How long are the Gen 3 traction batteries expected to last?

thanks for the thoughtful comments and contribution

 

happy to help ;-)

 

Trick question:

After the accident that totals the car, Gen-3 traction battery modules last at least 2-3 rebuilds in Gen-1 and Gen-2.

Bob Wilson

ps. Still have a shovel looking for that 'landfill full of Prius traction batteries' that Prius skeptics claim exist.

 

Ive had seven Prii thus far and Im averaging replacing a HV pack in a Prius about every 1.5 years. The summer heat of the southwest will expose a weak pack quickly. Perhaps the best thing you can do keep your rear windows cracked at least an inch when the car sits in direct sunlight (cost=free). Im getting better at changing traction batteries with 2nd gens taking about 2.5 hours and Gen3 about 1.5 hours (if I don't have to transfer the fan to the new batt pack).

Your battery pack can be a king or a street sweeper, but sooner or later it'll dance with the reaper. No matter what measures you take your original pack will eventually die.

 

if you ask me, the fact that the old fashioned Ni-MH battery lasts for about 12 years with daily use and exposure to heat is short of a miracle. folks, get real, batteries can't last forever. I'm curious how long lithium batteries will last in volt or tesla. Nissan leaf experience is not encouraging.

 

Battery last 15 years in carb states, and more than 10 in others!

 

did you mean 10 years in CARB and 8 years in others?

 

Yes, you right for CA 10Y/150K, then 12Y about right.

 

Can I throw in a related question since there seem to be some battery experts here.

After 4 years of living without my own car in the far East, I will go back to owning a Prius soon. We were were happy with our 2nd generation (2008) before and now I am hesitant between going for another P2 or spend a bit more for a P3 (and thus have a newer battery). But back to the battery question I wanted to ask:

When buying second hand Prius, is there any good way of checking the condition of the traction battery? I was wondering if there is anything that can be (easily) read via the OBD that can serve as an indicator of battery health or signs of failure.

Thanks for all advice and hints.

 

It seems odd to me, but. When talking to the Service Manager at our dealership. He insists that looking over all of the codes, there is no code for battery health.

In this era of technology, and considering how many computers are already in a Prius, I find it odd that this is not possible.

 

Yes but it isn't easy. The technique is to use a TechStream (aka., miniVCI) to monitor the state of the 28 battery modules, the 14 pairs, while forced charging to maximum and monitoring discharge to minimum:

1. Setup large tire blocks so the car can not bolt and do damage.
2. 'Start' car to READY
3. Connect TechStream to monitor (and record) the 14 module pair voltages and temperatures.
   
4. Force charge, holding the brake and flooring accelerator, until battery is fully charged, 80%.
5. Shift car into "R" and floor accelerator to discharge battery to minimum or at least 45% SOC.
6. Analyze the recorded battery metrics:
   1. Look for module pair that have a higher voltage swing on charge and discharge. Greater than 0.3V for the highest and lowest modules at any one time means there is a problem.
   2. Look for traction battery temperatures showing more than a 3C difference. Heat is the enemy and symptom of a problem.

This test will only find nearly failing traction batteries with probably 2-5 years of service remaining depending upon your climate, terrain and driving style. It will definitely find already failed traction batteries.

Bob Wilson

 

Thank you, Bob. I have continued to search a bit more and found pretty much what you described and also some more information, so I put the link in her for future reference.

I guess this is only one indicator but at least some piece of mind. I am still a bit puzzled by reading earlier in this thread that many P2 batteries that are 10 years plus are failing now. I am also follow a Prius forum in Europe and there failed batteries come up occasionally on P1s (there are very few of them in Europe), but I think so far I have only read about 1 or 2 P2 with traction battery issues.

Originally my heart was set on getting another P2 (facelift, i.e 2006 or younger) who it seams many rate higher than the P3 (and I was very happy with our P2), but then the battery age question is indeed an interesting one. In Europe milage is typically a lot lower, so a facelift P2 would have most of the time less than 100k miles, often below 70k, which is why originally I didn't even consider the battery as an issue. But now it seams that P3 prices are dropping as a result of the P4 launch... so I am very hesitant.

Predictive battery failure analysis for the Prius Hybrid

 

Used/rebalanced batteries are so common and cheap it would no longer stop me from buying used Prius nowadays. For example here in Ontario Canada, you can buy $600 rebalanced Gen2 batteries + $100 installation charge all in Canadian currency.

Convert that to US$ and that would be less than $550 US dollars.

 

Unfortunately not the same in Europe where thanks to VW everybody has been buying 'clean Diesel cars' for years, so the Prius is still rather exotic and not many garages know them.

 

You can ask if they ship to Europe because I know they do ship outside Canada. The only thing though is the $600 Canadian is the price you get if you swap your core to them. They charge more if you don't exchange your core to them. But then the Euro is even strong vs the Canadian dollar so that should help a wee bit.

 

Carb_Warranty