Now you can buy a Toyota HV battery for under $2k=Would you still buy HV battery from other places?

i wouldn't have before

 

Depends, I might buy 2k1’s battery setup. Other than factory new that’s the only one I would consider.

 

The 2004 cars are now 15 years old, in 5 more years, they'll be needing their 2nd New Toyota battery........

If I needed a good battery, I would probably buy one from a junker for 1/2 price and only a couple years old.

 

But what about the 2004’s that have their original battery still?

 

Poll? I just know of Patrick Wong's 2004 car that had the original battery, but that was quite a while since he's sold it.

 

No.

 

Don’t say that man. I have a 2006 that I’m pretty sure has the original battery.

 

You can share the cost of a reconditioning cycle with @Raytheeagle. He'll be happy to reduce the cost of his prolong. You guys can plan a meet up in northern cal

 

I believe @Skibob is in the mountains and that’s a bit of a haul.

But we could figure it out if it gets to that point.

Just did a hand off of the charger as @The Critic did his top end balance recently.

Sharing does help with the cost and minimize equipment downtime for maximum benefit to others .

 

I'll buy a new one. 2k or 5k.

 

Seems like battery life is also related to climate. The battery in my '06 is still original, and from what I can tell it's in great shape for the year. I routinely travel a mile through town coming off the highway on battery before losing a bar on the battery gauge. Of course it could fail tomorrow, but I'm not worried about it.

For me, I'd probably choose an OEM Toyota battery. The price difference isn't that significant, and 15 years of proven history is tough to ignore.

 

I have an '04 with the original battery pack, still get similar milage as when the car was new, though it only has about 120k miles and spent about 10-11 years on the west coast. Now that I'm back in the northeast and the car is in an open garage with temps getting below zero, I have been making sure I know my options for battery replacement.

Sounds like some people have gotten Toyota OEM batteries for as low as $1,650? Certainly at that price, or even a bit higher, depending on installation cost, I'd consider it. It does sound like that would require a dealership to do the install, and I'm not sure I'd trust any of the dealers in my area.

Having said that, the crazy discounts in the northeast on Primes make it getting one of those more tempting, even with the drawbacks (smaller, less storage, less rear legroom, no spare tire, etc.).

 

I have a guy that will rebuild with 30 day warranty for $400 or do exact same rebuild with 365 day warranty for $500.

So for me, I'd just pay the few hundred bucks. Never understood why people freaked out over something that costs about the price of 3 premium oil changes lol (I'm exaggerating but it's a very cheap repair if you know the right people).

If my Prius was some sort of special vehicle that I cared about and was in pristine condition with lower miles I'd fork out the couple thousand...I suppose?

But it is just an A to B vehicle that has all sort of dings, scratches, wear and tear...with 200K miles on it. So I don't really care about it to spend that kind of money. Will actually be dumping this thing pretty soon and possibly getting a cleaner one.

 

Generic question.
Generic answer.....

"It depends."

First of all, I would never let anyone install a battery for me, so this narrows my options somewhat.
As mentioned above there are really good reconditioned batteries out there in 2019 (@2k1Toaster and @ericbecky are examples, and they might even have a PC discount....)
There are others out there as well and the street price seems to be hovering more or less around $1,000.....so as Inspector Harold Francis Callahan might ask......"do you feel lucky????"

I believe people make their own luck for the most part.
A battery at the end of its service life is usually installed in a car that is also pretty close to the end of ITS service life.
That's sorta on purpose, otherwise Toyota would be spending a lot more money on warranty claims for batteries, and the prices for new and used battery packs would be going the other way.

So.....
The age old question is whether or not the car with the dead battery is WORTH spending another $1000 or so on an OEM battery with the OEM guarantee, which according to the interwebs usta say:
"As of 1/1/2016 all purchased Toyota OEM replacement Prius hybrid batteries (non-fleet) come with a 3 year, Unlimited mile warranty."
If that's a non-prorated warranty, and IF that also applies to DIY installs, that's a moderately good deal for a car that you expect to get three more years out of.
If that's a non-prorated warranty, and IF that DOES NOT apply to DIY installs, then the math starts to lean away from spending the extra money on the $2000 OEM battery PLUS install fees.

If I had an 8 year old car with more than 100,000 miles on the clock, I'd probably roll the dice on a good, reconditioned battery.....but that's me being me again.

....Lucky!

 

Toyota batteries never die within three years, though. If they're going to die prematurely, I think they'll die within a year, which is another warranty period I've seen thrown around for DIY.

One member in a different thread offered to extend the warranty to three years for $300 and said it'd be the easiest $300 they ever made.

 

To all you guys that say you wouldn't change the battery pack? I have done my own 2 times. Nothing to it. Takes less then 2 hours.

 

Twice with OEM? And how many miles do you have on her? I have 2005 with 370K miles with failing original battery pack. I am not going to change it since the car has other issues like Catalytic converter as well.

 

Where do you get the replacement?

 

I got a Dorman remain from the local auto parts but they are junk. Just Google it and look at reviews but you can find better for less then 800 now.