2005 Prius 241,000 Miles Hybrid Battery Replacement Story

Hi Guys,

Sharing my battery replacement story to help fellow priuschatters in the future.

Couple of weeks ago I noticed that my battery charge on the hud was fluctuating between full and low too quickly. I was seeing full charge on the battery sometimes which I have only seen once in my life before (after a 5 minute long downhill drive near the Grand Canyon). The indications quickly told me that something was wrong. And figuring out the symptoms and the miles on my car (241 k) I fully suspected that it was the battery. Still I kept driving the car for the next three days as there were no warning lights on and it was driving fine. The acceleration was not up to the mark and the engine was taking over whenever the battery cannot supply enough power. Although there wasn’t much difference in MPG there was only a drop of couple of MPGs compared to the regular that I was getting. Then I believe on the third day the Prius dash lit up like a Christmas tree. The Master Warning light, check engine light and VSC were on. The BRAKE light was not on so that meant that I can still drive the Prius home and to the dealership. At that point I thought enough is enough and I called the dealership and booked and appointment couple of days later.

The Dealership:
After diagnosis the dealership told me that it was in fact the HV battery. The new battery will cost around $2600 and $350 in labor. However these batteries are on back order and I will have to wait around 4 weeks for the battery to arrive. I also had the option of expediting the order for which I would have to pay $600 more (based on the percentage on the part ordered). In an expedited order the battery will arrive in a week and I will also get a loaner car from the dealership to drive around. The battery and labor will come with a 1 year replacement warranty with unlimited miles. I asked them what will happen to the old core on my car? They told me it will go back to Toyota for rebuilding. If I want to keep the core I will have to pay $1350 for it.
Now my car on KBB is worth around $6000 and it made no sense for me to spend $3000 on it. I had done some research previously and saw HV Batteries on Prius go from around $600 to $1,000 with 90 day warranty. Also I would not have to wait for 4 weeks as they can deliver the battery within 4 to 8 days. So I asked the dealership if they would put a salvaged battery which I can order online in the car. I can pay labor and I do not expect any warranty on the job. The dealership refused to put a salvaged part on my car so I paid the $98 diagnosis fee came back home and started the search for someone who will do it.

The Independent Shop:
It has been my and most people perception that working on hybrids need specialized skill and training it is difficult to find anyone to do the job. I started my search online and found no shops in Houston that claimed on their webpages that they work on Hybrids. After talking to a company that converts normal cars to electric car I got contact for a shop that they have worked with on hybrids. I called up the shop and they quoted me $400 total in labor $250 to replace the battery and $150 to program the battery computer. The shop people didn’t sound too knowledgeable and I thought the labor on programming the battery computer was a complete bullshit. I thought if this shop is ready to do the job maybe my regular mechanic might do it too. I have never asked if he works on hybrids but there is no harm giving him a call. So I called him and he said that he has done it before around 5 or 6 times on a Prius told me $350 in labor also told me that there is no reprogramming of the battery computer required. The battery computer comes with the new battery or they can use the one from the old one if it doesn’t.
I asked him what will he do with the old core? He said I can have it if I want, he has 3 of them lying around and no one wants them.?? Anyone has any idea what can be done with the old core?
He said that I can purchase the battery via an online retailer and get it delivered to him. However he will not be able to give his usual 12 months warranty on parts and labor as the battery is not new.
I was happy that my regular mechanic who I have trusted many times before was able to work on my car and now I started my search for a battery.

Buying the HV battery online:
Reinvolt was an option their battery will cost me around $1600 and will save me grand but since I was seeing batteries go from $600 to $1,000 on ebay I was looking to save a lot more. I saw a battery from a 2009 Prius online with 1k miles posted by LKQ Georgia on eBay. It came with 90 day warranty. I did some research on LKQ came to know that they are one of the largest recyclers for salvaged auto parts. On their website they were offering up to a 1 year warranty on many of their parts. I wanted to know if they can offer me the same warranty on this battery that they have listed on ebay or not. I called LKQ Online and they asked me to call LKQ Georgia, problem was it was 4:00 PM in Houston on a Friday and LKQ Georgia was already closed (different timezone). So I decided to call LKQ Texas and see if they had a battery in Houston. LKQ Texas offered me a battery in Houston which had 40,000 miles on it for $850 and $15 extra for a 1 year warranty. They will also deliver the battery to my mechanic shop the next business day. They also told me that my mechanic’s shop was in their system and it would be better if he can directly order the battery from them. That way the battery will also come with reimbursable labor. Did I hear that right reimbursable labor? I confirmed it again. This was awesome so I don’t have to worry about battery issue for a year. I asked my mechanic to order the battery from LKQ.

After a 3-4 days my mechanic finally got time to put in the battery and I asked him to do some more repairs on the car that were pending. He cut me a little slack on the labor and I paid a total of approx. $1200 dollars for battery + labor and $200 on other stuff such as replacing serpentine belt and working on front brakes etc.

Lesson Learned:

• Your across the street independent shop may work on hybrids. Just ask. My mechanic told me that they have replaced inverters and other stuff too on hybrid.
• Salvage battery is not a bad choice. You might even get parts and labor warranty depending on who you are buying it from. For the price I paid I can replace the battery twice and make sure I can run the car for two more years. Still I will be spending less money. Also there is a waiting line at Toyota and you can get a salvaged one quicker than that.
• Calling people and asking for info helped me more than searching on the internet did.

If I look at the repair price I might have been able to lower it by waiting on battery from eBay but I was in a hurry to repair my car. I think I did well, I hope the battery lasts as long as the original one did. Feel free to comment. If anyone has suggestion what to do with the old core then let me know. Thanks

 

The complete battery was replaced not individual modules. (If I am understanding you right)

 

Before the battery was put in my car it was with the Mechanic for 3-4 days. He did tell me that he checked the battery and voltages and it looked in good working condition. I am not sure if re-balancing was a part of it or if he was checking for variation in voltages across cells.

 

This is what I would have done if my battery didn't had 241 k miles on it. With that many miles sooner or later all modules on the battery will fail. Also my mechanic told me that they have always replaced the whole battery never individual modules. They probably don't wanna mess with it I think.

 

Good to know this. Well I can get my battery from the mechanic, but I do not want to store it with me. I don't know anyone in Houston who will take this battery from me and re-balance and reuse it (otherwise I would have asked them to work on my Prius when my battery failed).
What are my options? What do you think?

 

Drove the car to work today. I think I am getting better MPG somewhere between 5 to 8 MPG more than what I usually get. There was no wind today so I know it is not that.

Anyway still early to speculate on the MPG increase I will need to run the car for a month to figure out if there is any actual performance improvement.