Consensus on HV Battery replacement

OK Hi DC you're in my backyard.
First of all, did DARCARs really check on your CARB warranty status for your VIN and give you high cost quote?
CARB warranty is 10-yr and 150k miles so chances are your 2005 is just over 10-yrs.
Apparently DC is not CARB but MD is CARB, but we really do not have experience to know how Toyota handles DC (special case).
Apparently Toyota has a new software program where the dealer puts in the VIN and it tells the dealer if the car is under warranty...we've had a few pleasant surprises with the software.

Assuming you are out of warranty, you have at least 2 options: (1) Ask Toyota for Goodwill Warranty coverage (see below) and/or (2) Go to (Greentec) for rebuilt. As for rebuilt, in our area Greentec is the popular choice lately. Our general preference here is however a new Toyota battery from the dealer.

Here is the Link to our Goodwill Warranty tips. Sometimes this take extra time, so one reason to go Greentec if you need to get this show on the road. But if it was me I would probably tell Toyota you got Greentec quote for $xxxx but would consider Toyota replacement with warranty assistance. You generally gotta talk to Toyota USA about this, not the dealer. If Toyota will help then they will contact dealer with the offer they gave you.

See this link:
HV Battery Goodwill Warranty Listing - Toyota Prius USA | PriusChat

It is your HV battery (High Voltage) also known as "Traction" Battery because it builds up power from traction (breaking). There is also a slim chance the battery is OK but the cooling fan is clogged.

 

^ +1, except that I lean the other way where remanned - versus - OEM is concerned.

Not worth quibbling about if Toyota Goodwill Warranty gets you within a few hundred bucks, in which case I'd go with the OEM unit.

Good Luck!

Let everybody know how it comes out!

 

Right and also since your PA080 code is clear, you probably have to wait until the code goes off again. Could consider $200-300 job to clean cooling fan to see if that helps extend batt life. Also tell me 2005 date car first bought if you know it.

 

Maybe wait for a few more posts for input
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One thing is do not be too thrilled with the 3-4 yr warranty at Greentec, although you made need it as the rebuilds are less reliable.
Toyota will only give 1-yr warranty but we are expecting 8-10 years life like you just got.

 

Just to be clear. There is no such thing as an "after market top line battery". Toyota sells new batteries. Everyone else sells batteries reassembled with used battery modules. Some re-builders claim they can "recondition" modules to like new performance. Others believe that there is no way to regain lost capacity. That school of thought believes the best that can be done is to test modules remaining capacity and assemble a pack with well matched good capacity modules.

Too bad you are not in MN. I install batteries with tested well matched good capacity modules for $700.

Brad

 

There are two reasons that I lean away from using an OEM battery pack for a ten year old car with 120,000 miles.

Reason # first: Expense and ROI
I'd probably just toss the least expensive battery pack with a two year warranty into the car and drive the crap out of it for 2 years and see what comes. From what I can tell, $1200-$1500 seems to be the industry average for this.....and two years from now there will probably be more---not less competition in the traction battery refurbishment field.

Reason #2:

I like companies that are looking to expand their customer base.
I would have thanked the nice people at the weirdly misnamed "Goodwill" place for their time, and told them that this was my first----and last Toyota.
I dig the repeat customer reward thing, and I think that 10 years and 100,000 miles is a darned good warranty on a battery...but there's just something a little distasteful about being advised that a car that being serviced by the customer is in a different 'goodwill' bucket than one who makes an appointment with a service manager every 5,000 miles.
If I'm Toyota.....I'm going to throw you a bone and try to get you to be a REPEAT customer.
Holding a bone juuuuuust out of reach and advising you that it's too bad that you're not a repeat customer seems to be going the other way - especially when you were just outside the warranty period.

Toyota has ROI to look at as well.....but here's the thing.
A G2 with 120,000 miles is going to be needing some long periodicity maintenance....like coolant and transaxle fluid replacement....plugs...TB maintenance....etc.

They've just given you a very powerful incentive to do what many people (like me!) are already doing which is DIY or outsourcing.

Bad call Toyota!

 

OK there are diagnostics here for the 12v, and for sure you want to make sure 12v is good.
Also if codes clear up, consider a job to clean the batt cooling fan. If the car ever sees dogs hair, that's one issue.
If you are not satisfied with Toyota quote try again. You are shooting for $2000 OTD for the batt job. Maybe a little more.
Some go to different dealer and start over just to get a second opinion.
When you start car, give it a few minutes to warm up. This takes some stress out of it,
You generally want A/C on to help cool the battery, but I might leave it off during first couple minutes warm-up.

 

No its not that bad to DIY if you have skills...not 400 lbs maybe 120lbs I think. Many threads here.
Electrical safety is important but much on YouTube and here.
One good option is get new batt from Toyota and DIY install.
If you're heading to Richmond the historically reputable place is MACs in Ashland but he probably $2000.
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See the Goodwill Warranty post for a new case today he got $1300 OTD

 

I haven't looked, but I'm betting that there's a Youtube vid on replacing the traction battery.

I think I'd watch it and see.
I haven't seen it, but I'm thinking that the pack is connectorized, and I'm betting that it weighs less than a buck fifty.
If punk kids are stealing them out of cars in some of the demilitarized zones in big cities?
I'm thinking that a person with a hundred bucks worth of tools and a good internet connection can replace one.
As far as the PITA factor....yes, I get that but I'm thinking that a two year guarantee on a ten year old car is enough for me to toss $1200 at it. It depends on what other problems you might encounter with this car during the next two years, and how much you depend on it.
My daily commuter is an 06 Envoy with 160,000 miles...but I have another car, 2 motorcycles, a golf cart, a bicycle and my commute is 3 miles. My commuter car doesn't have to be as dependable as a single parent with a 50 mile ride to work and a crumb snatcher to drop off and pick up from day-care.

Your financial depth band is also important to consider.
If you can stroke a check for $1200 without wincing, then it's going to look a little different than somebody who will have to eat Ramen noodles for a month after spending that same amount on a car repair.

 

I did DIY repair on my 2005 Prius HV battery. I replaced 2 modules with used/tested modules that I bought on ebay.

Regarding getting the HV battery pack out of the car, it is essential to have 2 people to do this. It's much much easier to handle it with 2 people. The HV battery pack is too heavy for one person to handle it easily.

 

Anybody can remove and install a battery, as long as you don't open the case. That process is no harder installing or uninstalling, it's the same thing. If you have basic socket tools, this should take you around 2 hours. A pro can do it in 30 minutes

Here's the best video I've found, from Dorman

 

Somewhere on PriusChat is a post by a resourceful elderly gent who did it solo with a couple of 2x4s and no muscle strain. He laid the 2x4s over the back edge of the trunk/hatch opening and ramped the battery up them. As it passed over the edge the 2x4s seesawed down and he continued ramping it right down onto his (cart or whatever).

-Chap

 

My dealer said his mechanics are extremely careful with the battery as the voltages are high; they don't let anyone else near them when they are working, so if you do DIY, take all safety precautions (linesman gloves, etc.).

With $500 from Toyota if you shop for the best dealer price you'd be out the door around $2000 (dealer battery prices start around $1950 plus tax and labor), which is similar in price to the top of the line Green Tec, if not less. If Green Tec is convenient to you, either solution should cover you for the next four years, and at around $500 per year battery cost broken down, if the battery goes in 4 years, that's a minimal expense (if you still have the car)

The $1500 installed green-tec solution gets you through the next 18 months at a reasonable price too, you're basically gambling the cost of fuel savings on the battery (at least with my average fuel savings vs a regular car). If you plan to drive another 40,000 miles in that time, the warranty is worth it.

The issue though is whether other costly problems will arise if you keep up the high mileage driving. I recently spent $3000 on an uncommon brake actuator failure at 110,000 (plus new front pads and drive belt which were due for replacement). I went with new parts at the dealer because I had a 1000 mile drive a few days later. Could have saved a bunch doing used parts. Then my traction battery started to fail, after the trip, and Toyota graciously offered goodwill assistance on the battery, which I accepted, but i have to say, at about $4500 spent on the car in the last two months, i am now gun-shy on driving older Prius cars. You can buy them used for $4500 in perfect working condition... replacing might be the better cost effective option. I'm starting to think new (or recently or certified used) again...

I'm starting to look at the per year cost of ownership as a new ownership model, whereas I buy newer cars and replace them more frequently, losing money on depreciation vs repairs. That way my money is spent enjoying a newer car, rather than fixing an older one that is starting to feel it's age (seat leather, etc..).

My best case on my Prius would have been to sell last year under 100,000 miles when everything was working great... now, in the last 5-10,000 miles I've got a sqeaky strut noise (not a big deal right now), the brake failure, and now the battery failure.

If you love the Prius, you may want to trade it as-is (sell it cheap with known prior error code to someone not afraid to replace battery), or replace the battery with used, and drive it until you find a nice 2008 Prius with fairly low miles so you have another few years of battery warranty and newer, low mileage parts. Compare costs on future repair bills for your existing Prius vs. sales tax and depreciation loss on a newer low mileage model... if you are putting 40,000 miles on per 1.5 years, you have to consider how many more miles you want to put on the Prius you have now.
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Top of the line green tec contains all new cells from what I understand, so it may be comparable to OEM battery with better warranty, though it's an unknown product at this point long-term.

 

Actually sell it to someone in MD which is CARB state and maybe they get lucky on free batt replacement.
One idea is to get Toyota batt say $2000 and pay $150 to Greentec to install (if they would).

But I am not sure Toyota would not do that.
I am not quite sure OP situation, but I am thinking he has car at home with PA080 code not currently active.
Unless he is at Toyota dealer with PA080 lit up, Toyota is not quoting on the total job.
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We are not aware of that it had been called false advertising in some threads so we need to be careful. I don't think we have any rebuilds based off new cell right now. If we did I agree it could be equiv to new batt. Lucious Garage in CA is the gold standard and they have stopped using rebuilds and just go with Toyota batts. Check with Lucious garage to see if they had a changed policy. I guess nothing stops Greentec from buying a new Toyota batt but in that case OP can get new Toyota batt.

 

You have to read the fine print very carefully with Green Tec. They do not give you new cells, they just describe it as such. But if you pay close attention to their wording, you would then know it's a rebuild.

All their claims are questionable, as their claim of their rebuilts being essentially better than "new". Also just because they offer a 18 month warranty, it does not mean you'll have 18 months of trouble free service. It just means if it fails (which it will), you'll be covered. And you better read the fine print on who covers the shipping and reinstalling of the covered part.