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

It is not obvious, but the new HV battery component you buy is not a complete unit, in as much as you cannot just disconnect the two HV leads, unbolt the battery case and then swap in the new one. There is a component of removing parts from the old battery and installing them in the new battery, which involves opening the case up. This is what is part of the dealer labour cost. In addition the old battery has to be packaged in the correct and complete way in order for it to be accepted for the core refund.

However ~$1000 is way too much. The accepted reasonable rate is in the ~$500 range – if the dealer tech is experienced – otherwise s/he could take longer.

Not sure if there are experienced non-dealer Prius techs in your area, so your options maybe limited.

I do know that some PC member that have elected to do it themselves have taken between 4 to 8 hours to do the swap, taking into account their various technical and experience levels.

 

Any codes??

 

Yes. I intended to mean a mechanic experienced with Prius and in exchanging the battery pack.

JMO, but $500 sounds reasonable. I bought a functional battery pack out of a wreck and replaced into my 2004 after much research, but that is sort of plug and play and found several excellent resources and videos. I was able to borrow the appropriate electrician’s gloves and enjoyed the process. I was being cheap.

Installing a new battery pack appears a bit scarier and additionally difficult.

I hold out hope for the OP that his Prius has a less expensive fix than a failed traction battery.

 

I'd certainly want to know the trouble codes before I'd just buy a battery.

 

It is pretty rare for the battery to fail so catastrophically so quickly. Usually you get some warning lights, loss of power, but it keeps on trucking for a little while (even though you shouldn't). Things that cause immediate death would be like the inverter going out, or a more important HV problem like an HV isolation problem. It is possible that a bad battery could cause that, but usually the first error is not the first and last error.

Also you mentioned big dogs, hope you clean out that HV Fan periodically!

 

Indeed, I just solved my dying Prius problem with one of these beautiful kits from 2k1toaster. I am totally impressed with this battery. Quality is top shelf. The car now drives perfectly and I have no reason to doubt it will do so for a very long time. Many thanks to 2k1toaster for taking on this endeavor. I think he just saved a lot of Prius and other hybrids from the scrap heap.

Aaron, if it turns out you do need a battery, and, as members in this forum correctly told me, you probably do, and the other Aaron is willing to help you do a swap, I would not be afraid to order this kit.

 

Hi Larry if you don’t mind how much all in was the battery please?
Thanks.

 

Also years ago after I bought my 07 I built a sun shield in the back hatch area to protect the hybrid battery
Area from direct sun. I keep the package shade extended and cut a piece of insulation sheet to fit over the fabric shield and put it foil side out. It really helps keep the heat off the back deck. That and a really good tint and a weather tech insulated window shade. My car stays pretty cool all day in the sun.
That will help protect your new battery. You know how brutal the sun is down here.

 

If I end up being here in the summer months I just may do that. But I have a home in the north that needs me then.

 

Hey Aaron, I will be heading back to Michigan in the spring and that will take me right past Franklin, which is where I usually stop for fuel anyway. If you don't have your problem solved by then I could stop and lend a hand. Get your codes read, and if it is the battery, get one whether it's of the original type or the kit from 2k1toaster, and I will help you put it in. As you know I opted for the latter, because, cells are new, not "reconditioned". 2k1toaster's kits are made new just prior to you getting them as opposed to new from the dealer who may have had them in stock for some time. I am thinking that I just "upgraded" my car with his kit.

I sincerely doubt that "reconditioning" will bring much added life to an old chemically worn out battery. Also, as the battery is charged it becomes pressurized requiring a compressive force to prevent expansion and rupture. It just makes sense to package the cell cylindrically as the cylinder naturally contains pressure without distortion, like a scuba tank. Add to that the extra benefit of airspace between the cells. Your cooling fan will do a much better job cooling the batteries when air can flow between the cells instead of just along the top and bottom. Cap that off with a better warranty, less cost, and you get to keep your old modules which you can use for projects or whatever.

 

What is the warranty on the Kit? I do not remember seeing that but trusted that 2K1Toaster would be fair.

 

The warranty is for 2 years or 25,000 miles.

 

Thanks. I found it interesting that Hybrid Automotive puts a 1 year warranty on its used modules.

 

And just FYI, the price per kit is $1600 including free shipping anywhere in the continental USA via UPS ground.

 

Wow Free shipping thats awesome 2K. Thanks.

 

Reconditioning does work and will eek out more life out of an older battery because they are not so much chemically worn out but more the modules become out of balance with each other. The reconditioning process brings the modules in balance and also can remove the memory that the battery acquires due to the BMS keeping the battery in the 40% - 80% range.

Reconditioning does have a finite benefit and will not keep a battery going forever, batteries are after all a consumable item.

I am continually impressed that these batteries are going (on average) for more than 10 - 12 years.

Battery maintenance is "horses for courses" as, for some people, putting a battery on a charger does not appeal. They can't even be bothered putting their 12 V battery on a charger regularly to keep them in top condition and would prefer to spend $250+ every 3 - 5 years to change it out. Each to their own.

 

I am much less experienced with Nimh than lead acid. In the lead acid market I remembered "battery rebuilders" who simply desulfated those batteries that were indeed sulfated but of course this does nothing to repair eroded plates. I have desulfated my own battery and got two more years out of it in my Pontiac Transport van. Before desulfating it would not hold enough charge to crank the engine after 8 hours. Afterwards it worked very well and had a decent amount of capacity. I never had to jump it. Somehow I just don't see a ten year old Prius pack ever being trustworthy for a long trip. Do the anodes and/or cathodes in a Nimh battery erode as well? What are the mechanisms of their failure?

 

I have to say, I do not know the answer to either to those questions and whether/how they play out in HV battery failure.

But I suspect HV battery failure is more likely a combination of things.

Given that a Prius HV battery is made up of 168 individual 1.2 V (nominal) cells, it only takes one cell to reverse to render the whole battery unserviceable. Generally it seems to be a combination of lower capacity and a variance in a module's performance when compared to the others in the HV battery.

Others may have more insight.

 

Aaron. Does the petrol engine start and run?

Pixel ?