Hybrid Battery Replacement... to your door

Carolyn Coquillette of LusciousGarage was kind enough to respond to this question. She says that the modules from G3 are drop-in replacements into the G2 case.

It sure would be nice to have a straightforward method to evaluate battery health. These days is not a bad time to buy a lightly used G3 traction pack for ~ $1250. Seems like something of a window to me before G2s start to fail in sufficient numbers to again dry up the market for good used packs.

 

I received an answer to my letter:
Dear kurzweil33,

We Good morning,

Thank you for your inquiry regarding our Hybrid Batteries. We apologize fro the confusion. The price is reversed. And yes we do free installation and the battery is delivered and installed by our technician. Since we are a mobile service we do not do local pick up. Even if you come to us the price would still be the same. It would be our pleasure to come and install your replacement hybrid battery. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you. Feel free to call us anytime if you have additional questions. Thank you.

High Voltage Solutionz, LLC
571-2-HYBRID
Prius Hybrid Battery- FREE Installation Service

- ishopper-2013

TO WHICH I RESPONDED:

Dear ishopper-2013,


You're wanting to come to Atlanta and install for a $250 shipping fee? I just want to understand what your terms are. If decisions or policies do not make (financial) sense to me, I ask questions until I understand. Just the fuel and meals would be a hundred dollars so it's not that I seriously object to paying the $250 and saving the trip. I just did not see where it made sense for you.

The $950 battery is a balanced and reconditioned one with aberrant modules replaced? If so, it compares very favorably with a straight (untested) used battery for maybe $500 to $800. Thanks.

Brady Born

AND THEY RESPONDED WITH:

Dear kurzweil33,

Yes that's correct. Total cost is $1200 with battery pack, shipping and installation-everything included. Be assured that you aren't the only installation. We install 2-3 units a day. You will just one of the ones we will do. You can also pay after a successful installation. If you choose to- please response with name, address and phone number and we will have it installed in the next 3-5 days.

Thank you.

- ishopper-2013



[FONT=arial]I CONFESS THAT MY EXCITEMENT IS SUCH THAT I HAVE NOT COMPOSED A RESPONSE. I WAS ONLY CHECKING OUT OPTIONS. (IF I COULD TURN OFF THE BOLD, I WOULDN'T BE TYPING IN CAPS).[/FONT]

[FONT=arial]Note that my question regarding the reconditioning was patently ignored.[/FONT]

 

Besides Re-involt and toyota, are there any reputable sellers of Gen 1 batteries?

 

I came across this forum and wanted give my opinion on High Voltage Solutions. I myself had my whole dashboard light up on my 2006 Toyota Prius and after hearing that the dealer wanted $3400 for a replacement battery I to went out to find another alternative. After calling the company and speaking to one of the representatives I ordered their replacement battery to come to my house and install a re-manufactured battery. I have to say I was a little weary because it seemed as though it was a steal to have someone come and replace the battery at no cost. So I didn't feel comfortable in paying in advance. Not only did they not charge me before coming but they sent a tech that came 3 days later and replaced my battery in Austin, TX. The tech first diagnosed the vehicle with his scan tool then after confirming it was indeed the hybrid battery swapped the battery in less than an hour. Once he installed the battery all the lights disappeared. We both took the vehicle for a test drive and the car ran great again. I thought that because of all the other lights that I may have other issues but everything had to do with the battery. I have to say I was impressed. The tech was very professional and courteous. Was really patient with all my questions and issued me a written warranty on the spot. I have to say that all the things I've read in the tread had me concerned but after giving the company a chance they proved to be very professional. I am glad to say that I am a satisfied customer.

Regarding the concern about the price- I purchased a 18 month warrant on the battery. The invoice read $950 for the hybrid battery and $250 for shipping- totaling at $1200 installed.

I'll be sure to continue to recommend them to anyone I know with a Hybrid battery issues.

 

I wanted to add my experience to this thread too. I do a lot of driving with my 2005 Prius. By 100k miles I could see that the battery wasn't holding charge the way it was when it was new. By about 190k the bars on the display seemed like they just went from full charge to no charge very, very quickly, but still my gas mileage was down only about maybe 5%, but I started researching battery replacements - even considering reconditioning one myself. Between 190k miles and 210k, my gas mileage started dropping considerably. I really had to feather the way I drive to eek out 40 mpg (winter driving had been around 47-48mpg). Finally around 210k, the dashboard lit up. I have a wireless OBDII receiver and iPad, so I reset codes and kept driving for a few days. Things seemed okay (same as before the dashboard lights lit up). I had to reset the codes a couple of times (it was Friday night the first time on my way home from work, so it was weekend driving). On Monday things went south even more, and I could tell the computer(s) didn't know how to deal with the situation. The OBDII showed that cell 6 was the one that had finally gone south. So when I got home, I parked the car, ... and at that point, after double checking options and calling three different reconditioned battery suppliers, I decided to go with High Voltage Solutionz (HVS).

I ordered from HVS a battery with the two year warranty. They schedule me for Thursday saying I should hear from a technician on Wednesday. Thursday morning rolls around and no call, so I call them. They said their technician was in another city and should get to me by Friday or Saturday. Friday afternoon rolls around and no call yet. So I call them again. They apologized and said their technician had been delayed, and that he'd now be there on Monday. They offered to extend my warranty to a 3-year for no additional charge ($1200 vs. $1600 were the prices on their website for 2-yr. vs. 3-yr.) since he had been delayed.

Monday the technician called, and then came directly to my home. He was driving an Gen3 Prius . I found out that HVS reconditions the batteries in Florida, and in my case, ships a large quantity of reconditioned batteries to California, where this technician was based. He has much of the western US as his territory. He loads up his Gen3 Prius with batteries and heads out. He had been delayed by needing to go to Seattle before coming to Denver. He had 3 batteries in the back of his Prius.

He was very courteous, let me watch the whole thing, chatted while he worked, and still had my battery replaced in about an hour. He said he'd been working for HVS for about a year, doing the replacements all over the western US. He seemed please to work with them, and when I asked if he thought they'd be in business for a long time, he said he didn't know of any reason why not (I was wondering, and still am to some degree, whether warranty is worth anything).

Bottom line - I've driven now about another 2k on the car, enough to know that my gas mileage is back to normal. The bars on the display seem much more like when the car was new. Overall my Prius seems to drive like it did pretty much when I drove it out of the Toyota dealer's lot.

It's an interesting business model for HVS, but it seems like they are making it work, and making money at it too. With all the hybrids on the road, I expect continued business potential and growth for companies like these.

So so far, I'm happy with the decision I made to go with HVS.

 

Thanks for sharing Whiten,

I'm curious why you decided to not try and only replace #6 module

 

Three reasons: 1) Time it would take for me to replace only one module, but more importantly, 2) With over 200k miles and the reduction in gas mileage, etc., I figured all the cells were weak and needed reconditioned, and 3) I've read that the battery computer wants to see "matched" cells. One new and the rest old I figured would still create problems for me, either initially just with the new cell and the rest old, or as I continued to drive, I'd have problems with other cells.

 

I spoke with a company that sells rebuilt Gen 2 Traction Batteries in three configurations. The first is rebuilt with reconditioned Gen 2 cells, the second with reconditioned Gen 3 cells and the third with brand new Gen 3 cells. When I asked the difference he said I could expect too get about 2-3 years out of the first option, 4-6 years from the second option and 8-10 years for the third option. The company is called Prius re-builders. For some reason I cannot post a link to their site but you should be able to find it easy enough. Other than talking with them I have no experience with them and cannot vouch for them. I just thought that this information might help answer your question about the difference in the Gen 2 and Gen 3 cells.

 

I spoke with a company yesterday that does just that. The company is called Prius re-builders. According to Abe, at that company when they use Gen 2 cells to rebuild a Gen 2 battery you can expect two years of service out of it. When they use refurb Gen 3 cells life expectancy goes to 4-6 years and when they use new Gen 3 cells you can expect 8-10 years. I have no experience with this company and cannot endorse them. I am just passing along information that I thought might answer your question.

 

Interesting info about their expected lifetimes Bravo. I normally hate those stupid sayings (truisms I think they call them), but as people sometimes say: "secondhand is secondhand". I've always been of the opinion that is very much the case when it comes to batteries.

I think you've only got to make about five posts or so before you can post a link. It's just to try and control spammers.

 

I bought a used Toyota Prius 2005. The previous owner had the battery replaced by High Voltage Solutionz. Eight months after I purchased the car (9 months after the battery replacement) the battery failed. As the battery was still under warranty by High Voltage Solutionz, I called them up. Before even presenting the warranty information they scheduled an appointment that would cost me $500.

Some other things:
The representative I talked to over the phone stated he was using voip (as opposed to a company phone line)
Our call was dropped several times
The same representative gave me their official email address which is a "gmail" address (as opposed to a company address)
They were willing to replace my battery (for the shipping + installation fee) with no evidence I actually had a warranty or even bought a battery from them ever before.

 

None of that strikes me as 'sketchy.' Low operating budget yes, but I consider that a good thing in general.

Now, I personally would avoid a company that cannot spell it's own name.

 

Perhaps I reacted too harshly, and their operation is not necessarily "sketchy" [removed from my previous comment]. It also could be the case that I am in the unlucky minority that received a bad battery.
However the combination of high charges to replace a faulty product and the difficulty in communicating with anyone in the company has caused me enough concern.

 

We have also had a battery replaced by High Voltage Solutionz (located in FL), and it went bad within the warranty period, but they will not honor the warranty. We had to purchase a battery elsewhere, and have lost the money paid to High Voltage Solutionz. I would NOT recommend them. Have filed complaints with Attorney General and BBB.

 

If you look up above you'll see that I had High Voltage Solutionz replace my battery this past March (2015). As that post said, I "bought" a 2-year warranty, and because of delays getting to me they gave me a 3-year warranty for no additional charge.

But with that said (and as others in this thread have mentioned), the warranty covers only the reconditioned battery, and not labor and delivery of a replacement if the first one goes bad. I had to put that to the test in November in that my dashboard once again lit up like a Christmas tree, and it was the battery failing again. I called HVS and they put me on a list to get a new one, and this is where I found out about the cost for labor and delivery still being $250 (at least that was what they charged me).

It took two weeks for the technician to come to my home again and replace the battery with another reconditioned battery.

This time I figured I'd pay the $250. But if their batteries only last 6 months, and there's a $250 (or more) charge each time, I will either try to get free delivery and installation or switch to someone else - in that what good is a 3-year warranty if every six months I have to have it replaced for $250 AND have to do without my car for two weeks.

But they did honor the warranty and once the technician got here and installed a new one, things seem to be going okay again.

I'm not sure if I'd recommend HVS to others at this point, but if this battery last for 2.5 years I'll be happy. At this point I have 226k miles on my 05, and it's been the most reliable car I've ever had. Another 3-years will put me at 300k, which I think anyone would be more than happy with on a car, and my total cost of maintenance so far (including the battery) is still around $2k (not including routine maintenance - or labor, as I do most myself).

 

Found this forum doing a search on this company High Voltage Solutionz.Found them doing a search on the internet and the price seemed ok.charged me almost 2000 dollars to replace the battery in our Hybrid.Its been a month and the replacement battery is failing.Took it to the dealer and the battery failed.Have been calling them for a week and a half now and keep getting we will call you back or let me speak to my supervisor and call you back.Than the woman at the desk says her technician will call us but nothing in over a week.This is a flat out rip off company.Not even sure where to start with the court process since they are 8 hrs away.Any one know where we can start to make this right.
When they wanted our money they showed up in 3 days and replaced the battery.

 

hope you paid with a credit card and you can dispute the charges. $2000 wow

 

Paid most with cash and paid the tax with credit card since it was in the same state we live.They still gave me a reciept with 24 month warranty.

 

Hi Cmiller84 - This is a good time to repost again. My second traction battery from HVS also failed after about six months. I first emailed HVS - no reply. I waited a few days, and then called and asked to speak with a manager. I got someone's voicemail. I left a message. No response. So after waiting another couple of days I started looking for other options figuring HVS wasn't going to stick to their warrantee. I can't recall now why I called them back - I think just to leave them some feedback or something - but I was surprised to hear from whoever answered the phone "that I was in their queue for a warrantee replacement, and that it had shipped (their term for being put in a car for a technician to deliver it to my home for replacement), and that it was in the system as "no charge."

So a couple days later the technician was at my house. He installed another reconditioned battery for no charge (no $250 charge this time), and I was back on the road again.

This third battery from them has subtle indicators that I got a better battery this time. It's hard to say. This go around it was about 10 or 11 days from the initial email until installation (less time than either of the previous two times).

I think they probably aren't doing the best job reconditioning the batteries, or maybe reconditioning isn't all that good of an idea overall. But my 2005 is still on the road, and at 235k miles now. If it fails again I'll get back in touch with them. One thing is certain from my interactions with them. They have *very poor* communication! I certainly would wish they were better at keeping the customer informed.

So for now my car is drivable and doing well again. I'll just see what happens.

 

ReInvolt was bought by Dorman. Just FYI.