Gen 2 Epic Failure--Dealer Perplexed--Need Real Help

Welcome to Prius Chat .

The hv battery could be depleted enough to prevent operation.

I would seek a second opinion .

Not sure in the Nashville area, but are there any hybrid specialty shops?

One member here has owned several Prii (@Aaron Vitolins ) and lives in the same geographic area .

He might be willing to assist or have Techstream.

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

There’s a member here who is selling a new type of hybrid battery for $1600 which has brand new cells,

Or go on Craigslist and see how many bandits that will repair your battery for $500 and then a month later
It will fail again. Ir you can do it yourself. But the main issue is there are no new cells available for a G2 battery so when c3lls are replaced they are old and used and have been charged up.

Or buy the battery from the dealer and install it yourself. You will save aLot of money.

Lastly how much engine oil does the engine use? How many quarts of oil did you use on your 1900 mike trip?
If the engine is worn out and it needs a new hybrid battery may be too much to take on.

 

The dealer's only option is to replace the battery as a whole unit with a new one.
How do they know that it is not just depleted but still OK? I believe they can get a grid charger from Toyota to recharge it, but probably big $$$.
How do they know if it is the HV battery? Were there any trouble codes? If the battery was too depleted to give codes, they are only guessing.

If it is the HV battery and you were DIY, I would recommend the new cell kit from 2K1Toaster that I list in my signature as your best option for $1600 including shipping. You keep the old battery so you could recoup some of your costs by selling that.

Definitely please keep us posted.

 

I’m sure if you try a private conversation and talk real nice to him you might be able to make some headway .

Hope it works out and keep us posted.

 

Depleted is not a good thing for an older HV battery.
You might call Toyota USA and see if they make you a better deal on batt replacement.
Apparently they have recently reduced cost of the battery itself (not counting labor).

 

Just to clarify (for my own understanding):

• You were on the freeway and at cruising speed
• You went to accelerate then the issue happened
• Now when you try to start the Prius you get nothing
• The car does not “ready”

If the car displays the ready light, that means the 12v is supplying enough to get the computers booted. If the battery charge is too low, have you tried force charging to see if the battery SOC increases?

Just some things to check before you deep dive into high voltages.

Keep us posted .

 

@2k1Toaster works with rechargeable batteries for a living so he was able to source cells that perform well. There is another seller using the same brackets with cells rated the same, but they do not perform as well in the real world.
The remanufactured batteries may be a low cost option if you do not expect to depend on the vehicle. Even with the warranties, they can fail at any time. The warranty usually only means they replace the battery but you need to pay for installation.

 

Hey Aaron! My name is Aaron and I live in franklin too! I've onwned many prii over the last 4 years. I have reaplaced a hybrid battery on my Prius all by my self, even cleaned a few hybrid battery fans over the years.

I'm down to help you in any way that I can. I'll help you change the battery if that's the route you want to take. Let me know!

 

Thank you Ray!

 

You da man .

 

I love the member 2k1toasters new and improved hybrid battery. I would love to get my hands on that puppy! Very fair price too.

 

They could perhaps sell their old one to @TMR-JWAP so he could test & use the modules not yet failed.

 

Sudden loss-of-power when accelerating, maybe the inverter?

No codes from the dealership?

 

Epic failure=yet another gen 2 HV battery failure.

Anecdotal data here suggests to me this summer, when batteries are stressed the most, will be "when the levee breaks" in terms of gen 2 failure rates. This winter has been busier than I thought.

Since the OP has a new ride, they need to determine what they want to do with 07 as that will determine the next step: new, used, or no battery (sell as is). See the link in my sig to see what I did when confronted with a failure.

 

I appreciate the thought, but keep in mind I don't build or sell HV batteries using Gen 2 modules. All the GEN 2 HV batteries I build/sell/install are built using Gen 3 modules, and even Gen 4 now. Speaking of which, I still have that Gen 2 (built with Gen 4 modules) available and will be in the Gatlinburg area next week................2013/2014/2015/2016 modules also available.