Prius 2006 won't start

My thoughts, precisely!

 

You started using this system on your 2010 when your car was only 6 years old?!? The car had another 5 years before signs might start to show (and they still may)! And you are dead sure it is going last longer than having gone without? Wowzers!

So you are seriously suggesting every Prius owner make a $700 investment at 150,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first? Really?

 

Where’d you get 6 years from?

Our 2010 was purchased in 2009 and the harness was installed in 2017. That’s 8 years where I come from (you must believe in “fuzzy math”).

Here’s a quote from a hybrid specialty shop owner about a 2010 with 300 k miles on it:

EGR Cleaning: What did I get myself into?

So actual data.

If we use this as an example (rather than gross exaggeration) along with what I proposed as an install just outside of warranty, you could say the battery life is likely somewhere between 150 k and 300 k miles, depending on many factors .

Another data point to support the 300k miles is @Shane Burns who had to replace his pack around the 325k mile mark. Actual data.

All I can give you is the data that exists here, as this is a much wider source than the personal examples I have collected through my experience. But I can tell you this, if I got a failed module code for my pack and having the Hybrid Automotive equipment, I will be going the $50 module replacement route and not the replace the pack or install cylindrical cells route. I own equipment that prevents or enables a different decision making process .

As for when to start preventative maintenance, I gave you a starting criteria which would be close to when the warranty expires. If your anecdotal retort of arbitrary timing without substantiated data is true, could I have waited: possibly. But I log 25k miles on our Prius annually over the last 4 years, so reliable running is important.

Let’s give a decision tree a shot :

• Do you believe in preventative maintenance or run to failure?
• If you see signs of issues, what would you do?
• If you want to keep your car running but want to avoid a very large expense when miles are high, what would you do?
• Is there a monetary threshold to what you consider preventative maintenance?
• Do you have a second car, or the flexibility to allow for periodic (which every 6 months or one year is) maintenance?

You seem hung up on costs. If I can spend $700 to avoid $1625 as a floor (for most it is much higher), why wouldn’t I do that? If I have personal experience (that I willingly share here for others benefit as well as when a local member had a problem I also offer up my services or equipment) that shows you can swap in a couple of modules and revive a pack, or preventatively maintain the pack and you can see the improvement, why not spend the smaller sum?

Still waiting in your data rather than exaggeration.

 

That's a sign of a bad combination meter. You can contact Matt at texashybridbatteries for a new one

 

This post is actually very informative. Here's where the fundamental disagreements lie:

1) You think Prius battery life is based on mileage at 150,000. Average drivers go 10-15 thousand per year = 12 years. Truth is that battery life is more likely based on age in a moderate climate, with average miles also = 12 years! You, however, drive twice the average, so you think that batteries only last 8 years.
2) You think the DIY $700 charging system will make your battery last forever, but you admit it will require occasional, major, DIY, 3-4 day battery whack-a-mole repairs. Truth is that even the most patient, mechanically adept, DIY owners report giving up and replacing their whole pack after the 2nd or 3rd whack-a-mole ordeal. (And we need to add several hundred dollars EACH TIME for people who don't DIY!!!)
3) You think that installation of an iffy $700 system is basic/minor/preventative maintenance rather than a major car repair cost. (And several hundred dollars more if not DIY!)
5) You think that most people have a second unused car to use when their Prius is being serviced for 4 days, for a required minimum of 2x per year (plus emergency whack-a-mole repair days).

So lets add up the money for average, non-DIYers without a second car: $700 charger+250 install = $1000. 2 whack-a-moles per year at $75 parts+ $250 install each = $650/year. Rental car at $35/day = $150 per whack-a-mole/4 day recharge = $600/year. Total = $3000 for two years of endless repairs and babysitting a car that is frequently in the repair shop. And no end to fun whack-a-mole FOREVER!. So the money for two years is about the same as an all new, drama free, Toyota installed pack once. Done. Over. Period!

So no, it's not just about throwing good money after bad. It's also about wasting time and, most importantly, having a reliable car that doesn't require a second car to use during the "fun" of worrying about endless whack-a-mole repairs.

 

Great Post, amd of course everything is economic.Unfortunately not everybody is a DIY, for many reasons, all valid. I was lucky, started out in the Army as a mechanic, actually carburation and ignition systems, then later went into electronics, so I often want to delve into my car and see how it works. It probably wouldn’t be sensible for a surgeon to get his hands grimey. Thanks for your post.

 

Who crossed all that out.

 

I love these debates, only time can tell who is right. Is it THAT important? In the meantime all the other discussions are great and all a product of free speech and the computer age. Unlike Facebook and Twitter our information is based on experience, truth and practicality.

 

And although it is not splitting atoms, it is dealing with electrons (angry pixies) which are a part of atoms. I think we need some statistics on reconditioned batteries using this method.

 

Examples are anecdotes, not evidence. It takes at least two data points to make an average. With three data points you don't get much of a confidence interval. Plus bias is an issue with car repairs because those with issues are more likely to participate. And the bottom line is this: if your reconditioned battery fails within a year, you lose 100% of the cost of the device.

 

To add on, the Prolong equipment isn’t for everyone, but it works .

For those inclined to use it, it is a fantastic tool.

But judging by the number of systems in the field when compared to the total number of Prii out there, we are a small fraction of the population. And that’s ok.

But tough to argue (with data anyway) that it doesnt work.

 

Exactly what data are you talking about (your two, inconclusive, personal stories hardly qualify as data)?
Exaclty how may PRIUS systems are in use?
At what age/condition were the batteries when installed?
How long did the batteries last AFTER install?
How many users are playing whack-a-mole?
How many gave up and bought new packs?

 

This will be my last post on this topic in response to your questions. While I enjoy good banter, I have full time employment and only have so much energy.

While I may have only so much experience, my data points when lumped with others data points create a data set.

Instead of berating me and others individually, I encourage you to read through what exists on Prius Chat on this exact topic and educate yourself before you demean a perfectly useful tool, or those who use it.

I could tag the users I am aware, but throwing the ball back to you as a long time user here as caution not not propagate half truths or false facts to new users. This is exactly what you were doing in @2k1Toaster ’s thread and to his business endeavor. It is not helpful and as the data begins rolling, not accurate.

@jeff652 can better answer your questions on units in the field and so on. I have no idea on how expansive his business is, but I do know when I was at his shop last year what his footprint was and what his business plans were, and it was growth oriented.

I can only answer the same questions in different ways for so long before i gracefully bow out like @WilDavis did.

 

I liked the IDEA of the extra charging system. And I was about to buy one of these systems, but while reading and re-reading the limited hands-on reports, decided the money would be better spent on an all-new Toyota pack. At some point, batteries just stop being rechargeable and must be replaced.

There are fewer than a dozen users of the Prolong system that have reported here. At least one had a catastrophic failure as a result of using the system. Others have used the system and still needed to buy a new pack.That is only enough data for consumers to come to very different conclusions.

Please don't take it personally when others disagree with you here -- we're all learning. Brief writing styles can be misinterpreted for anger. I really appreciate your leading-edge knowledge, skills and willingness to experiment.

 

I think one of the lessons to be learned here is RTFM. I for one, whilst not exactly skeptical at the start, was ignorant, and in my search to learn more, I called HybridAutomotive (Prolong) a number of times, and must admit they were very courteous and answered most of my questions in a manner which even I could understand.

(BTW my background, currently retired (…well, I spell it retarded! ) my first degree was in Electronics, I spent ten years working for the UKAEA (Culham Laboratory) designing and building data-acquisition equipment. During that time I became interested in computers and computing, and so got a degree in Computing, and worked on systems, operating systems and design, then worked for a software house back in Blighty (SPL), moved to USA in 1983¹, worked as a consultant in the newspaper publishing industry (Royce Data Systems, Siemens, Atex, DEC & others).
Retarded in 2015, I bought my 2009 Gen II (used with 83,000 miles on odometer) four years ago. The car had been dealer-maintained, and was in pretty good shape, but reading and learning all about the Prius, made me wonder about the hybrid battery, so when I came across Hybrid Automotive and their Prolong System, I thought its use might be a smart move, and if you read my posts, you'll understand why, and see my results. Search is a great tool, and I don't want to bore you by posting all the results here (…background cries of "Liar!")
…so, as the good POTUS #45 might put it, "… but enough about me, let's talk about you! What do you think of me?" (…sorry, I couldn't resist)

¹ in an arrangement between the two governments (UK & USA) to try and increase the IQ of both populations! (…I rest my case, M'Lud!!)

 

I joined the fools club not pushing down the orange HV safe jacket and struggled to figure out the problem mightily until I saw the tip on the board. Great help.