how long can you typically drive with a dying hybrid battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by howlongcanidrive, Aug 2, 2019.

  1. howlongcanidrive

    howlongcanidrive New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2019
    2
    1
    0
    Location:
    alaska
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    I bought a 2005 prius 2 years ago for pretty cheap, it had 179,000 miles when i bought it. It's been a fantastic car for me until 2 weeks ago when the warning light (no check engine light) came on and i found out the hybrid battery is going bad. getting it replaced is going to cost more than 2x what i paid for the car and with it up to 195k miles now, i've been mostly advised not to invest in the new battery. My question for the prius community is how LONG have any of you been able to drive with the bad hybrid battery til it dies? The dealer says not to drive it at all but i've seen mixed review on the internet, some saying they drove it for up to ten months after getting the warning display. anyhow! any and all advise on the matter is welcome. thank you!
     
    #1 howlongcanidrive, Aug 2, 2019
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,164
    50,599
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome!
    sorry to hear it.
    you can usually get 6-12 months. do you have to disconnect the 12v every time to start it?

    do you have any mechanical skills?

    there's a new battery available for $1,600., or you could just do individual modules.

    maybe even rebalance the existing pack.
     
    #2 bisco, Aug 3, 2019
  3. howlongcanidrive

    howlongcanidrive New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2019
    2
    1
    0
    Location:
    alaska
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Hey thank you for the response! wow 6-12 months! the dealer told me not to be driving it at all but i saw some posts on here with people saying they kept driving for a while. So far no issues other than about a week ago when i got the warning light and display message to "press park, batteries will not be charged if the transaxle is in neutral." But it currently drives as if nothing is wrong and i'm still getting the usual gas mileage out of it too.
     
    #3 howlongcanidrive, Aug 3, 2019
    bisco likes this.
  4. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2004
    4,379
    3,238
    1
    Location:
    Madison, Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Sometimes you may not even get to the next highway exit. It all depends on how and why it is failing. It would help if you had some tools to monitor things so you know how hard you are hammering on it and how bad things are getting.

    I've had several customers who tried the "disconnect the 12v" route and ended up with a loud POP sound and a smell of chemicals in their car. A hybrid battery module burst in the car and made a nice mess to neutralize and clean up.

    It's really up to you and how lucky you feel.

    I definitely wouldn't drive my wife or child around in it, but I might risk my own sense of adventure.

    Tour local dealer may sell a New battery to you for $2100 but you will have to do the Installation yourself. Shop around at different dealers parts departments. Alternately contact an iindependent shop in your area.
     
    #4 ericbecky, Aug 4, 2019
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,164
    50,599
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    the battery does not charge when you're in neutral, and it will give you that message when it's getting low, if you're in neutral.
    don't use carwashes that require neutral
     
    #5 bisco, Aug 4, 2019
  6. Richiemoe

    Richiemoe Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2013
    67
    5
    0
    Location:
    West Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    i flew a little too close to the sun..... i use the torque app for turning off codes, when one pops up on the way to work or from. Then use techstream on my wife's OLD college laptop with xp, when at home. Using the torque app and the $12 bluetooth scanner, i turned off the codes while stuck in rush hour traffic. It got BAD! something disengaged and it was no longer charging the hybrid battery, so i was just coasting down a hill. but trying to go up even a small hill, i had the gas pushed all the way down, it was reving high, and i couldn't go faster than 16mph! So cars were passing me. once i got a little momentum, i had to stop again, but with more cars in from of me. i couldn't make it above 65mph after traffic cleared up. Once i parked at the golf course, i turned off the car. Then turned it back on a few minutes later, and it started charging again. So i was able to get home and replace the bad cell... Just be careful running it too long!
     
    #6 Richiemoe, Aug 9, 2019
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)