Is it basically only the Gen II Prius? Or is dog (pet) hair/fur problematic for all hybrid/electric vehicles? May be looking for a new vehicle and just wondering....
Are you referring to hair getting into the battery cooling fan through the vent in the back seat? If so, some of us are avoiding that problem entirely by cutting and installing our own really cheap filters. $2 at Home Depot and a pair of scissors provided me with 4 or 5 years' worth of filters (still using the first package I bought). You might be able create a similar solution if it is an issue with other cars. Hv battery fan air intake filter | PriusChat
I am under the impression it was more common issue on Gen2 due to no filter, I thought Gen3 had a filter of sorts
Yeah. No dogs allowed in wife's GenII, either. Which is why, when I checked the battery fan about four years ago, it, while not as clean as the legendary "whistle," was pretty darn clean. I have not checked it since and when I pulled it apart, I thought about putting a filter in (who was it on here that touted that originally anyway??), but figured it was so clean, why bother. Basically, it is only wifey who drives the GEN II and she NEVER drives with the windows open and very seldom transports anyone but herself in the car. But, she is thinking about a new rig.....and I would like to get out of "dog duty," every once in awhile. Meaning, every once in awhile, her car could get the mud and muck and fur.
Air cooled batteries drawing from the cabin are the problem. Liquid cooled batteries don't have the problem. Bob Wilson
I never checked our Gen2 batt fan for lint. Now that it has weak HV batt, the fan runs full time...not sure why...that behavior did not start until Toyota dealer ran it through their appraisal process. But it seems to pull a strong flow, if that is any test. I do not recall the batt fan ever running very much...a few times in summer heat.
It may depend on the dog breed. My son traveled with his Papillon dogs for 10 years in hos Gen 2 with no issues. No issues with his 2015 Prius v either, even adding a Miniature American Shepherd into the dog mix.
The NiMH battery likes roughly the same temperature range as you do. Toyota decide to pull air from the passenger cabin and blow it on the battery if it needed any. This meant you got fresh air and it got air that's about the right temp. Any car that does this could use a dust filter on the air intake. If it doesn't come with one, they are cheap and easy to make.
