toyota quoted me $2,800 for battery, I have no way to finance the money and I really don't want to have to get rid of it, does anybody have any ideas or options? I'm a new prius owner and I love it, this sucks.
how long miles/years would you like to keep the car? there are a few options, but the best ones aren't cheap. are you a diy'er? a new battery can be had for under $2,000. in some area's. you can, or aftermarket company, replace the bad cells, but it is a big job, and usually doesn't last too long. the more work you do to get an old battery right, the more time consuming sand labor skyrockets, until you're close the the price of new, which should last another ten years.
I see from your location that you are in United States. I am also in United States and there is a hybrid repair shop of good repute here in United States. They will diagnose a failed battery for $250 and replace individual modules for $60 per module. Right here in United States! But yes, replacing one module at a time is a stopgap measure at best. If another module fails next week or next month, that's $310 each time you have it done. By the time you have replaced 6 modules, you could have bought a whole new battery.
So, can you be a bit more specific with your location? There are plenty of options available to help you, but they are definately location limited............
Darian, Not sure where you are located, but I'd be happy to talk through some options on the phone. Are you in the Midwest? Ultimately it is going to cost you some amount of money and time. To save the most money you would need to do the work yourself. But this would also cost you the most time. Are you thinking you want to take this to someone else to repair (more expensive) or you want to do the work yourself.
Does that make any sense to you? At all? The original, brand new, from the factory battery lasted about 11 years. All the modules (28 of them) are the same age. At least one has failed. There's no telling how many are weak and on the path toward failure. My testing has shown there are typically 3 or 4 more that are sketchy. Those are the ones that will bite you months down the road, over and over again. I'm really curious who "he" is. Sounds like a Craigslist Ad. "I'll come to you and fix your Prius. I'll check all the modules, replace the bad ones and balance it, all for just $400." Replacing a module or two in a 10 year old battery will definately NOT last 10-15 years. "He" is blowing smoke up your a**. Ask him how he "tests" them. Ask him for a 10 year gaurentee. Most likely he'll offer 60 or 90 days like many CL hacks. After going back and reading this post again, this reply sounds a bit harsh. I don't mean it to be. I understand your situation, and there are a lot of people out there offering "repair" services for $400-$800 bucks. That's all fine, as it serves a need. What aggravates me are those "repairers" who, in reality, don't have a clue. And a guy who's going to replace a module or two and saying "it will last 10-15 years" is in that group. A more accurate time would be 1 day to 15 months. I would much rather have a person explain to me that a repair can be made, by replacing the obviously failed module(s), but disassembly in your driveway makes it impossible to determine how long the repair will last since there may be more modules that are weak. Those modules are not going to be detected by voltage checks in a driveway...
don't do business with anyone without a storefront you can go to if there is a problem. what warranty is he giving you, and how do you know he will stand behind it? i don't mind taking a flea with $400., as long as you understand the risks involved. i do realize you're stuck between a rock and a financial hard place.
