When did you have to replace the Hybrid Battery?

According to Toyota, 2% of each year model that was produced has had the traction battery changed at some point. One year model the figure changed to 3%.

The traction battery is the least of your worry's. There are items on the Prius that are much more expensive to repair/replace than the big battery.

If you can pick up a used one with 100K on it, just make sure it has had all the maintenance done on it that is required at 100K. You should be able to get one like that pretty cheap as all the warranty has expired unless you are in a CARB state. I would suggest you raise the bar a little bit, and get yourself a "CPO" Prius. AKA Certified Pre Owned. You can find them at your local Toyota dealer. They will range in various prices, but still should be cheaper than a new one. A CPO comes with a warranty as well as whatever existing warranty from Toyota that is in effect at the time of purchase.

First Prius we bought was a CPO. Had 45K on the clock. Package #2 2009 Prius. Cost $18K Total with TT&L Came with a 12 month 12K warranty that covered everything. After that the standard warranty was still in effect (Drive Train/Hybrid). Traded in the car earlier this year and bought a new 2013 Model 3. Got a excellent trade in value on the old Prius, financed the new one with 0% interest through Toyota. Put 4K down and my payments are $326 for 36 months.

EDIT: I apologize for this post. The data above is not 100% correct. Please refer to the consumer reports link shown further down in the string (reference post #6). Also I have posted a link in post #7 that refers to a string where a poll was conducted on this subject here on Prius Chat. (End of Edit)

Best of luck to you.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Link please? This sort of distribution, having no age dependence, just doesn't sound right.

 

From what I've read here it's closer to 90% the closer x-axis gets to ten years....

 

From what I've read the world is flat, the moon is made of green cheese, Elvis is alive and elephants can fly. You can read lots of stuff on the internet, but without at least offering a link to the source, nobody is going to believe you. Nothing personal, just how it is.

Look forward to seeing the links confirming a 90% failure rate.

 

This is NONE of the unreferenced sources above, it is Consumer Reports, but at least I have a reference! The article is demeaning the Honda Hybrids and just using the Prius as a baseline, but those base line numbers are what I think the OP was wanting.

Honda Civic Hybrid Battery Reliability | Hybrid Batteries - Consumer Reports News

If I wanted to inflate these numbers with 'green cheese' I would speculate that these percentages only involved Toyota dealerships and do not include re-manufactured or used batteries, just new Toyota supplied batteries. I have no stats for those used batteries, and I suspect no one else does either, unless Consumer Reports is actually asking the owners in their annual survey. And then I would wonder about the actual wording: "Did you have a Hybrid battery failure?" may well get different percentages than "Did you buy a new Hybrid Battery?"

Summary: I do not completely trust these numbers but they are the best I have. And way better than numbers with no reference at all.

 

I apologize for not providing a link to back up what I posted. Furthermore, the data I posted seems to not be 100% correct. I was under the impression those numbers were fairly accurate. I thought I had read that info here on PC.

I would refer to the consumer reports info that is posted in this string, and also take a look at the results of a poll that was run here on Prius Chat.

Hybrid Battery Survey-Gen2 Prius 2004-2009 | Page 6 | PriusChat

Best of luck to you,
Ron (dorunron)

 

I really think the world needs to understand that the Toyota Prius is a well defined/designed product that Toyota worked very hard on in both research and development before they ever released the first Prius. The article "The Prius that shook the world" defines all of the R&D that Toyota went into before the first Prius ever hit the road. It can be found online if you diligently search for it. I think I might have a copy of the file somewhere in my hodge podge of data here...

IMO, the battery is the least of the worries with the Prius. I would be more concerned with the transaxle and the cooling system than anything. Yes, the Prius is a expensive machine. It is due to the components that are built into the machine. A transaxle ranges somewhere around 3 to 4K at the dealer if my data is correct. Inverters are expensive also. That and all the ECU's found within the machine. The battery is one of those of those things that the Prius haters have used to make the world shy away from the technology being used in a hybrid. I myself think it stems from big oil and radiates outward from there like spokes in a wheel.

Ron

 

Since about 225,000 Prius' were sold through 2005, that means that over 200,000 batteries have failed. This guy most be a troll....

 

This is only true in the sense that 5% is closer to 90% than 0.5% is.

But 5% is not very close to 90%

 

Please tell us where you live (USA? state?) some states have 10-yr 150k miles warranty

 

OK thanks...welcome back to Prius Chat! ...we have another UART...he is from Australia.

UART has an intertesting current survey going on Gen2 battery failure rates. As referenced by DuRunRon, I had conducted an earlier that survey showed about 20% Gen2 failure rate among PriusChat members (more than the 2-3% Consumer Reports said), but of course we were expecting some extra bias on this site, given that people who log in here tend to be having battery problems.

In UART's new survey, he is trying to cancel out the natural bias here by asking people if the only reason they came to PriusChat is because of battery failure . After his attempt to cancel out the bias, UART is still seeing 13% Gen2 battery failure of members here, but unfort we do not have enough survey participation.

Traction Battery Survey. | PriusChat

In any case, I am reminded of our church minister who once said "if the weather is good, attendance will be low...and if the weather is bad, attendance will be low...but if ..." and I forget the rest of the quote. However, the same idea may apply to Prii. Seems like a 2006 with 50k (low miles) will need a new battery soon, and a 2006 with 250k miles will need a new battery soon. But get a 2006 at about 125k miles a you might have a winner. OK that's not scientific, but that's my take on it.

 

I have a 2007 Prius base model. There were no lights or previous indications that the hybrid system was going, but at 88,500 miles, the weird indicator light came on the dash (Looks like a little car broken in half) and the power train felt real funky. I pulled into a parking lot and got out the manual to see what the dash light meant. It said to park it, and have the vehicle towed to the nearest Toyota dealer, which I did.
The dealer (Toyota of Tampa Bay) fixed it under warranty. The service manager said that he had only seen one other Hybrid System Failure so far, and I believe him.
Personally I would go to a Toyota dealer for a Prius with 100 K miles or more, but only if you are able to get some type of warranty which will cover the Hybrid System. Otherwise you would probably save $ on a private purchase.
There are diagnostic tests you can have done too, or do yourself, on (both) batteries, and the rest of the electronics in the car as well. Lots of U-Tube Vids to show you how. I would go for it, myself. We also own a 2012 Prius, and it really is a great car. (way more comfy than the '07) lots of later model ones with high miles available I would guess. ( I am not a Toyota rep, or in any way connected with any dealership, BTW. ) Good luck with your purchase, hope this was helpful.

 

Yes, Tony, I think you've hit the nail on the head. I would think that there would be quite a few people talking about it, though, if they were just generally going down like mine did, in under 100K miles.
Just going to try reprogramming a used key fob per directions I found here on the chat. Wish me luck!

 

My 2005 prius currently has over 350K on it and I'm still running with the original battery.
I'm the original owner
Live in upstate NY
Odometer stopped working at 299,999 so dealer resets the Trip A odometer to keep track each oil change.
All maintenance done at the Toyota dealership.

 

During a recent service visit, I asked the guy how many traction batteries they replace ... he said the only pattern is cars that have been left sitting for a long period of time (e.g., 6 months or longer, as in deployed military, etc.).

 

Just got a used 07. I bought one with knowledge that the traction battery has a finite life span. Was bought at 142k miles. I have an 80-100 mile work commute per day. Am interested to see what the drop in efficiency will be in cold Chicago winters.