Prius Gen II 2006 needing new hybrid battery @ 96k in UK

I thought the UK had a really good warranty......like "forever". You should contact our member "Britprius". He knows all about the warranty in the UK.

 

Yeah, I think that's the UK program. Britprius knows all about it. I think he says they'll extend it every year if you do the battery health check....so it's really a "forever" warranty if you do the check yearly.

Or you can simply look at some youtube videos online about battery rebuilding yourself.....it's very cheap to do it.

 

They were just playing the odds given the "low-ish" mileage. P0A80 + P3013 is almost certainly a failed battery.

118 is high, but within the realm of what is typical in the states. Battery failure can happen at any time. I have personally seen them at 90K. The codes are irrefutably indicating a bad battery (block 3 becomes weak).

Highly unlikely you'll need an ECU.

IMHO, he's probably trying to scare you into taking scrap for it, so he can do a little something on the side and get a Prius cheap

 

Is this a Toyota main dealer? Or just some third party garage? Either way, it seems they've roped you in with a £59 diagnosis offer, then easily doubled it in the process, before trying to scare you into parting with your Prius as scrap - on the basis that, by their own doubtlessly overinflated estimates, the vehicle will need "everything including the kitchen sink" replaced.

For starters, the Hybrid components of the Prius II are guaranteed for 8 years in the UK, not 5 years. So, they're lying to you already.

The HV traction battery may well have died due to only one of the smaller battery cells within dying. There is no reason why the ECU would die as well, so that's another porker.

Basically, I'm suspicious. I see a dealer who wants to give you £200 for your vehicle, fix it super cheaply (because it might NOT even be the Traction battery at fault after all), and then resell your Prius for a fat profit of at least £3,000.

I may be wrong, but, I'm "oh so suspicious".

They've taken your car apart, so you can't go anywhere else. If you do want to fix your Prius, they'll milk you for every penny you've got, by claiming everything under the sun is wrong with it - even though that's more than likely untrue.

I'd say seek a 2nd opinion, even if you have to tow the car somewhere else. Find a specialist who is prepared to fix the vehicle without scalping you in the process. A replacement HV Battery in good condition from a scrapyard could be as little as £500 - £750 if from a late model that had been written off and broken up. The ECU might be no more than £200 from the same source.

An independent specialist (as in ex-Toyota mechanic who knows Prii) would get your Prius up and running again without trying to rip you off so shamelessly.

Sorry if I'm wrong, but these are my thoughts.

Prii, especially the 2nd Generation are over engineered. They don't break down that easily. Check Autotrader and you'll see Prii with much greater mileage than 96k on them for sale - all more than likely on the original battery.
The only reason the HV battery might have died at all, would be the battery cooling vent / fan duct got blocked by something (dog hairs, assorted fluff and thick clogging stuff). The batteries do not normally overheat in the UK's temperate climate.

During the summer, I use my A/C as even this cools the battery during operations - the cool air from the cabin is sucked down a vent and blown over / around the HV battery, keeping it cool.

I hope this helps. Apologies if I got anything wrong here. Anyone who knows better, please assist, and correct me where necessary

Good luck!


iPhone 6s +

 

Please seek a 2nd opinion, and do name and shame them, so they can be avoided by other Prius owners on here.


iPhone 6s +

 

Not quite, JC, the program is up to and including the tenth birthday, not forever. So, in effect, the coverage can last until the end of the tenth year - effectively 11 years coverage.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't really sure about it......that's why I suggested he contact Britprius. I was going off my fuzzy memory of 1 additional year warranty, every year you do some type of inspection.

 

I think the new battery price (£1,068 plus labour) is very reasonable, but the labour charges are a bit on the high side. Having said that £450 is not outrageous.

As far as £118 for the diagnosis fee is concerned, that should be deducted from the completed job if you chose to have them do the work.

If you can afford it and you are keeping the Prius for a few more years, I'd be inclined to repair the car. You will certainly get more than £200 if you do decide to on sell it at a later date, with this repair is done.

In the unlikely event it does turn out that you need a new HV ECU, you can source a second-hand one from a scrap yard for a lot less than the new price.

I hope that helps.

 

Definitely don't scrap the car for 200 pounds. Even if you sold it privately, you should get way more than that.

 

The warranty for the hybrid battery is 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first - certainly not the 5 years they led you to believe! I would be very wary of this dealer, as already mentioned above, considering how many times they seem to be trying to rip you off.

You might have had more luck with regards to a good will gesture, had you had your car serviced at Toyota, but since that hasn't been the case for the last few years, it does seem quite unlikely Toyota would do anything now unfortunately.

 

New battery for £1,068? That doesn't add up nobody is getting a new battery for under $2000 USD ! (£1500 British pounds)

Maybe china junk or trying to rip you off by fixing the 1 cell.

 

I'm not sure how much a brand new traction battery for a 2nd generation UK Prius would cost - does anyone know the exact price as at now?

And, yes stockdaddy, talking about China junk, I vaguely recall reading somewhere that some Prius 2nd generation vehicles were built in China under license, for the Chinese market exclusively (up to 2011). Does anybody know if this is true - or am I hallucinating . If correct, that means the Chinese might be producing Prius II spare parts.
They might be a lot cheaper than the originals....though, there might be a question mark regarding the quality


iPhone 6s +

 

Not bashing China but as i recall there was some fake oem Prius cells that were made in China that didn't use the Panasonic cells.

 

Of course not. And neither am I. I actually own a Chinese made Pedelec Bicycle, which I'm rather very pleased with indeed. However, I was aware of what I was buying, and based on acceptable reviews from previous buyers, went for it.

Some stuff from China's of rather very high quality indeed. Like the iPhone 6s Plus I'm typing this on, and a ton of other electronic equipment at home. Unfortunately, some stuff can equally be of somewhat.....questionable quality too. And that's what I'm worried about.


iPhone 6s +

 

The P0420 has nothing to do with the battery. That is your cat is not working at the required level. Since you just paid 700 for a reconditioned cat, you need to contact whomever sold you that cat and get your money back or have them replace it again. I just reconditioned my own cat after driving around for a year with a p0420 with a $20 acid bath saving me $1800 from buying a brand new one. Have almost 3K miles on it so far without the P0420 returning.