2006 Toyota Prius with ~167,000 miles and need new hybrid battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by kellydlu, Jun 2, 2015.

  1. kellydlu

    kellydlu Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I just got a fatal Christmas light indicator (check engine, red triangle exclamation mark, etc) on my 2006 Prius and brought it to the local mechanic (who services hybrids) and was told I needed a new hybrid battery (error code P0A80) along multiple low voltage codes. Cost quoted is $2532.50 (for parts and labor, not including tax yet). There are some other problems like the water pump leaking and plastic bag melted on exhaust so adding those repair plus the diagnostic fee ($165) brings the total to $3576.72. This was my commuter car and I'd like to know if it makes sense to do the repair or not bother considering it is only worth ~$4200 on KBB (good condition). My concern is if I put in the money to fix, how long would it last me? At 167,000 miles will other parts break down and will I have to sink even more money on the car? $3600 is lot of money but I don't think I can get a decent replacement commuter car at that price.

    If I do fix, how do I decide weather to opt for new vs rebuilt/re-manufactured vs re-conditioning of the batteries?

    Should I try the Toyota manufacturer good faith warranty route? I would have to take it into the dealer (which I frequent for my regular maintenance) for a diagnostic before they will quote me the costs. Note, I'm in Alameda, CA (near SF) so I would fall into the 10 yr/150,000 miles warranty. I bought the car in Dec, 2005 (under 10 yrs, but over in the miles at ~167,000 miles). Have you heard of anyone getting it at ~17,000 miles over?

    Side notes.
    1) The 12V battery was replaced in Sept, 2014. Bought a Optima battery from Amazon and had my brother-in-law replace it for me. No real other fixes that i can recall.
    2) Prior to today, I had noticed for some time a weird sounds (like a cranking/clicking sound) from the car. After going on vacation for 4 days and leaving car home and un-driven. The car had a hard time turning on. I saw the battery at 1 bar, and it toggled between full and 1 bar while sitting idle. I simply moved the car for a wash. The next day I saw the problem described above with .

    Would like to get some opinions and suggestions. Thanks, Kelly.
     
    #1 kellydlu, Jun 2, 2015
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    It doesn't hurt to see if Toyota will help you with a new traction battery, the worst that will happen is that you'll be told "no".

    Since your car has been generally reliable prior to the traction battery failure and you need a commute vehicle, it would be reasonable for you to replace the battery even if you have to pay for it. This assumes that you have properly maintained the engine and transaxle so that a failure is not imminent with the powertrain system. I would recommend that you have a new battery installed, not a "remanufactured" battery - as the latter has a questionable remaining service life. Good luck with your decision.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Jun 2, 2015
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would bite the bullet and trade it in. then you'll be good for another 10 years. prices are really low right now.
     
    #3 bisco, Jun 2, 2015
  4. kutcht1

    kutcht1 Member

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    I would find someone knowing how to swap modules and has done this before and replace the modules that are failing. There may only be a few or even one that has failed and it could be fine for many thousand miles after repair. Even a new battery can fail and after installed they are all used HV batteries. There is a reason some have failed around 50,000 miles and others have gone over 300,000 miles. They do not fail at the same time, so by replacing the modules that fail when they fail makes more sense and no need to spend $3000 on an older car. Many people have gone this route with good success, others opt to replace entire HV battery and go with the odds that it will not fail again.
    My 2 sense.
    TomK
     
    #4 kutcht1, Jun 2, 2015
  5. drmanny3

    drmanny3 Member

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    I just sold my 2006 that was top of the line that year for $9000 (110,000 miles) in just a few days of listing it. Condition was good to excellent. I would recommend you go to Toyota and see what they will do. Then ask them to contact Toyota and see if Toyota will provide some Good Will support. If you have indeed been servicing the car at the dealer they will be more likely to support you. I did this when my car was out of warranty on the air conditioning. Toyota and the dealer paid 2/3 of the cost. Granted I was the original owner and that carries weight. However, it is worth asking. As posted in an earlier post here the new models (Series 4) are coming out in late Sept/Oct. Most people are holding off purchasing a Prius in anticipation. You can get excellent deals on 2015 cars right now. You could have the bad modules replaced and then trade it in for a new car. The series 3 cars are better than the series 2 cars (2004-2009).
    Manny
     
    #5 drmanny3, Jun 2, 2015
  6. slimfrancis

    slimfrancis Member

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    If you're in the north east priuskings.com will come to your location and swap or fix your battery . They did my wife's Prius recently and they were very reasonable and affordable. Good luck!
     
    #6 slimfrancis, Jun 2, 2015
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would like to see more info on this company, than their website offers.
     
    #7 bisco, Jun 2, 2015
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  8. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Asking Toyota for Goodwill will cost you $100+
    1) Call Toyota Customer Care to get a case number for your issue.
    2) You will have to pay the dealer's diagnostic fee of $100+, so they can verify DTC P0A80 (replace HV Battery pack).
    3) Once that is confirmed ask the service mgr to call Toyota in reference to your case number above.
    4) Since you have been paying for maintenance at the Toyota dealership, they are more likely to cut you a break than if you did zero maintenance at the dealership.
    5) Maybe they'll give you $1,000, $750, $500 towards a HV Battery replacement?

    Your original HV Battery gave you 167,000 reliable and trouble free miles. A new replacement will most give you the greatest trouble free longevity. Swapping modules has the shortest dependability factor. Used/Rebuilt/Refurbished may be slightly better than swapping modules. Since you don't DIY, you will be paying for labor every time you need the HV Battery repaired; warranties almost always only cover the part, not part and labor. There have been sad stories of people who went with a refurbished/rebuilt HV Battery, only to spend more due to warranty repairs, than if they had just gone NEW.
     
    #8 exstudent, Jun 3, 2015
    daniel craig3 and GringoMariachi like this.
  9. kellydlu

    kellydlu Junior Member

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    II
    Update: I took my car to the Dealer and Toyota is covering the cost of my battery (Yay!) since I'm a regular customer. I have to pay for the labor and misc cable totaling $723.03. I also have to replace water pump and then hoping this commuter car will last me a few more years. I'm happy. Thank you for all your inputs.
     
    #9 kellydlu, Jun 5, 2015
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  10. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Wow another one for record books! I'm keeping track by the way, of the out of warranty assists, but I won't mention your screen name unless its OK. I wonder if its OK to mention the helpful dealers name...so others know where is good.

    Overall chance of stellar outcome seems best in CA (just my perception).
     
    #10 wjtracy, Jun 5, 2015
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