Best replacement hybrid battery (not dealership)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by warlok, Jan 10, 2025 at 8:40 AM.

  1. warlok

    warlok Junior Member

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    I hadn't driven my 2008 Prius for about a month and now after a few miles the triangle of death came on with P0A80 codes (replace battery). It's running and driving fine but the charge level shows way more fluctuation than before and the code keeps coming back at times. So it looks like it's on the way out.
    I can do all the work myself but looking for advise on the best place to get a battery, I'm planning on keeping the car (only 110K miles) so I'd like to stay with new. The dealerships here in the PHX area are $5K plus just to buy one so no thanks.. I've seen recommendations for newpriusbatteries.com on here ($1900 with 2 year warranty, free shipping, no core, seems pretty straight forward). Google shows greentec.com ($1950 with 4 year warranty, $500 core, I pay to ship back..).
    What other options do you think I should look at?

    Also, my commute to work is 42 miles, 90% flat freeway each way. When I'm cruising it's steady at 3/4 charge. Am I ok to keep driving until I get the new battery? Don't want to damage anything, but my truck is 4x the gas bill to drive. I'd like to just clear the codes and keep driving it if possible.

    Thanks in advance!!
     
  2. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Before I was away for a while, the kit developed by an expert battery member here at NewPriusBatteries.com was a good choice, replacing the modules with new, tested batteries and better cooling capability for $1900. I have not seen 2k1Toaster here in a while.

    he had some threads here back then.
    New Prius Battery Kit (GEN2, 2004-2009) - New Prius Batteries LLC
     
  3. 97trophy

    97trophy New Member

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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    currently, there isn't one. they've all failed financially, there just isn't any money in trying to compete with toyota
     
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  5. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Part of the difficulty competing with Toyota is that Toyota has exclusive rights to the formula & manufacturing developed in partnership with Panasonic. Ant outside company has to develop a solution that appears to be compatible through reverse engineering without violating any of the Toyota exclusive OEM restrictions.
     
  6. MCCOHENS

    MCCOHENS Member

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    Not sure if your battery really is that bad. Give it a week or two, and keep an eye on the charge/discharge screen. It will get better, stay the same or get worse. Only one case warrants replacement.
     
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  7. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Terrible idea. The 12V loses about .04 V/day (at least on mine) when it is off and not used. So expect a loss of 1.2 V over 30 days. If it started not fully charged, like say 12.5, that would be 11.3 V, which is low enough to damage an AGM battery.
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Not so terrible, if you're able to keep it on a charger. There's something wonky, if you're forced to drive, purely to charge a 12 volt battery.
     
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  9. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Well sure. But the point remains that is terrible to not charge the 12 V battery on a Prius in any manner for a period of one month. I would guess that the majority of Prius drivers have never even considered personally attaching a device with electrical leads to their car to charge its 12 V battery.
     
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  10. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    In early 2020 I had some concerns about not driving my Prius for a while. I did nothing special and it handled things well, with no ill effects.
     
  11. Classic_pri

    Classic_pri Former 2001 Prius 0wner

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    You might try shopping the salvage yards. Car-part.com shows a place called Richie Rich Auto Parts in Phoenix that claims to sell a new OEM battery for $1950 plus core, with installation for $250. I have no direct knowledge of the business other than that. Alternatively, you might be able to snag a good used battery from a yard for less.

    When I needed the battery replaced in our Prius, I sought out an independent shop that specializes in hybrid vehicles -- they are out there! I bet one of them can give you a much better price on a new Toyota battery. A quick Google search turns up a dozen or more in the Phoenix area.
     
  12. Classic_pri

    Classic_pri Former 2001 Prius 0wner

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  13. warlok

    warlok Junior Member

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    I did find a few places that have the deep discounts on OEM's but as of 1/1/2025, the price is jacked up from the dealers $1350 ($1500 with tax) so the OEM route is out of my budget right now. I'm looking at reconditioned options right now.. Sux..
     
  14. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    IFor junkyard batteries, Gen 3 has a lot of age and there are not likely many Gen4 NiMH card. The Prius One and Prius Two had them, but not Two Eco and higher. The only other choice would to rebuild with a kit of new cells like NewPriusBatteries still appears to sell.
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yeah, reconditioning is like a box of chocolates, all the best!
     
  16. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    As suggested in post #14, I'd also recommend buying the newest set of modules from one of the newer generations that have NiMH and then transplanting them into your Gen 2 case. I'd also buy a new No. 2 Harness either OEM or from AcenBay (Hybrid Battery Wire Harness for Gen 2 (2004-2009) Toyota Prius). This aftermarket source is the only aftermarket supplier of this part as far as we know. I guess your third option was to hope to find a harness in good condition from a wrecker or battery refurbisher.