My 2011 has 108,000 miles. Any preventative maintenance for the original Hybrid pack? any one buy or used the prolong charger/discharger?
Many people have used the system with generally good results. The owner @jeff652 is a trusted member here. @Raytheeagle @WilDavis and others can share their experiences.
What state are you in? CARB states have a longer hybrid system warranty. This is assuming you are in the US.
New York should have a 150,000 mile or 10 year warranty. The 2014 list of CARB States in the US | PriusChat There is a cooling fan for the Hybrid battery, especially if you are a pet owner, you may wish to clean that.
NO! This is the battery age (not miles) to start maintenance and not waiting for "signs". Lower mileage owners at more likely to need it. BTDT. Owners who started grid charging before issues are seeing better results than those who waited. Not the best analogy but you change oil at intervals; not waiting till the motor runs dry (oil light).
8 yrs/100k miles for non-carb states 10yrs/150k miles for carb. OP's battery was probably built in 2010 and car warranty is near end if non-carb.
Yes I like to do preventative maintenance before it’s needed. I routinely change the oil, filters, brake fluid, coolant, transaxle fluid etc. So you would recommend buying the charger and Discharger?
There's a long thread about that system that you should read from start to finish before you even think about it. There have been a lot of complaints about the quality of the documentation of that system although it may be better now. Those are serious complaints because one member failed to understand the instructions and did the maintenance wrong. Luckily his pack survived. Another member did comprehend the instructions but still managed to destroy a perfectly good pack through his own error. There is a YouTube video that shows someone discharging his pack into a light bulb (!) with a frightening catastrophic failure of the bulb. Light bulb discharging is part of some of the system. The person in the video likely made a wiring error, but even when wired correctly the light bulb method is risky because if you let it go too long you could have a cell reversal which would fail the pack. Of note is that you'll need to get inside the pack to make the necessary connections. To complete the full process you'll need at least three days (!) because the power supply has a current limit of less than 1 Amp throughout the full state-of-charge range. Some members report spending much more time on the procedure. The members who do use it tend to say that their cars run great afterwards and that the battery takes longer to charge and discharge in normal driving (which indicates increased capacity), but these reports are subjective and also subject to human nature's desire to confirm our past choices. All that being said, if done correctly, it's certainly possible that it's beneficial and that the improved results are real. I would again encourage you to read that thread from beginning to end and make your own decision. Also, do the math on how long the system would need to extend the life of your battery for it to be worth it. I think most buyers value their labor at zero which I can sympathize with because I tend to do the same thing.
If you are out of the warranty where you are from, I’d go for it since nice you say you’re the DIY type . I looked it as an investment. One for the present (preventatively maintain my battery), the future (keep the original pack maintained) and the greater good (share the equipment with another member here in my geographic area and loaned it out to another member to repair his failed pack). As long as the gas engine on our 2010 with 175 k miles holds out, I feel very confident I won’t retire the car based on the battery.
In your shoes, I'd slap techstream on it and drive the car so that HV drops to 2 bars and ICE begins to charge it, check each module's voltage at that. Then get on the the highway that's goes straight most of the time and eye ball individual cells to see if they're relatively the same voltage when HV has 6 bars while carefully while driving, or have another set of eyes to do either for you. Any module's voltage that's significantly different will most likely make its presence known later, that's when I'll smack it with a prolong charger.
