2013 Prius 101,723 miles I was watching a Car Care Nut video on how to change the hybrid battery fan filter. Seemed really easy to do so I bought the external grill filter he shows in the video to swap it out. Went to install it and I can't lift the piece that has the grill on it to remove the old filter. He made it look so easy. For some reason, I looked inside the grill with a flashlight and I don't see any filter in there, just a duct leading to the back of the car. Then I found another video of a woman trying to change the filter, she had to remove a bolt to remove the grill piece, and discovered there is no filter. Car Care Nut video: Woman having trouble removing the piece with the grill like I did and finally discovering there is no filter in her 2011 Prius : I have had a dog riding in this car since I bought it. No codes or warnings that the battery is overheating in all those years. I am thinking I would just go ahead and install the filter; or is it "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" ? I'm thinking there must be quite a bit of dog hair in the battery fan. I'll ask Tampa Hybrids if they think the fan should be checked later this month. What is your opinion, PriusChatters?
It’d be worthwhile to dig down to the fan itself. This video explains: ^ one thing, in the video they pull the back seat bottom, which is really not necessary. There’s a single bolt needing removal, directly below the air intake grill, in behind the seat cushions. It’s relatively easy to push apart the seat bottom and back, reach through to that bolt.
Mine didn't have the inner filter either. I purchased the outer filter but also a foam filter and cut it to fit behind the exterier one. The outer one will catch most of the fur, and the inner one catch a lot of dirt and dust. And easy to clean. Just rinse and ring dry and install.
I took my 2010 apart and found no filter either. I know the previous owner of this car had a lot of dogs in it but couldn't find any hair in the fan or ducting. Should I pull the covers off the batteries to check in there? Also, where do you buy a filter to add into the ducting?
when you get a warning that the battery is overheating, it will be toast. clean everything now and add a filter
Most of the southern cars I buy or pick up or get for free or whatever however I get them have the original fans in them that have never been cleaned and now they're at mileage where the battery is getting time to be replaced so it seems. The fans are pretty well built and systems are pretty well built for routine everyday use so that you don't need to clean the fan until it's time to replace the battery like 10 years The units I get and have had here I have people that own dogs haul hay have horses that they board places and are taking hay back and forth things like that none of that stuff is in the fan what is mainly in these fans that is probably got the fan putting out half the air out of that little vent in the back is hair it spins on the impeller like a woman spinning wheel It is unbelievable I have pulled them apart caked to where it looks like the impellers were just smooth but yet air was still coming out the vents in the back of the car when the thing was on the full tilt wasn't much granted but it was still moving air this was on the 2010 with 388,000 miles on it original battery so on and so forth same with an '08 and '09 and an '07 fans in about same condition these were all original battery cars. So now they would get new batteries and the fans cleaned and reassembled but instead owners got rid of them for whatever reasons and there you go.
". . . the fan putting out half the air out of that little vent in the back" Where is that little vent in the back? In case people didn't look at some of the previous threads I have started, I have no mechanical ability. I've had this car for 10 years (another Prius for 7 years before that) and it was only the spring of 2023 that I attempted (and succeeded) changing the engine air filter and the cabin filter. Older female with no tools and no knowledge of car repair. What I am wondering is: if I put the filter on now and if the fan has stuff in it, would it have to work harder to get air in through the duct? or if I should wait until the air fan is cleaned, hopefully in the next month after the trip back to Tampa Bay in a couple of weeks.
Generally if you saw the trunk with all the plastics out you could see how the fan pulls air from the grill on the right side driver seat through the battery case then out the other piece of duct work or it blows to the vent that works for Toyotas flow through ventilation system with your strategic events placed in the car body so that is the car moves forward air passes through the cabin naturally without fans or blowers or what have you. The vent from the battery fan set up goes to one of those vents that's usually sitting right near the 12 volt battery It has little rubber flaps in it that open as the air hits it because the fan is moving it.
The main thing with some of these models is the plastic is easy to break sometimes a partial panel has to be removed and if you're not very careful and don't have the plastic spluges and everything to do this properly and have done it a few times go to the junkyard and practice If not you will break something and then you will force to be going to the junkyard to find it to replace etc so on and so forth That's why I don't usually pop grills off and all that stuff trying to add filters and stop dust usually that dust will pass for the most part. It just looks to me as I look at these things at junk yards and car lots all kinds of places people's yards at batteries expected depletion around 10 years on a well used vehicle diversely used but well the fan seems to be about clogged as you would want it so when you change the battery you either clean the fan or put a new one and just call it done no need for taking off plastic grills and replacing a piece of foam slowing down the air flow so on and so forth just seems like that to me from the part of the world I stand in anyway.
It's fairly easy to get to the hybrid battery fan. It's just popping up the cover. You can watch this video of how to remove the fan. You don't need to remove to check it. Just get access to it and see if it's full of dirt and fur. You can just pull it out if it is. You don't NEED the electric ratchet, you can just use a standard one.
I was stumped on how to pull the fan right out, but found I could clean without removing anyway. Regarding the @NutzAboutBolts video, see my comment on it in post #7 (about not needing to pull the seat bottom).
It's fairly easy to get to the hybrid battery fan. It's just popping up the cover. You can watch this video of how to remove the fan. You don't need to remove to check it. Just get access to it and see if it's full of dirt and fur. You can just pull it out if it is. You don't NEED the electric ratchet, you can just use a standard one.
