or even foolish imo. In essence you are pouring good money into bad. It would be better if you cut your losses, and no longer do business with these folks.

As everyone else has said, there is no reason and no documentation out there stating the battery pack/traction battery/hybrid battery (whatever you want to call it) has to be discharged and then recharged to service and or replace the 12 volt auxiliary battery. With that fact in hand, it becomes evident that the folks you are doing business with are not following correct procedures and furthermore are misrepresenting facts for the purpose of robbing you of your hard earned money. They did so with the $1000 you spent for the service plan. What do they have planned for you next? Only you will be able to answer that as long as you continue to do business with them.

As others have said, cut the umbilical cord and move on. These folks are not the type to do business with. Find a better mechanic.

Regards,
Ron (dorunron)

 

Did you get quotes from other dealers to determine "what's normal", or is that just a guess?

Like I said before, I've never had a dealer change my battery so I was just guessing, but there are a couple of other Aussies here who paid close to $300 just for the 12V (optimo) battery itself, and they did the installation themselves. I haven't checked the dealers price, but last time I checked online the OEM battery cost even more than the optimo (an aftermarket brand) here. Admittedly that was mostly due to some ridiculous $150 delivery cost, so maybe the dealers are actually cheaper on this. Without getting a few other serious quotes from other dealers though, I certainly would count on it.

 

X2

I hate seeing stories like this where a dealer tried to take advantage of people. They have even tried it on me any I am an engineer and former mechanic, but they usually give up when it becomes clear the mechanics know less than you do. If you feel like contesting the bill you can print out this thread and bring it in (I have done that before with some success), but in reality if they are so dirty as to severely complicate the replacement of your 12V aux battery chances are you would be much better off just cutting ties and moving on to another dealer. I would also suggest making good use of forums like this which can prove invaluable for helping you solve prius issues yourself.