299,999+ Mile Club

Our 07 was bought new with 2 miles on the Odometer and we are still driving it.
1) Did you replace the HV battery pack?
No, but I have replaced 4 of the 28 cells.
2) Did you replace the hybrid transaxle fluid?
No
3) Did you replace the brake pads?
Yes, around 410K miles.
4) Your lifetime MPG (if available)?
Depends on the time of the year. Currently 33 mpg during the winter and 40 mpg during the summer. During the spring and fall, we can get around 44-45 mpg when the ambient temperature is between 50-65 degrees Fahrenheit.
5) How often do you change your oil? What brand / product did you use?
Oil and filter change at 5K religiously
6) How about post a picture of 300,000 miles on ODO?

7) Are you the original owner?
Yes
8) How many miles under your ownership?
All but 2 miles.
9) Feel free to add anything else you wish to share
Head gasket replaced around 510K miles, and I just replaced the thermocouple/thermistor in the hybrid battery probably due to my "rough" handling.

 

Yes I expect about near like same for my '09 in the 400s now Great vehicle

 

How many miles or years before the Hybrid Battery needed cells replaced?

 

I was over 370,000 When I replaced the engine. I'm at over 390K now and have the HV battery out while I repair it.
1) Did you replace the HV battery pack? No I bought it used with over 200K on it
2) Did you replace the hybrid transaxle fluid? 3 times so far
3) Did you replace the brake pads? Yes one time with Ceramic pads and cross-drilled rotors
4) Your lifetime MPG (if available)? I consistently get from 42.2 - 42.4 With the original engine and this replacement.
5) How often do you change your oil? Every time that annoying warning shows up on the dash
5b) What brand/product did you use? Mobil 1 Full Synthetic (If I couldn't get that I would look for Valvoline FS)
6) How about post a picture of 300,000 miles on ODO? Ill come back with phot when I pass 400K
7) Are you the original owner? No Ive worked at a few new car dealerships but never bought new till I ordered a cybertruck that I still don't have
8) How many miles under your ownership? Nearly 200K
9) Feel free to add anything else you wish to share
I am documenting the repairs, fuel efficiency, and mileage on my Ytube channel SaneAuto. Some of the focused hybrid repair knowledge I learned here right here on PriusChat. Ive mentioned Prius chat in a few of my Prius repair videos. I just can't remember which ones. There's a bunch of them and my memory ain't what it used to be.

 

Theoretically the Hybrid Battery will last as long as first of 28 modules to fail, and you get the dreaded Red Triangle of Death. One can replace the modules individually to keep the Hybrid Battery functional. There are two trains of thought for consideration, one is when the first module fails and since they are all the same age, another failure is coming "soon". You have to define what you consider is soon. The second is that time-based failures in electrical components have so many variables that the probability of failures of the same component at the "same" time is very remote. Again, you get to define what is the same time. Consider the following question: If a light bulb fails at your house, do you replace all light bulbs in your house? The reality is that it is a nuisance when a failure occurs, and we deal with it. It is peace of mind if you replace the Hybrid Battery because of one module failure and it is a personal choice as an owner to choose which path to take.
I have not replaced the Hybrid Battery; however, I have replaced four modules in one instance and replaced the thermocouple/thermistor at another time to maintain functionality of the Hybrid Battery.

 

I totally agree with everything you stated above. I was just curious as to mainly how old the battery was before it failed or how many miles you had on it. I think the batteries are more prone to failure by age and not miles, also weather can be a determining factor. My daughter has my older ES300h 2013 and I drive a 2015 NX300h we both are well north of 100K and the age of the batteries are told but the model year. She is getting nervous about the battery as her's wouldn't be covered under the warranty. I live in a CARB state so I have a couple more years at best.

 

My '06 Prius traction battery dropped its bundle when parked up for a few weeks that we spent travelling in our motorhome. It had around 260,000km at that stage, truth be told, it showed all the signs of being worse for wear mths before that with the centre battery state of charge coloured graph going from nearly the bottom of the screen to full green just backing off down a hill or while heavy braking and the app. thingy that can displace any chosen 4 computer inputs would show 280vdc often when heavy braking. Most of the time this traction battery was kept better than 60% SOC by the extended range battery, but once that was exhausted, the traction battery was up and down far more rapidly than it should have been.
I replaced it with a battery from and auto dismantler ( we call them car wreckers over here) and paid around the $400 mark .... it behaved well ... well until I accidentally plugged the solar into the traction battery side of the Anderson plug rather than the extended range battery ...... and it ruptured and caught fire .....

 

Ours had 560K miles before I replaced 4 modules and balanced the hybrid battery. To balance the hybrid battery, you take a voltage reading of all 28 modules (14 cells) and try to minimize the voltage difference between the highest cell and the lowest cell. I had to swap out three lowest voltage modules and paired them with the three highest voltage modules. The highest voltage difference was 0.15 volts after balancing. Regarding the hybrid battery, our experience is not typical, as we have had extremely great performance.

 

Doesn't matter how you charge them because they won't be balanced the first time you use them. It happens all over again since each other ages out at a different rate and to voltages change dynamically up and down all the time with the most worn battery having the lowest voltage while it has a load on it. Balance it all you want It's still going to be unbalanced. Voltage doesn't tell you anything it changes moment by moment It's like your pulse

 

I just charged each module till it held 8v over night. 9v is about as high as I'd feel safe charging each module and I'd keep the charge rate down below 0.5 amps. You might need to do the charging a number of times to get the module to hold the 8v over night, if the voltage drops to 7v or less every time, a cell has shorted and the module is not recoverable.
The electrolyte level in each module will be the major factor in capacity differences between the modules, when they die they die, not just poor capacity.
T1 Terry

 

Please post information about your ownership experience. Some questions to think of...

1) Did you replace the HV battery pack?
Yes, 2x . currently using green bean battery with a lifetime warranty
2) Did you replace the hybrid transaxle fluid?
yes
3) Did you replace the brake pads?
yes
4) Your lifetime MPG (if available)?
48
5) How often do you change your oil? What brand / product did you use?
every 5,000 miles, Walmart Supertech full synthetic 5W30 and Supertech st4967 oil filter
6) How about post a picture of 300,000 miles on ODO?

7) Are you the original owner?
no
8) How many miles under your ownership?
about 210,000
9) Feel free to add anything else you wish to share[/QUOTE]
I have a 2000w pure sine wave inverter standing by to hookup to my 12v aux Prius battery just in case my house power fails. My trusty Prius not only is my hi mileage chariot, it's just about the best emergency backup home generator you can buy.

 

1) Did you replace the HV battery pack? No.
2) Did you replace the hybrid transaxle fluid? Yes, at 200,000 and at 300,00 miles.
3) Did you replace the brake pads? Yes and drums recently
4) Your lifetime MPG (if available)? N/a
5) How often do you change your oil? What brand / product did you use? Every 5K miles, conventional 5W30,
6) How about post a picture of 300,000 miles on ODO? Okay.
7) Are you the original owner? Yes.
8) How many miles under your ownership? All but 50 miles which were on odometer when I bought it new from dealer.
9) Feel free to add anything else you wish to share

I have the P0420 catalytic converter code and the combination meter is intermittent. No more cruise control.

 

The cruise control relies on the speedo working, so when the meter isn't behaving itself, the cruise control doesn't work. Try turning the headlights on high beam before putting the key fob in with your foot on the brake. Sometimes this will be enough to get the high beam warning light to come on, once you have that, the speedo will work along with all the other bits. You can turn the headlights off or at least the high beam lights off so you can drive as normal and still be able to see the digital displays.
Also, before you shut the car down using the button, turn the headlights onto high beam again, go through the whole shut down and removing the fob, then turn the lights off.

It works for us sometimes, but our Prius has a lot more kms on the clock, so any work around doesn't every time.

T1 Terry

 

It might be a good temporary workaround, but getting the combination meter fixed (and not by Toyota if you want to have the job done cost-effectively) is the better option.

The workaround works because it draws the battery voltage down to a level the capacitor works enough to allow the CM to start up. It will work until the capacitor gets to the point it is too far gone when the workaround stops working. Continuous use of the workaround will eventually cause 12 V battery problems. So, in my estimation spending the $150 to fix the CM is money better spent than replacing your $245 AGM battery prematurely.

 

Agreed, but do you think I can convince my wife to take the dash out so I can fix it ..... then reinstall it. Plenty of videos on how to do it, including the capacitor needed to solve the problem and just where it is located .... but the dash out and then back in is the stumbling block :lol: We have no problems with the 12v battery, you could even make one up out of aged traction battery modules, but aged LiFeP04 cells from tired delivery scooters and the like make excellent batteries to replace the lead acid unit. 4 cells in series, a balancer across the 4 cells for the huge investment of AUD$16, so even less USD, and it becomes a fit and forget. If you can find 50Ah or 40Ah cells, the battery is so small it drops in the battery space easily and a bit of closed cell foam keeps it in place, but 90Ah cells fit fine, just a little bit more fiddling to get them in. A $100 battery replacement that will last far longer than the old lead acid battery .......

T1 Terry

 

Of course, there is more than one way to accomplish a task. However, once you get to the point where you are replacing the 12 V you will almost invariably find the workaround will no longer work. The higher voltage is detrimental to underpowering the capacitor, a feature on which it relies to accomplish the CM starting up.

PS, relying on your wife to dismantle the dash so you can swoop in and exchange the CM just sounds like a delaying tactic. At least in my case, it would be.

 

:lol: Her car and it is her business that keeps me too busy to work on anything else, including my LTO traction battery upgrade for my silver Prius. Her excuse is we need a second vehicle running so we still have a car in case she doesn't get it apart and back together in the one day ..... the fact my '74 VW Kombi is still registered running doesn't seem to count .... now that's a delaying tactic

T1 Terry

 

Daughter's car at 304,000 miles. Not sure when she broke 300,000 but I noticed it couple weeks ago when I drove it and the ODO was at 303+ and the last time the oil was changed was at 288,000. Car still runs great.

1) HV battery pack never replaced? Original owner replaced engine somewhere around 200,000 with a used one.
2) Replaced the hybrid transaxle fluid myself a couple years ago.
3) Just replaced the brake pads Sunday. Not sure when they've been replaced before but I assume they have been.
4) Lifetime mpg of 45 I'm guessing.
5) Daughter always had a shop change oil at 5000 miles but I do it now at 10,000 (except for this past oversight) with Mobil1.
6) I'd post a picture of 300,000 miles on ODO but can't at the moment?
7) She is the 2nd owner?
8) 104,000 many miles under her ownership?
9) Had to replace the passenger side lower ball joint couple weeks ago because I slid on ice and plowed right over a curb in a parking lot. Alignment shop told me it needed the ball joint because I didn't see any damage. When I replaced it the old one (and I think it was the original) was still stiff and intact. Not really sure I ever needed it. I just think he was trying to make a quick $200. It only took me 15 minutes.

 

Found another trick, work the door lock switch with the door open a few times if the high beam indicator light isn't on, that seems to work.
Having said that, since the rear hatch has decided not to trigger the door closed switch, so the inside light does go out and the idiot light on the dash stays illuminated ..... the high beam indicator light and speedo lights up every time :lol:
It appears this is another fault I'm in no rush to fix :lol:

T1 Terry

 

Flood car? U/B codes?