Camry/Highlander hv pack problems?

You probably don’t see them as much here as they are not a popular as the Prius.

Not sure on actual data, but anecdotal evidence is that the Camry is harder on the pack.

I own a 2017 RX450h (similar to the HiHy) and as we exceed the battery warranty (8 years / 100 k miles), I’ll be adding a Prolong setup to the mix.

One member who had done some HiHy battery work is @MTL_hihy and can comment more.

 

I'm in Jamaica and I've had a 2012 JDM (Japanese domestic market) Camry with approx 75K miles on it for the past 10 months. But I know 3 other drivers with similar vehicles who are currently having issues.
One is an american 2012 HyCam that was in an accident so his car sat at the garage in the sun for 5 months. He just changed out 3 modules and installed his prolong that we jointly bought.
The other is a JDM 2012 HyCam like that was bought 2 months before mine . He's getting P0A80 errors and when I ran a diag his voltage spread was all over and his battery temp at the time was 51C. I'd like to run some more tests to nail down whats really wrong but he's not located nearby. Depending on the severity of the results I might convince him to try Toaster's pack replacement.

The third person I've only spoken to on the phone. He's also getting P0A80 but I don't know the details of that failure.

I know of 3 other owners of JDM Camry's that are doing fine and I also see a fair number of them on the road but of course I can't speak to their performance and if any of those battery packs are in a degraded state I doubt any of those owners would know till it throws a code.

I personally don't post a lot here because the tech between the Prius and the Camry is fairly similar so I can glean most of the info I need by reading the treasure trove of Prius threads here and figure out the differences in implementation when it matters.

 

When I say Prolong setup, it’ll be the one designed for the bigger battery .

So I know I’ll be spending a bit more but it’ll pay back in better battery life .

 

I would say the issue is two-fold for camry and highlander folks lack of help forums.

1) The vehicles are more expensive and thus just not nearly as many on the road as there are Prius
2) The owners of these types of sedans/SUVs don't usually have the technical ability to do the work (ie easier to just pay someone)

Luckily I was the type of person that likes a good challenge so figuring out how to rebuild a HiHy battery was something I just couldn't resist.

 

where did you learn how to rebuild the pack on your own? Do I need some sort of electrical engineering degree so I don't shock myself ?

 

Yes, technical skills do help and yes, you can be seriously hurt or killed if you don't know what you're doing. I guess I'm just one of those crazy people who couldn't resist and adapted the work being done on Prius to suit my needs. That said the methods are similar but it's definitely more complicated on the HiHy to rebuild packs because they aren't meant to come apart so you can replace a bad module.

 

Just curious. What would be a ball park cost figure for rebuilding HyHy battery DIY vs have someone do it?

I have been looking for our second vehicle. It need to have a large cargo, high ground clearance, preferably AWD, good mpg, and affordable. I am currently waiting for the new 2019 RAV4 Hybrid to show up at dealer's lot. The price tag on a new HiHy is way too much, but if I can find a used one, that might be more affordable than brand new RAV4 hybrid. I know it won't get the mpg of the new RAV4, but it will be much bigger cargo, I think.

 

Hello Cyvan, where in Jamaica are you located? The prolong you mentioned, is that the prolong battery system from Hybridautomotive?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Depends alot on where you live. Up here very few besides the dealer know how to do that work so it would likely be a large difference in price between DIY and a new Toyota battery (I was quoted over $8K installed which is why I decided to DIY in the first place). I wouldn't shy away from picking up a high mileage one (150-200k miles), often you can find them well under $10k and still in great condition. I love my HiHy and still drive it daily, wouldn't trade it except for maybe a newer one. It still gets 8 L/100KM in summer, it's long since paid, hauls a ton of hockey equipment (WAY more than a Rav4) and drives fantastic so I have a hard time justifying getting something else unless I stumbled on another great deal at some point.

 

Thanks for your reply. I looked for used HiHy in good condition, but in the end, I bought a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid. It was more than what I was planning to spend on >10 years old with >100k miles HiHy, but for comparing to same year same milage HiHy, it was a bargain. So far we really like it.

 

Yeah, that's it. I did not know about the Pathfinder Hybrid until someone suggested early model Ford Escape Hybrid to me. My mind was all set on hybrid SUV = Toyota, and I only considered HiHy and Rav4 Hybrid, and some Lexus SUV hybrid. But when I started searching used hybrid SUV, 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid came back. It was made and sold only one-year model 2014. Early review and reception were not so good complaining about some mechanical problem with CVT and poor mileage as you suggested. I figured, buying 5 years old would be less risky than buying very old (over 10+ years) or brand new for mechanical issues. And on the used car market, Pathfinder Hybrid was so much cheaper when comparing ~2014 HyHi or Lexus RX SUV hybrid models with similar options and mileage. Although Nissan's hybrid system on the Pathfinder is a mild hybrid and it retained mechanical 4WD shared with regular Pathfinder model, it was placed as direct competition to Toyota Highlander Hybrid for most of the reviews I read.

I've had the car for ~3 months now. It is a gorgeous car, Platinum trim with a Premium package, very stable on highway handling and super comfortable rides. If AC is off, I can get ~30 mpg on highway 70 mph. In a city, it is not nimble as you would expect from its size and easily becomes a gas hog. Our city mileage has been ~25 mpg at best, but I am getting at least EPA rated 25/28 (city/hwy). It is comparable to 2014 model HyHi EPA rating of 27/28 (city/hwy). I have not taken the car off road yet, so I don't know it's capability in its regards, but I don't plan to do much of those activities anyway.

 

Assuming it has the same suspension bits as the ICE model, the Pathfinder hybrid should behave the same off road.

 

Yeah, AFAIK, it should be very similar to regular Pathfinder for AWD mechanism and suspensions. However, there may be a noticeable difference in engine power under low rpm for the hybrid model with a supercharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine compared to a regular 3.5-Liter V6 engine. Question is how different it is compared to Highlander Hybrid with electronic on-demand all-wheel-drive with intelligence (AWD-i). I owned 1st gen AWD Pathfinder back in the early 1990s, compared to those truck-based SUV, this 4th gen Pathfinder with unibody construction is much smoother and comfortable on regular roads. I think the off-road capability of 4Gen Pathy is nothing like those 1st or 3rd Gen Pathfinders.

 

Better than the Toyotas with the electric AWD, which had a footnote on the company website about it not being for off road use.

 

Yeah, if I spend $49K on SUV with a plush interior, I may not want to take it off road it's not intended for. I spent less than 40% of that price on my used Pathfinder hybrid that is a bit more capable on off-road, but still, I am not likely taking it to real off-road I've tried with Gen1 Path.