1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Hybrid HV Clean Battery Fan Service

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by L. Anders, Jan 2, 2017.

Tags:
  1. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2017
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Hi everyone!

    I couldn't find a post in the PiP part of the forum regarding the HV battery fan service so I thought I'd ask here...

    My dealership is asking for $280 to clean the HV battery fan which is ridiculous so I checked Youtube and found a great video describing how to do it on the normal Prius. I tried to follow as much as I could to see if it applied to my PiP buy I basically got stuck because it's pretty different.

    The vent from the air intake on the passenger side goes behind the metal battery shield which is held in by a special orange clip, so I stopped there thinking I may have to take it in after all.

    Does anyone have any experience with doing this service themselves or with the dealership? FYI I do have a dog that comes in my car maybe 2-3 times a month but I don't know how dirty my fan really is. Is there anything I can do instead like monitor my temperatures to see if it's really bad or not? Any other thoughts?

    Thanks!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,132
    50,049
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome!
    there is no such thing as battery fan service. dealer wants your money, good for you. look at your intake grilles in the back seat. if they are clean, there is no need to go any further.
    i have 50,000 miles, but do not transport any pets. that being said, i am pretty hairy myself.
    how many miles on your pip?
     
    #2 bisco, Jan 2, 2017
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2017
    N.J.PRIUS likes this.
  3. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2017
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    52,000 miles. The intake looked fine to me, but I suspect the dealership may have saw the dog hair and tried to take advantage of my wife not knowing much about cars.
     
    bisco likes this.
  4. Pluggo

    Pluggo Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2016
    608
    532
    0
    Location:
    Folsom, Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Well, yes, there is a multi-function digital meter called the ScanGuage which some people use on their PiP and which can be programmed to monitor battery temperature among other functions. No installation, it plugs into the OBDII port near your feet.
     
  5. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2017
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Thanks Pluggo. I contemplated borrowing a friend's OBDII device.
     
  6. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2004
    1,539
    513
    0
    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    If you are concerned about future dog hair, you can add a piece of window screen or furnace filter just behind the intake grill. Keeps any dirt out where you can get at it. There's a post about this around here somewhere.
     
    N.J.PRIUS and jerrymildred like this.
  7. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2017
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I actually have some bulk carbon filter I got on Amazon that I plan to do this with. Thanks for the suggestion.
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,671
    39,221
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I would do both: the filter and occasional foray down to the fan itself.
     
  9. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2010
    3,970
    2,617
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    It is incredibly easy to do this on a Plug-in Prius.

    Send me a PM to remind me and I'll snap a few pictures or shoot a quick video to show you. It is vastly easier than the process on a regular Prius.
     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,671
    39,221
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    The fans in the plug-in are much more out-in-the-open I think?

    Even on regular Prius, while not as easy as (say) getting at the cabin filter, it's not that difficult. Even without instruction, if you just go logically/methodically, you'll get to it. And that's all you have to do, complete removal is not needed to assess and/or clean it.
     
  11. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2010
    3,970
    2,617
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Yes, the fans are VERY easy to access. (Plug-in has two fans)
     
  12. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2010
    3,970
    2,617
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I made a video of the procedure:
     
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,671
    39,221
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Says "This video is private." for me. :(
     
  14. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2010
    3,970
    2,617
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I fixed that. Sorry, I'm not much of a YouTuber.
     
    L. Anders and Mendel Leisk like this.
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,671
    39,221
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
  16. Pasaman

    Pasaman Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2009
    289
    111
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    Awesome video. Thanks!
     
  17. L. Anders

    L. Anders New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2017
    5
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Thanks Rebound! I actual found those fans too but thought they were just exhaust fans. I thought the design would be similar to the normal prius which has the fan adjacent to the battery on the rear passenger side.
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,132
    50,049
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
  19. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2013
    914
    307
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles/ Orange County, CA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Your video is AWESOME!!! Thank you very much!!!
     
    Rebound likes this.
  20. John in LB

    John in LB Life is good

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2006
    399
    27
    0
    Location:
    Orange County
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    The video is very good. The only thing is that these fans suck the air through the battery and discharge it into what is normally the spare tire chamber. So, if there is lint or hair, it would be stuck on the two passenger seat grills, tubes or possibly within the battery compartment itself... (the air, after passing through all of that, goes into the suction of the fans.)

    From the seat grills to the battery, are there any filters for us to clean?

    Does anyone know how to dissamble the two intakes to inspect and clean?