New Prius owner, old Prius problem

Hi guys, I purchased a used 2005 Prius with 130k mileage. The previous owner stated they had the battery pack replaced (I'm only learning about the nitty gritty details of this now).

I put 6k miles on the vehicle and have owned it for three months. I was getting 48.5 to 49.4 mpg. The battery pack has now thrown a code and I purchased an OBD2 reader to confirm. Module 6 is low. I'm fairly handy and not afraid to do the work, but I don't have any way to balance the battery and am unsure of a reliable seller of modules.

I am in the Tacoma area (Seattle for those unfamiliar with the PNW). I saw Priuscamper is a fairly local guy but the direct chat button is broken for me for some reason.

This isn't my long term solution. I'm on a fairly tight budget until next year and I figure I can chase a few bad modules until I have the cash to replace with a new aftermarket battery.

Can anyone give me some recommendations for purchasing new modules?

Also, does replacing the modules directly adjoining the bad module sound unreasonable as a precaution in case the overheating of the module caused additional damage?

Last but not least, will not balancing the battery be so detrimental to the pack as to keep me from driving it a few k more miles until I have the resources to do the above noted aftermarket swap?

 

Do I need to worry about 1 & 16 as well or is that just end of pack charging norms?

 

I am fairly certain the miles are true miles. I am uncertain about the battery pack replacement. The former owner gave me a huge stack of dealership receipts and other receipts and the mileage reported when it was sold to them two years prior from the original owner was only 97k. When I went through the receipts after the transaction there was no pack replacement receipt as had been discussed prior.

I am planning on keeping the car for as long as possible as a commuter and a backup for the wife and kids. The Seattle area is a good climate for the Prius and it's a huge help for the family to have a good and reliable vehicle that can fit all five of us.

Yeah, I'm definatly learning. Lol, I thought I did a lot of research before I decided to purchase a Prius, but you never learn as much as you do when things go wrong. Failure is a great teacher. As noted above I don't have the receipt. I purchased the vehicle through a private party and have no way to contact the seller after this long of a time.

Does anybody know if there's a way to check if it's the original pack?

I really appreciate all the knowledge on this forum, and normally I wouldn't ask for help but there's a lot to sift through.

Thank you all for taking the time to help out.

 

I assume (ugh, I hate that word) given you've pinged all the appropriate users, my doing so would be superfluous. I am in need of help though, so here goes nothing. @PriusCamper @ericbecky @TMR-JWAP might as well give it a try give me the best chance of success.

Guess it's time for the teardown. I'll check the vin first.

That's actually the one I was looking at, there are a couple other similar packs that caught my eye as well. It seems the aftermarket battery market has a few choices now.

Thank you all for your replies, guess it's time to start wrenching. (And I guess I can't reply because that violates new user policies. "My" post included links.)

 

Awesome!!!! That's exactly what I was hoping for. I am a building inspector, but not that kind. Lol, you're thinking existing buildings. I do new construction inspection on engineered buildings (i.e. high rise, mid rise, commercial and custom engineered homes, with the occasional road, bridge, airport or dock thrown in). So no thermal camera here.

 

@PriusCamper I have placed my order for the modules. I got partially through the recommended page on building a battery maintainer for under $100, that may be a bit beyond my soldering skills. Lol.

Just as a note Joseph at 2nd life battery was really responsive. I was confused about the pricing listed on the website and he responded very quickly to my confusion and set me straight.

Thanks again guys! Hopefully I can keep my new to me prius running happily in the family for many years to come. Please continue to comment and educate me on any roadblocks or suggestions on how I should continue. I'm looking forward to learning as much as possible in the coming days and weeks.

 

Just opened the back and exposed the shell. @rjparker @PriusCamper @ericbecky

Will keep you updated as I continue.

Just got the modules this afternoon. All registered as 8.1 v or better. Thanks for the recommendation and 2nd life for the quick shipping.

It doesn't appear to be too bad in here(the traction battery compartment).Anybody notice anything I should be aware of?

 

Fan is surprisingly clean