HV Battery Maintenance Question for new owner

You might benefit from a Prolong setup, but you also might also want to see if you could buy your own harness and rent the equipment from someone in your area.

The other option is just continue to drive your car very regularly (30 to 40 min three times a week min) and start saving for a dealer NEW battery. FL is known to be one of the more expensive places for a dealer battery, but if you were able to get across to Tampa, there is a place there (Tampa Hybrids) that will give you the best deal for a New OEM battery. Start saving now for this and by the time you have to finally change the battery you will have the money for it.

A cheaper NEW option is available if you are in any way DIY capable. See newpriusbatteries.com for this option. $1600 shipped to your door.

Stay away from any of those rebuilders/refurbishers/remanufacturers/etc, even if they claim to use new modules. Unless the new modules are Toyota (the above excepted), they don't seem to last. Who knows what cheap knock-off parts they are using?

 

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The Prolong gear can be effective if the you still have a virgin OEM battery that hasn't failed, though unlikely if it will help your 13 year old "sun soaked" HV battery last another 10+ years, but not impossible. It can also help limp along a refurbished hodge podge HV battery, but you would do far better by purchasing a new OEM replacement in that situation. If you're into DIY maintenance and repair, or have a desire to play wackamole, then the above charger/discharge combo may be a nice addition to your tool arsenal. I've personally used, and do recommend the Prolong gear as a simple solution to HV battery maintenance.

Most would never recommend greenbean, or a refurbished/rebuilt battery. Best to continue doing your research before buying into such. A new OEM or the NPB option would be a far better investment, unless you enjoy down time and tricky warranty hurdles.

Like @dolj kindly mentioned above, you might be able to locate a member in the FL area that already has the HA gear available.

Best to save up, as there is nothing like a NEW factory OEM battery (or NPB), and the multiple years (10+) of service it can offer.

If money is an issue, and you have tools and a DIY attitude, try doing just a top balance using a Meanwell LED power supply.

Seeing as this is still the winter, I would ignore it. Have you noticed any extreme SOC fluctuations on the MFD?

Be sure to watch the engine oil level, change your transmission fluid (40 usd) if never changed before, change the plugs (50 usd), service the A/C at a competent hybrid compatible shop before it blows up, and clean up the HV battery fan which may help the existing battery stay cooler/last longer. Otherwise, save for a new HV battery and a brake actuator in the coming future.

 

I agree 100% with everything @dolj wrote.

First, the Dr. Prius app is handy, but it's not necessarily precise. At 48% (if that's right) I'd say your battery is doing fairly well for one that old. A Prolong charger would probably extend its life quite a bit.

As for Greenbean, the rebuilders are relatively inexpensive, but you have to be OK with them coming back again and again and again till you get sick of it. They replace one or two modules and you're OK for a few weeks or months (maybe a year) and then another module fails because (surprise) they're old, too. In my opinion, of all the choices available, rebuilding is the worst. And besides you're probably a long way from needing another battery.

When the time does come, I heartily recommend Home - Tampa Hybrids Inc.. He can get you a new battery cheaper than the dealer would charge. He also has used batteries made up of full sets of cells from totaled cars that are only a couple or a few years old. By the way, Todd used to rebuild batteries like Greenbean and others. He quit doing that a long time ago because of the very issues I mentioned above. People just kept coming back to get more modules replaced and it was a drain on his business.

As for NewPriusBatteries, @edthefox5 lives right between us in Clearwater. I'm in New Port Richey. He recently installed one of the kits and says he's getting great results. I don't know if he still has his old Prolong system or not, but maybe he could share some of his experiences with you anyway.

 

If you like the car, get a NEW battery from your chosen source.

If you want an education and like games, try module replacement. You will certainly get a couple more years from the factory HV battery, but also tear it out of the car a couple times and enjoy an entertaining game of Whack-A-Mole. WELL worth doing if you are a safety-conscious DIYer!

 

Hey Jerry

after I bought the NPB system I sold my old prolong. I could not believe I got more for it than I paid 3 years ago. i never checked but maybe they don’t sell that model anymore and my model will do the job and much cheaper than there automated one.

 

Mine is also one of the old models. With the lightbulb discharger. I mean really old, like when it first came out. I wonder if I should sell it. It should be quite a while before my wife's 2017 trim 2 will need it.

 

Sell it. Mine was that old too. Went crazy on eBay sold it for $400.

 

Discussion regarding low gas mileage, borrowing a Prolong charger, and how to build your own Prolong style charger for less than $75. You could probably skip the first 4 pages, just folks arguing, most of your pertinent info is pages 5, 6, 7.

Can I borrow your battery charger/balancer/reconditioner? | PriusChat