Traction battery failure at 113k

Same goes for Norcal. Our summers are regularly in the high 90s to 110deg. Except this summer which is weird. Thunderstorms in June? Weird I tell ya.

 

Yes,Fla is plenty hot-all darned day it is hot. Northern CA no doubt it is hot, but it cools in the evening, doesn't it?
I would like to see how Phoenix, Las Vegas and other hell on earth hot cities do. New Orleans-where I live- it hot and humid, but the "its not the heat, it is the humidity" is BS when it is Las Vegas, Phoenix,Tuscon hot(105-115 degrees with the heat radiating from every direction).They are MUCH, MUCH worse summer climates than NOLA, or FLA or any other high humidity SE areas
(DFW was horrible last summer-several days it was 103+ in a row with highish humidity). Last summer It was 90 degrees at midnight in Childress TX (about 200 miles W of DFW) during the heat wave that brought DFW to 100+ for weeks in a row.

Lets see how really hot cities do?
Maybe check car color also-Do black exterior car traction batteries fail more often than white?
Someone with more interest should start a "count". Toyota no doubt has all these figures-safe bet they won't share them with us.
Oh, it was BW that suggested that interior of car high temps could speed traction battery failure. I'm just wondering if there is a hot city, hot color association.

Thanks,
Charlie

 

We had a full month of 100+ degree days when I was in NE Texas and one heckuva drought. But really high humidity is worse from a human perspective. Hello, Houston!

Garaged vs. ungaraged/unshaded could be an issue in hot climates.

 

If cabin heat is the problem then window tinting and cabin ventilation (that is, keeping the windows open a bit) seem to me to be important variables.

 

Shawn,
Yep, we drove thru DFW in July last summer-it was hot. We started at home in New Orleans(only 88 when we left at 10am), and it got hotter and as we approached DWF-It was 103+across the breath of the megapolis- and it was 90 degrees when we stopped along 287 at midnight outside of Childress(slept at a rest stop-AC on all night-motor running all night-Suburban, not Prius).

I used to think that 95 degree with high humidity was as bad as it gets, but them I went to Phoenix,Vegas,Tuscon in August- They are worse-much worse.115 degree heat coming from everywhere is beyond belief. You can feel the heat coming off buildings/asphalt -everything radiates- it is like being cooked!

Thanks,
Charlie

 

Hi Mora Tony,

The battery is inexpensive compared to a tranny rebuild. And of course, its much easier to repair than pulling half the front end of the car apart as with a tranny rebuild.

The battery cost $2400, and it lasted 113K miles, or 2.1 cents per mile. Consider that it also saved you three brake jobs (two fronts and a rear), an alternat and starter repair, and its about a break even, even without considering a tranny rebuild or using only half the gas.

 

I've dealt with the 'you'll have to replace the battery after 5 years!' stuff on other forums where I'm the odd man out in my vehicle choice.

WRT your coworker, you can rebut him by telling him that the battery unit didn't 'wear out', and it was an unforeseen failure. Yeah, it sucks that it happened not too long after the warranty expired, but it wasn't something you could/should have expected.

Hop on Ebay and snag a used pack for cheap.

 

if my dealer told me it was 1500 installed, I would not even think twice

 

Were you in the habit of not running the A/C in hot weather, thinking that you were improving fuel economy?

 

Just curious about the early failure. I am trying to understand so the rest of Iconic model owners can avoid some of the things.

Did you install EV mode? What's the usage on it?

Do you live on a hill? I have been to Houston a few times but not everywhere. I only see flat area there.

 

Mona_Tony please tell us about the decision to pay for most of this post-warranty failure. My guess is that Toyota Customer Experience was involved. In any case I'd ask you to send a thank-you letter to the shop that did it, with copies sent up the chain of command at Toyota. It's a karma thing.

 

Glad it done, I dont think heat has that much to do with it

 

I think high temps can reduce the life of the battery. The inside of a car can reach over 100 degrees... I wouldn't want my batteries starting my drive near the overheating mark.

 

hummmm bugggggg!

 

The HV battery has a fan that takes the cabin air to regulate the temp. If you want to be safe, turn on the A/C right away to cool the cabin.

The OP did not answer if the EV button was installed or used. There may be other factors at play here.

 

No NiMH battery is happy above 45 oC. Cumulative damage is debatable. Prius does as much as it can with the battery ventilation fan, but I found it necessary under some driving conditions to turn on the A/C to keep battery cells below 45 oC. Now, this was an NHW11 with external cleverness to access the cell temps, and arguably inferior cell design. We don't seem to know if the NHW20 battery ever exceeds safe temperatures due to lack of instrumentation.

So the operators may choose: (1) Take measures (parking site A/C use, etc.) to limit temperature excursions, without knowing if they're absolutely needed. (2) Play a passive role in vehicle ops assuming that Toyota has created a bulletproof system.

 

you do what you can, the rest is up to your battery.