Featured Price of OEM NiMH battery pack doubles at dealerships

There seems to be fluctuation in pricing.
Dealers are competitive, call around.
I have seen reports of good pricing recently

 

AFAK Panasonic can only provide battery modules to Toyota so I really doubt Panasonic would list them for sale on their website.

 

This is true. All the dealerships that were advertising the G9510-47033 Gen 2 pack in the $1650ish range in December 2024 are now all showing $3300ish in Jan 2025.

 

IIRC - fewer Prius still use nickel metal hydride because of its cost. The lower the volume the higher the price

 

In 2016 / 2017, only the Two, and later, the One had NiMH but with an improved grade of Nickel, according to Toyota. The Gen 4 NiMH works fine in the Gen 2 & Gen 3.

 

Likely volume, and nickel is also needed for some Li-ion. Then some businesses are increasing prices in anticipation of tariffs, or using it as an excuse.

 

This is kind of scary. The last time I figured out the 20/4/10 rule I figured I can only afford a $5,000 car. That, and my Avalon isn't worth all that much anymore, even with a good battery. How much will it cost to replace the HV battery once it needs one? Will that be more than the value of the car? Will I be able to afford it?

Only time will tell. If it doesn't work out, then I'm not sure what I'd get next. Perhaps a used manual transmission Nissan Versa.

 

If well cared for, used Toyota Hybrids are good options too, Otherwise, you cannot beat the reliability of Toyota cars in general. You may even find a used Camry would be suitable but less expensive than an Avalon. The next choice for reliability may be honda, I have never heard much good, long term, on Nissans.

 

I like reliability. But it seems that with current used car prices a used Toyota or used Honda are just too expensive, unless I get one with a lot of major problems.

For an example, for what I paid for a 5-year-old Avalon with 50k miles on it back in 2018 ($17,000) is the same price as a 5-year-old, 50k Yaris today. If I limit my price to $5,000 (so that I can afford the higher price of rent, food and everything else) then that limits me to a 20-year-old or older Toyota with over 200k miles on it and quite possibly a salvage title.

At least Nissan's main reliability problem is automatic transmissions. I'd be getting one with a manual transmission for sure. And that could land me a Nissan that's not more than 10 years old.

Thankfully I'm just stressing out over nothing yet as my Avalon is doing just fine.

 

Unfortunately, in today's used car market you need to avoid dealers. Private sales may be a good option. For instance, I had a good, reliable 2008 Corolla LE with 90K miles I ended up trading in to the dealer for the horribly low amount of $2375. They listed it for sale at $10K. They have since sold it. It did need TPMS sensors but had new aftermarket headlights, Mobil One oil & filter, & coolant change. I was planning on keeping it, but plans change.

 

I will definitely look around when it's time to buy a car. Hopefully I don't get another one like my Prius that's still sitting in the driveway, unmoved, and needs an HV battery, engine, wheel bearing, windshield, converter coolant pump, and a whole bunch more.

 

Strategy my friend - another method to skin the cat is an aftermarket service contract offered on many unused vehicles. Our plug-in minivan is almost 8rs old. Shopping around, we just paid a couple thousand for an extended warranty - reputable source - Bumper to Bumper including traction pack. It will help keep us hurry free for another 3 years. So even if something major fails, be it transmission, CV joint, it will only be $100. If we sell the minivan in a year or two, that extended warranty is transferable which puts at ease the minds of prospective buyers.
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Depends on how you value the car?

 

Also depends on what car you have at the time. Our Chevy Volt without even counting labor (which can be hundreds), costs $9,200. Our plug in minivan's traction pack - which is a tad larger runs over $16,800. Fortunately (sort of) we had to replace the traction pack just a few months ago due to a recall via fire risk. <10% failed the test. With as little driving as we typically do over its 33 mile range, its somewhat of a very much low mileage car & we've now extended the warranty for several more years paying for a service contract. Definitely would hate to have to pay for a traction pack outside of warranty or recall.
$ $ $ $ $ $ $
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If I were financially strapped, I would avoid hybrids and bevs.
Saving gas can be expensive

 

I would advise start with an end-of-lease, PHEV or BEV, with 1 year of manufacturer warranty:

• Initial owner or lease holder already covered the initial 30-40% depreciation and infantile problems.
• Take one year to decide if the new technology matches your expectations.
  • Oh Spit - resell for lowest tuition in the school of hard knocks
  • Oh So That Is What It Means - lessons learned for future of technology

A new car or technology should be the second one after lesson's learned. If you can, avoid the first model year so the initial design defects get corrected.

Bob Wilson

 

Unfortunately, newer cars aren’t depreciating like they used to

 

$1650 is a very low price for new OEM Prius bat, I would ask price history but $3000 was typical for years.

Does Toyota quote prices for newer Gen4 bats both NiMH and Li and have they both gone up?

 

It varies. Many have reported around $2,000.
for years, and the price spike happened once before as well.
I don’t see why gen 4 pricing wouldn’t be available