Hey there, new to the forum and to Priuses in general. I am currently looking at a 2012 PIP with 108k miles, and have been stressing about the battery seeing as toyota no longer makes replacement. In the "2012 plug-in Dead Hybrid Battery- what to do?" thread. someone pointed me to a site where you can find used/salvaged batteries but I'm worried they might not have that much life in them, wondering if anyone has replaced their battery with a used one. I love the idea of the PIP, but am just worried that the electric range might keep shrinking. Would I be better suited by a normal prius because of the availability of parts? or will the PIP's larger battery mitigate any degredation. Thanks!
The last time I asked about 1st gen PIP battery, this forum told me not to worry about it. I'm at 220k still on the battery that left the factory 9 years ago.
What area of the US are you in? More importantly, was the car used in? Did the person have a garage? How old was the person? In general, Prius' HV batteries very often easily last over 150K miles. However, time (years), is also important, as is where the car was used, and how it was kept. Iirc, the 2012 Prius' do not have a clogged battery air filter warning? In general, heat is the worse enemy for the High Voltage battery. Note that a Prius also has a 12 volt "radio and lights" battery. For cars that are in snow areas, 5 years is a LONG time for a typical 12V battery. Just because some people get 10+ years from a typical 12V battery, that does not mean that most people have 12v batteries that last that long. Similarly, just because some people have a Prius HV battery die soon, that does not mean that most people get short life from a HV battery. Imho, for a Prius battery, a "WAG" (Wild *ss Guess) is ~~250K typical, assuming the HV battery air filter doesn't get clogged (dog hair, smoking, etc), and the car doesn't sit outside in areas like Vegas, or other desert areas. NOTE: For the HV battery, cold reduces the range, significantly (~~25%)! However, the cold weather is very often beneficial in the life expectancy of the battery. Last: from a quick web search: For a 2010-2015 Prius, as of 03/09/2022: A NEW battery pack is ~$2,000 A used/referb battery pack is ~$1,000 Imho, if someone is planing on keeping the car more than ~3-5 years, then get a NEW battery pack. In general, a Prius can last a very long time. And, even the major repairs (e.g. engines) often make financial sense. Good Luck!
We're talking about the Prius Plug-in here, totally different battery with different chemistry compared to Prius models that came before it. We simply don't know a lot about how long they'll last, and aren't seeing many failures, but there are none older than 10 years yet. New PIP traction batteries are *not* that cheap. $5k? More? Will Toyota even sell one? Who knows. And I'm not sure if anyone's even offering refurbs.
I appreciate everyone's knowledge, but I think a continually dwindling supply of batteries would stress me out too much, so I think I will go for the normal Prius which has somewhat readily available OEM and aftermarket batteries. Still love the PIP but I'm just not brave enough to buy one now that they're turning 10 years old
there have been very few replacements, and those few were covered by warranty. however, our warranty is up this year on the 2012, so in the very unlikely scenario that it failed, you would have to research the different posibilities of repair vs replacement. where did you hear that they don't make pip batteries anymore? you will lose range over time. i'm down about 15% since new, but most of that occurred in the first two years. pretty much everyone here has had the same amazing experience with this wonderful car. you should worry more about the engine on any gen 3, many have had egr/piston/head gasket issues around 100k. if you can make use of plugging in and doing short trips on ev only, i highly recommend it.
I am at 220K miles on a 2013 PIP, still getting a winter low charge of 9.3 miles and close to 11 in summer. Currently 50% of my driving is electric, short trips locally and I like that I can drive on gas anywhere.
Sidebar…impressive mileage at >220K. Did you get your EGR cleaned at anytime? Curious about it. I have 125K on mine and it’s as strong as far as I can remember. Knock on wood.
