2007 Prius-what would you do?

no. if you want to keep it, you should really get a new battery for dependability. refurbished batteries are iffy, and only as good as the warranty, the company standing behind it and the towing and downtime possibilities.
imo, the car has served you well, and it is time to move on. all the best!

 

You've got it backwards. Get a new battery for $2500 and a used cat for $100. OK, not really on that last part: just get a new, aftermarket cat for about $350. Easily good for 5+ years on those repairs.

 

On the other hand if you can DIY and enjoy it, your HV battery pack could go for many more years and it could be as simple as replacing one weaker module that a healthier used replacement costs only ~$30. And if your battery pack hasn't thrown an error code yet and you charge and discharge each module by a greater and greater amount till you've done it three times you might not need to replace any modules and can put off the $2K(us) for a new pack for a long, long time.

Don't listen to people who are wasteful and throw stuff out before it's been fully used up. The whole reason Prius is so great is because it pollutes way less/way less wasteful with fossil fuels. Spending thousands or dollars on a new pack or a new vehicle prematurely is the antithesis of the spirit and intent that Prius was built on.

 

Do you make that claim based on your direct experience working on them? Or is it more of a claim based on your association with people who always have a few extra thousand dollars of disposable income laying around?

I'd agree with your claim if it was made about Honda Insight, which are proven to not be receptive to replacement modules, but Prius modules are way more accommodating and given the current socio-economic reality of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer...

In my experience, most people driving around on a decade-old hybrid battery don't have that kind of money available to them and when they're told by ya'll that total replacement is the only option they keep driving with the warning light on and a relatively inexpensive repair quickly turns into full replacement, which usually means them giving up and having no choice but buying a new car. These folks who can't afford a brand new set of modules are not being helped, but further harmed by claims that refurbishing is not an option.

 

Battery refurbishing if done right can buy you some extra time.

If done wrong, it can buy you a lot of headaches and tows.

A 5 year warranty doesn't mean anything if you have to keep replacing your battery and always breaking down, causing you to miss work and needing to spend money on rental cars

 

The cat converter can be done more cheaply but depends on laws in MD which is a CARB state. OEM converter is costly that is true, but I would (in Va. ) not do that unless I had to. The fact that converter is bad tends to suggests burning oil, by the way.

Some have nursed weak batts for quite some time. My batt seems fine still. You might want to check to make sure the HV batt cooling fan is not clogged, which is slightly pain-iin-the-butt job to DIY. Gentle use of HV batt includes warming up car a few minutes before pulling out and some other ideas. If the batt does throw a failure code, you could possibly get an offer from Toyota USA for a cheaper fix.

 

just from what i've read here. i would never own an electric car beyond warranty.

personal experience is pointless, because it might be the minority. i wouldn't want to advise someone based on that.
there are a few good experiences of rebuilt batteries here, but many bad ones. to me, that makes a members potential purchase/rebuild iffy.

 

what about the 99% who can't diy, or don't enjoy it?

 

That indeed is the root of all our society's issues when it comes to planet destroying hyper consumption... Learning wood shop, metal shop, auto shop and computer programming in middle school and High School in the 80's in Palo Alto public schools combined with older brother and father always building stuff and my first jobs being car related made it so there is very little I'm unable to fix... Sure wish others were equally blessed. Life is so amazingly cheaper that way!

 

My question to the OP...and everyone really is: Are we sure the OP has reached the point where a new Hybrid Battery is necessary? The OP say's "Slowly Starting to Degrade"...and it sounds like that is what is happening, but with the ability to get 55 MPG, and no codes thrown, could you speculate that the Hybrid battery might be serviceable for a descent period of further time?

I also don't think the degradation of the Hybrid Battery has much if anything directly to do with burning more oil. That's all engine, and probably would be happening regardless of the state of the Hybrid Battery. Burning more oil is probably more a direct symptom of 208K miles and 11 years old than anything else.

Which begs a different question...how much Oil Burning are we talking about? You might want to be more concerned about the state of your engine than your Hybrid Battery.
If it's just a little more or an acceptable amount, you might be able to simply monitor and add oil, indefinitely. If oil consumption is going significantly bad? That might be the biggest Dragon in the sky.

The catalytic converter? Yeah that's an issue too....and might be also be a sign of engine deterioration.

Anyway, I think there is reason enough MAYBE to shuffle concerns.
I might go..
Catalytic Converter
Engine Condition
Hybrid Battery.

If your engine is dying, at the same time you project possible Hybrid Battery failure and also know about needing a new Catalytic Converter? That's a different equation.

 

I was curious about the oil consumption too. If it is using a lot of oil and needs a new cat and a battery I would let it go.
The only way I would keep a car in this situation is if I could do the work myself and had another car.

 

Just to butt in...I think it is fair to say refurbished batteries are an "iiffy" scenario.
This is based NOT in my case with direct experience, but with years and years of Prius Chat participation, and nearly countless stories of refurbished battery failures, warranty coverage nightmares, etc....

Which is why I have reached a point where the majority of the time I recommend people do NOT pass go, and simply get a new OEM battery replacement.

But I also try to gauge the OP's level of skill, experience and desire to possibly deal with battery maintenance or repair. Some people seem to actually relish the opportunity to dive into all that it can entail.
And I don't doubt that some people can do it. I just don't usually recommend it off hand, because of the possible danger of dealing with a Hybrid Battery if the person is NOT qualified to deal with it.

If the person is Gung Ho for entering the magical world of high voltage battery repair or refurbishment? I usually just recuse myself from the discussion and leave it to the vast contingent of Prius Chat regulars that are versed in this area.

I think for most rank and file owners, the majority. The best answer is to simply replace the battery with a new OEM replacement. I think the majority of people (myself included) are probably best served avoiding the high voltage of a Hybrid Battery.

But in general I think it fair to say refurbished batteries are an iffy situation, and repair of an existing Hybrid Battery is not a realm that everyone is qualified or should even be entering.

 

i think the highway speed has more to do with the 55mpg than the health of the battery, which isn't taxed heavily at those speeds.

 

Excellent points... I enjoyed finally diving into this kind of work this Summer because it was the only option a friend could afford for their car and I've wanted to learn how for years. Also had a friend that had success doing it and he had some really nice chargers he loaned me and sooner than later I'm going to have to do the same work on my own Prius. As in, rather be stressed about the problem with someone else's car before dealing with it with my car.

Most of all the rewards for taking on the challenge of something that's just above my skill level got me going on a really intensive learning process / still learning the process that has opened the door to learning how to do home solar, power walls, battery biz...

These hybrid batteries are just the beginning. The more skills you can develop in solar and high voltage battery work, the more likely you'll have a job in the future. I mean look at Tesla owners. They don't give money to gas stations, nor do they give money to local auto mechanics, the cars are too simple with way, way fewer part compared to gas and diesel.

 

that's because they don't have any money left after buying a tesla.

 

Fair enough, but I think there is still evidence the battery isn't necessarily at a replace level yet.
Because even at highway speeds being able to get 55 mpg, means the hybrid system IS still functioning.
Trust me, I can drive highway as much as I want in my non-Hybrid battery Honda Fit and I ain't getting 55 MPG...so something is working right with that Prius.

The OP himself is saying "Slowly Starting To Degrade" and at this point just seems to be dealing with more severe overnight discharge, and more aggressive at start up charging.
Signs of early degradation? I would speculate so. But not necessarily signs that the Hybrid Battery needs to be elevated in concern above he catalytic converter we know needs to be replaced, and possibly the engine, that might be connected to the catalytic converter damage. I really would be curious as to how much oil the engine is burning.

I agree with Padroo in post #13.
If it is Engine, Catalytic Converter and a Hybrid Battery at some point of degradation, I'd be hard pressed to want to invest into all 3 of those things.

And also because the OP says " If I had lots of money I'd go buy a new Prius or a newer used one but I can't really afford it."
I'm just going to be optimistic and say...go with the Hybrid Battery until it throws a code or in some ways manifests symptoms that are dangerous.
Starting up in the morning "occasionally" with only 2 bars, and the engine working hard to charge the battery up, isn't the end of the world. Especially if the vehicle is still returning good MPG performance.

UNFORTUNATELY...I would say to the OP that he should start looking at what his budget for vehicle repair or replacement CAN be..because any way you slice it, I think he's facing significant cost to repair, for 1-2 or 3 issues. None of those things are cheap.
I'm making the assumption the OP is not a big DIY person. If he is? That does also change the equation.

I also agree with you in post #2, overall, it sounds like the vehicle has served the OP well, but is rapidly reaching a point where moving on might make the most sense.
If budget can't afford a new Prius or a newer used Prius, but the reality becomes Catalytic Converter replacement, Possible engine issues? and Hybrid Battery replacement? You're in the zone of cost of repair equaling other vehicle options.

After 11 years of what sounds like dependable, economical Prius ownership that's a downer scenario to face.
I wish the OP the best with the tough decisions coming up...one way or another.

 

yeah, you're probably right. i can't get by the o/p's first paragraph, and i'm totally ignorant in what part the cat plays beyond air quality.

 

Did you make sure your 12V battery is in good working order? A weak/failed 12V battery can place more of a drain on the traction battery.

Paul