2012 Prius C Hybrid Battery replacement options

A Toyota dealership will only sell you a new OEM HV battery!

 

Physical unit terms, from individual up to the largest group used in the context of a Prius:

Cell
Module
Battery

A 2nd generation Prius battery is divided into 28 modules, each containing 6 cells.

In strict electrical terms, a Prius module is a battery because it contains multiple cells. However, we need a clear way of distinguishing the difference between a "package of 6 cells" and the "full finished metal box with a whole car's worth" in it. Hence the term module.

The Prius c battery only has 20 modules, so it is physically smaller than that of a 2nd generation Prius.

So the easiest fix for you is to swap the entire c battery in your car for another c battery. Toyota will cheerfully sell you a new complete battery with core exchange, and there are used ones available from a variety of sellers.

Your idea would work- you can buy the 2nd generation Prius battery new from Toyota, and swap any 20 of its modules for all of yours. That's a lot more labor with many more chances to make mistakes. Remember, you'd have to get both batteries back together properly: One for your car's sake and the other so you can get your core deposit back from Toyota.

This would be worth doing if the two battery prices were very far apart... but I've never seen them that far apart.

 

The word "older." I read it quickly as "old," sorry for the confusion that I caused with my previous post.

 

it's all possible, there is no one correct way to do this.

It depends on the availability of your time, money and also your preferences. Some people don't mind removing their battery every 6 weeks and swapping out a few weak modules for other used modules, because that doesn't cost very much money.

You get more error messages, driving performance issues and risk needing to be towed home more often. If you don't mind that plus doing the work and can afford that random downtime then that might be the right way for you.

Others will prefer to spend an hour swapping the battery assembly for a brand new one when the car is 10-12 years old, and then never having to think about it again. Doing it that way involves that one big bill, but no recurring hassles or risk.

 

Nothing I wrote was meant to discourage you. I'm sorry you've chosen to interpret it that way.

Good luck with your project.