Battery Vent Odor

pipe layout plan. not from me, but from priusfreunde.de. I have foubnd it to work, but the long ends without holes needed to be a tad shorter. I just cut them to the required size once they were on the battery.
http://img5.fotos-hochladen.net/uploads/silikonschlauch9gy2vtlwof.jpg


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I took the car in to my Toyota dealer and, of course, they said no unusual smell was evident. Everyone else who I have asked to sniff the car and battery vent identifies the smell. I called the Toyota 1800# to set up a case number as suggested by the dealer. The Toyota rep said that there were no recalls or any other bulletins concerning the smell. He then contacted the dealership that inspected the car and after a few minutes got back to me and said that they would not be able to replace the tubes under the hybrid warranty. This is unfortunate as the problem is clearly due to the use of defective materials.

I suggest that anyone experiencing this smell call the Toyota 1800 and get a case number issued. Perhaps if enough people do this, Toyota will finally acknowledge the issue and work to resolve it in a fair manner.

 

I just purchased an 09 Touring and I definitely have the smell. My wife says it smells like horse shit. The rear cargo mat had the smell on it. I removed it but the smell is still there, not as much though as when I first got the car. I have a friend with a 07 Prius that I smelled that same smell but he doesn't think it smells so it's probably some people are more sensitive to it than others.

 

Just replace the vent pipes with silicone tubing and the smell disappears


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Update: I replaced the vent tubes with silicone tubes back in October. The vent tubes that I removed had an incredibly strong pungent odor - obviously the cause of the sickening smell. The good news is that the smell has almost completely disappeared since I replaced the tubes. However, I'm still ticked off that Toyota refuses to acknowledge the problem - my local dealership (Marietta area) made as if I was nuts to suggest that the tubes caused any odor.

 

Putting the stinky pipes on the dealership's desk wearing rubber gloves will change their opinion about the cause of the odor with zero persuasion or other means of convincing required.


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Yeah, considered that... but decided against it, just in case they claim I voided the warranty.

 

Geez, they've really got you there, haven't they.

 

They probably have got you anyway when comes to a warranty claim, as the battery will be inspected for tampering before the claim is accepted. Whether it makes a material difference to the acceptance of a claim remains to be seen.

 

Boy that's for sure. When I pulled the tubes from our '07 in the fall of 2014, they spent a few weeks living on the auto parts shelf of my garage. The car had 140k miles at the time and I was keeping them in the event the HV battery signed off before 150. The smell in the entire garage became such that they got relocated to a wood pile outside said garage, where you can still get a whiff if you happen to pass by. The '07 has 160k miles now but the tubes just sit there. I have this feeling that they need some sort of haz-mat disposal process to get rid of them in good conscience. So there they sit...

 

Well done man, but tell me please is that 10x14 or 14x10 because quite confusing now for me.
Thanks

 

14mm outer diameter and 10mm inner diameter. 2mm wall thickness.

 

nice comeback.

 

Gee, and I was having such fun trying to picture the 10 mm OD / 14 ID

 

I realize this is an old thread... but I just used it to replace my vent tubes and followed all directions perfectly (this is about my 7th DYI repair on my prius, it's got 250,000 miles on it) and now I'm getting the red triangle of doom and the car won't shift to drive. Help!

 

did you put the orange safety plug back correctly?

do you have tech stream?

 

I've been been lurking for long time, just signed up to give props to ive. I did this couple of days ago and the stink is beginning to fade.

I'm not at all skilled at mechanic work, but with these instructions I was able to do it at our parking lot. I also read the 40+ page thread at priusfreunde, with bad high school German and google translate

It took me about 5 hours and I only used hand tools, including the time it took cutting the silicon tube to size and drilling holes with dremel.

As always I had some leftover bolts after reassebly, but so far it's been been holding up. First start was intense, but it went well without hickups, no warning lights or such.

So yeah, It's doable for anyone, no special tools or skills required. Our local dealer quoted 450 euros / $500 for the job. All that's needed is patience and some common sense. And I guess couple of beers don't hurt either...

 

A couple of beers and I'd have a LOT of leftover bolts.

 

This brings back memories - I changed out my vent tubes a few years ago. Two dealerships refused to acknowledge the issue - telling me there was no odd smell.

 

Man you rock!

I just did it like you did. My car has already a really better smell! No more stable smell.
A 14x10mm silicon tube bought at the DIY store for 10$, a drill and a marker. Work completed in 30 minutes (not counting the disassembly time until the hybrid battery of course).

Thank you for the pictures.