What is the best way to preserve the life of a Prius battery?

Don’t let it get hot

 

It might seem like a simple question but it really isn't.

Except for "Just drive it normally and don't worry about it."

IF.....yours is 16 years old now, you very likely are WAY past the point where
you can really do anything to help it last longer.

 

^ that. It's already in bonus time, just enjoy it!

 

add a cooling system

 

I don't think there's anything you can do except keep it garaged when you arn't driving it. My opinion is to drive and use the car normally and replace the batteries when it needs to be replaced.

 

This is almost universally true for batteries of all types. The hotter they run, the shorter they last. (The exceptions are for strange cutting edge chemistries which must run at very high temperatures. For instance, oxygen ion batteries operate in in the 200C-400C range. Even there I'm going to guess that running a battery near the upper end of the temperature range would shorten its life.)

 

See your question, raise another: which battery, ie the hybrid battery or the 12 volt?

 

Dig out the cooling fan and give it a good clean. Since the gen 2 doesn't feature a filter on the vent (it took Toyota 9 years to figure that out!) I covered mine with a piece of fly screen backed by Velcro strips, this has the benefit of stopping dust and airborne crud without any retardation of air-flow; it's important not to put any unnecessary strain on the motor.

 

It's more than just too hot, it's too cold too... As battery technology advances keeping the chemistry at a very specific temperature makes a huge different in efficiency and it's not too challenging to optimize a pack's operating temperature.

 

Don't deep cycle It

 

The question was LONGEVITY, not efficiency.

Moderate cold actually extends the life of batteries in most circumstances.

 

And you can prevent that.........how exactly ??

Hint: With a conventional hybrid, the driver has virtually NO control over how deeply
the battery cycles.

 

Still no answer.

 

A battery may not work below its operating range, but storing it at those temperatures (with no load!) may not be bad for it. In fact, as long as the temperature isn't so low that the electrolyte freezes, some chemical precipitates out, or water condenses on the metal and corrodes it, doing that can extend the life of a battery. Just don't try to use that battery without letting it warm up to the proper operating temperature first. Example, sealed lead acid batteries. To avoid sulfation when not in use they must be charged and should be stored below 75F

https://www.power-sonic.com/blog/what-is-a-sulfated-battery-and-how-do-you-prevent-it/

some say that the best storage temperature for that chemistry is 50F (10C)

How to store lead acid batteries – BatteryGuy.com Knowledge Base

The ultimate "battery" is a living cell. Overheat a cell and it dies fairly quickly (even if kept hydrated), but many cells can be kept indefinitely if frozen to the temperature of liquid nitrogen. Although getting them to and from that low temperature without killing them requires special treatment. Otherwise ice crystals grow inside and tear the membranes apart.