My 2008 prius probably needs a new hybrid battery. It has approx 148K miles on it. Would I be better off fixing it or replacing it?
Define 'probably'...... For Priuses (and a few other things in life) it's a binary thing. Your car is either drivable and you're going to need a new battery or it will not start and you DO need a new battery. As far as the actual 'fix or replace' question, this may ALSO not be straightforward. Anyone who isn't living under a rock these days KNOWS that SOMETIMES when you replace something that you think is BAD, things get a lot worse!! ---it works that way with cars too. My finely honed Spidey senses are tingling that if you are wondering about the economic viability of putting $1000-2000 into an 08 Prius you either cannot afford much of a replacement car OR you really like the car. If the battery needs replacing (and if it's the original traction battery) and the car is in good running order, and it's not about to start suffering from age related decline - then I would replace the traction battery and try to get another year or two out of it. Expect to pay about $1000-1500. Get a second opinion about the 'need for a new battery' and stay the heck away from a dealership.
Lyburn Georgia. Interesting so is the car garage kept how long have you had the car of the mileage stated? Do you want a new car Is that the end game or do you want to keep this one for $500,000 miles and not worry about it might be dependent on your age and capability younger people are going to instantly opt for the new car generation 3s etc they're all over the Facebook pages with these things so it just depends on where you are in your life we're keeping two or three or more generation twos until the end we've had a couple of the others we're not so gaga over them
That you have to ask suggests you dwell. And if you dwell, you'd regret not at least trying to fix. Add to that, replacing, what with all the research and negotiation involved, would require as much if not more effort.
At 150K a generation 2 is barely barely broke in well unless it's just been beat to death by real asshats and then generally all they've done is trash the interior scrape up the outside
Thanks for the responses thus far! More details: car has been mostly garage-kept. (Does that make a huge difference? Sometimes I do leave it out overnight.) "Probably needs a new hybrid battery" means I got the "red triangle of death" and had it towed to the dealership, but after they cleared the codes then they couldn't figure out what was wrong. I had just retrieved it the day before, after putting about $1500 into it for yet another new battery, and a repair of the back hatch that I thought might be draining the 12-volt batteries. This car eats batteries for lunch; this is the third 12-volt I've put into it in the last year and a half since I got the vehicle. As an update, it has now run over 20 miles without the problem recurring, so I just don't know; could be the hybrid battery, could be something less expensive, all I know is that it is now likely to stop functioning again at the least convenient moment, and I'll have to tow it again. I would replace it with a newer, lower-milage Prius because I really like them. When I got this one, I was under the impression that they were really reliable as well as being good for gas milage, and that they could keep functioning for years and years. I want and need a reliable car. I'd be happy to drive one until the wheels fall off. I'm just getting frustrated that I keep putting money into it and it continues to not be reliable. If there were a fix for it and it would then be reliable for many more years, I would prefer to do that. But if I'm just throwing good money after bad, well, I don't want to do that. Thanks everyone for your insights!
Go to the Dealer & get a New OEM Battery That's what I'm going to do with my 2008 Prius, when the time comes.
"probably" because it was still being diagnosed, and I thought that a new hybrid battery was the worst case scenario. Turns out that they couldn't figure it out, which might be even worse.
If a battery is all it needs, go to Toyota and get a nice new one and don't look back. You'll be enjoying this car for another 10 years. But look very carefully... that might not be all it needs.
Tom, I have no idea what you just said! Yeah, that is what I'm worried about. Sounds like the battery is not the problem, the throttle body likely is. Maybe. I know nothing about cars...I just learned that a 'throttle body' exists.
Put a die-hard AGM battery in the 12 volt Toyota doesn't make batteries so buying them at the dealer doesn't really make sense they're not made by them some contractor makes them for Toyota but anyway the DieHard is a pretty good brand and generally does pretty well or any AGM you can do almost anything in the back of a Prius use a universal battery all kinds of nonsense should be the least of your problem but it turns out it's most everybody's hugest problem the 12 volt battery keeping something back there that's worth a dang.
Yes. You're not throwing good money after bad but you might be throwing it in the wrong place. Three thoughts: 1. If you have the original traction battery in the car, it's about due for a replacement. I WOULD STRONGLY recommend against using a dealership for this. In your part of the country they're better at working on something with red dirt and TRD badges all over them. 2. Priuses 'eat 12v batteries' but yours seems to have an electrical problem. Rear hatch problem......accident? Any add-ons like alarm systems, non oem radios, etc??? Also I've heard tales about garage kept G2's with the curiously named "smart key" having problems with owners keeping the fob in or near the car in a garage at night. ASK the people in #3 below. 3. You need to start seeing other people..... ...for car repair. Research places like this one below: ToyoTechs - Hybrid Service & Repair. Good Luck.
The red triangle (RTOD) reliable stores a code that must be READ, NOT CLEARED. Now it's possible the code might take a couple days for the computer to manifest. That was certainly the case for the very common P0A93 where my scanner didn't see a code until 48 hours after the RTOD reared its ugly head. You paid $1,500 for a new 12V and for a glue patch on the hatch? A 12V battery should be $200 and the glue patch should be $3 from Walmart. That's disturbing. Between the tows, the hybrid battery dying, the three 12V batteries, and a mechanic that appears to be exploiting you, perhaps it's time to throw in the rag, price the prius for a quick sale, and buy a 2019 corolla.
P0A93 is an ECM code and will switch on the MIL (message information light aka the check engine light). If you had the Master Warning Light (Red Triangle) turn on, you would have had a hybrid System code. But you are correct, you read the codes not clear them or read them, save them, and then clear them.
What is your driving pattern with this car? Like, how many miles a day and how many days a week are you driving?
