How to monitor the original hybrid battery before it dies?

welcome!

your 10 year warranty is up, but you can find much better pricing on a new battery.

the best thing you can do for your existing battery is buy a prolong charger.

this will balance the pack and extend its life.

its a good idea to do it now, and not wait for symptoms

you can monitor the cell voltages with tech stream (best) or some after market products like torque, dr prius and hybrid assistant

 

Good news, bad news.

First the bad, batteries don't like to sit unused and you're averaging less than 7k miles/yr. Also, short drives are hard on the battery as the car relies more on the EV side while the gas engine (ICE) is warming up.

The good: you live in a near perfect climate as 60-80f temps are ideal for battery health/longevity.

My 06 has less miles than yours but it has lived its whole life in a hot climate with mainly very short drives by its first owner=early battery failure. I replaced mine two years ago with a new Toyota battery. I suggest you look into "grid charging" and see if that's right for you.

 

I'd second dr Prius, just trying it, only done the static check so far. App is free and you need a Bluetooth dongle. I got the Carissa; they're about $15.

 

my 08 is 170k and still on original battery......

 

Just use the search box at the top of the page and enter "prolong" (that's the name of one popular charger) and/or "grid charging" as the search terms. You'll get plenty of reading material.

 

The price to both replace your traction battery and do a diagnosis both seem rather high. If you do need to ever have this done you should call some dealers in the valley. Bet you can reduce those prices quite a bit.

 

'hybrid automotive.com' @jeff652 is the owner, and a member here.

tech stream is available on amazon. it requires a compatible laptop. you can find much advice here from owners/users by searching.
the phone apps like do prius are simpler, but not quite as useful.

 

never use rebuilt batteries. that's what everyone sells except toyota, and a few shops that carry new batteries, which you would be able to confirm.

be very careful about this, tire are a ton of hybrid battery scams

 

it is. but if there are any places around you that install new toyota batteries, they can sometimes be as low as $2,200. installed.
also, we have a member here who sells new non toyota batteries for $1,600. if you can find someone to put it in. it isn't a difficult job.
they have only been available for awhile, but have undergone extensive testing, and so far so good.

'newpriusbatteries.com'

 

1700 seems a little low. The internet dealer price for a new battery is around 1700 itself. You could ask them how much labor they would charge for a battery swap with a factory new unit. If they can do that. There are parts that are used from the old battery, they might not want to try it.

 

probably a lot. find all the shops you can that work on hybrids, then call them to see if they put in new toyota oem batteries.
we have a few members here who do it, but not in your neck of the woods, that i can recall.

and call as many dealers as you are willing to drive to. they are price competitive, it is not fixed by toyota.

 

Except Hawaii. One group owns all the dealers there and price fixes.