Who to choose for Refurbished HV battery

So far as we on PC know, rebuilders like Falcon replace only the modules they think are bad, with G3 modules.

That leaves an awful lot to fail over the next 1-24 months of use. Not only from marginal modules left in, but problems from using poorly matched modules and poor rebalancing routines.

If you decide to swap a battery yourself, be sure to do your homework and watch some videos. You can fatally electrocute yourself if you are stupid. This link has the technical instructions from Toyota for a 2004 Prius. Unless you can follow the instructions to the letter, pay to have it done. You have been warned.

 

I think most people will end up being disappointed with a gen2 rebuild. Even a knowledgeable rebuilder like Dorman is having failures a few months after replacement. It just won't last. And the warranty? Basically just a selling point. Who wants to deal with break downs every few months?

 

It's a complex set of variables to deal with after the pack codes.
If you get lucky, simply throwing a healthy pack in place of the weak pack is all that's needed.
Other times, with a different set of ( car, driver, battery and controller module issues ) It'll take years for a non expert to figure out the cars new behavior.
In my second year after my HCH pack coded, I still don't understand a lot of things that the car is doing.

 

That, and it usually costs money to actually use the warranty. The rebuilders must love people who pay another $200 or so every couple months to swap out one crappy battery for another.

 

If Toyota or any other automaker come out with a lifetime warranty on the hv battery, their sales would sky rocket.

 

What about the genII rebuilds that use new genII modules or new gen III modules? As good as a new OEM battery from the dealer?

 

Do you know what they put inside or just by them telling you what's inside? Once you open their case, your warranty is voided.

A member here bought a brand new battery with GenIII modules, even got a 5 year warranty on it. The battery died after 6 months. Although the warranty was honored, do you think a new battery should have lasted only 6 months?

Can you do a search on the internet and see if you can find "new" genII modules to buy? Surely if they were available, ebay, amazon or anywhere else on the internet might have them. If you are lucky enough to find one, you can use the examples of cell phone batteries. The OEM batteries from Samsung lasts a good 2 years. A replacement "new" battery from china, you're lucky enough to get good 6 months out of it before it drains after 1 hour of use. The word "new" from OEM and "new" from copycats from third world countries, are really not the same.

 

Failure after a few months? Is that a rumor, or do you have actual documentation.
I'd be curious.

 

It's documented on the threads here. Straight from the owners that have bought the batteries. I just pass on what is posted here, who knows if the owners made up those claims

 

Please show at least one thread of a Dorman battery failing after a few months. I can't seem to find that.
I find supplier failures, but not Dorman.

 

Dorman Battery Experiences | PriusChat

 

Reread the thread more closely. Guy had P0A80 right after installing. This is not always a "bad hybrid battery" code. In fact, OP said it went away and he drove it with no codes or issues for 7 months. If it was a "bad battery" it would not have magically fixed itself.

op came back and said he is having code issues again, but still not clear of the outcome.

Another person on thread bought via a third party supplier. But sounds like a weird case with unusual circumstances with regards to the supplier? In fact the OP made his post public to try to warn others that you should not buy the battery via that particular supplier.

 

To my understanding, regardless of the supplier, Dorman has a 6 month return date on their batteries. If for some reason a supplier has decided to stock this battery, they are suppose to return it if not sold within 6 months. So the battery itself is still coming straight from Dorman, the quality is not from the supplier but Dorman itself.

I get a lot of my information from this site and I just pass on what I read. I can't say everything I read is 100% correct and truthful as well.

 

As you may very well know, this is completely false. A dirty fan can lead to increased battery temperature, and heat is the #1 enemy of HV battery life.

I must take issue with this. While there are plenty of amateurs and scammers on CL, there are also lots of honest professionals as well. It is the responsibility of the consumer to vet the business. Granted, scammers and amateurs are more likely to be found on CL than established brick and mortar businesses, but there's lots of good bargains to the found on CL as well as plenty of scammers and amateurs to be found behind the counter at brick and mortar businesses.

Going to CL to find a service provider is like getting your news via the internet. Are you getting it from the NY Times or the NY Post?

Bottom line - caveat emptor.

 

This supplier (I'll call Supplier B) who ultimately sold direct to the customer may not have purchased directly from Dorman. For example, Supplier B bought it from another Dorman supplier (Supplier A) who was trying to increase sales. If was already sitting at Supplier A's warehouse for 6 months, but then purchased by Supplier B, who knows how long it ultimately was sitting.
The aftermarket supply industry is an interesting beast.

 

Well yes and no.
excessive high temp is a good NiMh cell killer, so is excessive low temps, charging at to high an amperage and charging at low temps using to high amps

But you're right, the fan should have been cleaned and not written off as a non issue.
Like so many who just disconnect the battery terminal to clear codes without even checking what they are first.

If I had a nickel for all the times I've been told last year to just clear the codes and drive.....