Low-mileage Prius needing new battery

"Refubished" is a HORRIBLE option, unless you plan to dump the car immediately; next victim will be dealing w/ the problems.

You wouldn't buy used tires expecting it last as long as a new one? That is what people mistakenly believe with the "rebuilds."
The chemicals and seals in the modules wear out. How do you "rebuild/refurbish/remanufacture" this? You can't. Thus the problem w/ rebuilds. They take the best of the worst modules and put them into a Frankenstein pack, and call it "rebuilt/remanufactured/reconditioned/etc." Also, most warranties only cover part, not labor to install the replacement.

For me, its a no brainer to buy a new OEM HV battery.
1) I can DIY.
2) I know where to get the parts; which dealers will sell the HV battery to me.
3) spare car; helpful but not necessary
4) $1,600 HV battery vs $20-$30K replacement car

Read post #9 & #11 for some insight on HV battery, and dealers who sell online. You will have to verify that they will sell to you or see if a local dealer will price beat/match, and sell to you too. Indianapolis area battery repair? | PriusChat

Member 2k1Toaster also has his own company selling NEW cylindrical "module" replacement. Another viable option to consider.
NewPriusBatteries

 

welcome!

you've got a great low mileage car! get the toaster battery mentioned by exstudent above, and find someone to install it for under $400.

all the best!

 

Unfortunately this is the case for many low mileage Prius cars. The battery likes to be used on a regular basis, less use actually hurts the battery. The car actually is reversed from normal car pricing where less miles is better. The good part is if you look around you can find a brand new battery for about 1650. Then you just need to find someone who can swap out the battery for a reasonable price. If the car is in good condition with a new factory battery it would bring a high resale price.

 

I would go against the grain every time, I would take a low mileage Prius and take my chances with the battery. I am assuming it was maintained properly also.

 

I would also. I just wish pricing on hybrids would reflect low mileage battery’s as a problem.

 

If the failure was a one time imbalance that only happened at startup you be able to simply unhook the 12v and keep on driving.

Depending on the exact nature of the failure, you may be a good candidate for a charge/discharge regimen. If the lights are on simply because the car went out of balance from sitting unused for so long, then got to a local hybrid shop and have them balance the pack.

If I had a car this old with a battery that old that was still working I would buy a hybrid automotive system and use that to regularly balance the pack to keep in good health.

 

Erin, I feel your pain, my mother has a 2005 with 79,000 miles, last year she was told the same news. Since I had a new $3000 battery in my Prius that was awaiting an new engine at 397,000 miles I did the swap for her getting her old battery to repair.
I found it had one bad cell, I replaced it, now I’ve over 500,000 miles.
I posted a time lapse of the repair on this forum.
In my case I had found it was like I had a rechargeable flashlight with one of the 24 batteries in it gone bad.


iPhone ?

 

Let me help you. In the older HV batteries, it's very common for one or more of the 28 modules to develop some poor self discharge characteristics. As long as it's not catastrophic, this is usually not an issue, as people drive the car every day and it keeps the module charged up. But, if you leave the car unused for a time, the modules self discharge can cause it's voltage to drop significantly. Just like if you leave your car parked for 6 months, the 12v battery will often be dead or very weak and needs to be recharged. If you have one or two of these weak, self discharged modules, it will cause the HV battery monitoring system to trigger a fault.

How can you correct this without tearing apart the battery? Easy...force charge the battery. As long as the battery is still strong enough to start the engine, you can easily just hold the brake and press the gas to force the battery to charge. Do this until you get the top blue line or when the lines turn green. This should be enough charge to get you driving. This IS NOT a long term solution, but can usually put the car right back to the condition it was in prior to parking it. It will probably show itself again the next time you don't drive for several days. Over the course of time, the module(s) will get even worse characteristics and may self discharge even faster. But, it could also take years before it becomes necessary to replace it.

 

We have learned that time is the enemy of these batteries. Especially when rarely used. An idle Prius is a slowly dying Prius.

Once you decide how much this car is worth to you, we can give you options. You can fix it or replace it and both are good options for different reasons. And both options have many sub-options.

 

Yes, I have had the same situation, but at 100k more miles. My answer, being a mechanic and engineer, was to remove the HV pack (simple hand tools), test each module (with a model RC NiMh/LiPo charger/discharger) to determine the failed modules and replace them. I have done this twice and replaced two modules in total, for about $220 including the cost of the charger/discharger.

If the pack fails again and our daughter wants to keep the car, which is a rust-free Texas car with an excellent maintenance history and one prior owner, we will get "toasters" new retrofit cells for it and sell off the good modules.

 

This is a very common belief on PC and there is a lot of really bad battery work out there.

However, this is what the car owners think about paying for a new battery.

The OP also clearly loves his low mileage car. A one owner 83K mile car would be a good candidate for a new battery but the owner is still reluctant to put that much money in to a 11 year old car. Most Prius that need batteries are no longer 83K mile cream puffs. They can be rusted, dented, high mileage, old burners, and need other repairs. At that point the cars are just basic transportation. A good rebuilt battery can help extend the cars useful life and put off the new car payments for a few years.

This is a perfect example of a DIY battery repair adding 100k of use to a very high mileage Prius. Congratulations on a job well done!

You could try Hybrid Battery Exchange in Portland, OR. Hybrid Battery Exchange He is a member here on PC and knows what he is doing. I'm not sure if you are in his service area.

 

Brad,

As with all things, those who value PROFIT over reputation/customer service ruin "it" for those that have their heads on straight!

 

But this car & battery are 14 years old, well past the point where a very substantial portion of other Prii are losing their original batteries. Would this battery be lasting any longer if this was a high mileage car?

 

There are many factors to HV pack life, frequency of use and average ambient temperatures appear to be the two biggest factors. "We" only hear about a percentage of those that develop an issue with them; there are as many with 300k+ at the same age with the original pack.

They are not designed to last the "life" of the car and many do not, but many do.

 

This article goes against everything I read on Prius Chat about battery usage.

How long will a hybrid battery last?

How long will a hybrid battery last? | Battery Clinic