Help! 2005 Prius with 180kMi needs new battery pack

Hi Greg,

1. If a Prius had a traction battery failure after warranty expiration and prior to 200K miles, the owner may have decided to get rid of the car at that point. So there is some amount of positive self-selection in the 200K mile string.
2. Phoenix, with its extremely hot summer weather, is not the perfect place to be with regards to traction battery longevity.
3. You need to consider the current market value of the car and the likelihood of other significant failures given the current odometer reading when deciding whether to spend $3.5K on a new battery (which is a very high price by the way.) You may decide to seek additional quotes from other dealer service depts.
4. A reasonable alternative certainly would be to install a used traction battery, which would enable you to sell the car or drive it for a while longer.

 

this is a bit startling. only 9 years old and 180k? are you sure it's the hybrid battery? sometimes, you just need to clean the cooling fan or replace the 12v. some dig in and relace the one bad cell that is causing the failure, but that takes some diy knowledge. plenty of threads here to help, whatever you decide, all the best!

 

Prius is notorious for dropping parts after 100k. Hybrid battery, 12v, brake actuator and ICE coolant pump are top of the list. Another data point for the troubling reliability (?) of theses cars.

 

Its def not notorious but in a hot climate such as Phoenix, this is expected. I personally would recommend a DIY replacement with a battery pack from Dorman. This can be ordered from your FLAPS.

 

Greg,

As you are the original and only owner of your Prius, it is very unfortunate that you probably have just experienced traction battery failure, especially since you paid full price for it.

Traction battery failure is inevitable. Some fail within the warranty period while others don't fail until after 400K miles. You were at a disadvantage from day one because of the Phoenix factor. I wonder how many early Gen 2 Prius owners in the desert southwest have experienced traction battery failure before 200K miles.

I wouldn't say you should have known better because you probably couldn't have at the time you bought it. You're one of the pioneers, the early adopters. There wasn't a great deal of information out at the time that would have raised a red flag. That's water under the bridge.

If the traction battery is the only issue with your Prius at the moment, it might be worthwhile for you to install a reconditioned one in it so that you can continue driving it for at least a couple of more years. There might be an independent hybrid specialist nearby that can install one for you for less than $1500. IMHO, installation of a new one in your car is not cost effective.

Don't despair, get it repaired.

 

If you are looking at only the 2 options of Dorman at $1750 and Dealer for $2070, it would be wise to choose the New battery for $300 more. Although you may not keep your car for another 9 years and 180k miles, it's nice to know you won't have to worry about a re-manufactured battery failing down the road. A new battery will most likely last the remaining service life of the Prius.

This could be a DIY project, but there are safety issues if you are not careful. Installation at a dealer or private shop should run more or less $300.

 

I would probably go with the $899 option if it were me. I guess it depends upon how long you plan on keeping this vehicle. 180,000 miles seems like a lot of miles. Good luck in your final decision!

 

I would go with a company that you know for certain will honor a warranty claim, if needed. Many can say they offer a warranty, but are nowhere to be found when you need to get the coverage.

I was thinking of rebuilding a gen2 battery pack using gen3 cells. Here in California I can get a gen3 pack for $400 because there isn't much demand for gen3 yet

SM-N900P ?

 

What's the condition of the car otherwise like Greg. If it's been well maintained and in immaculate condition I'd be very tempted to go with the new battery.

If on the other hand it's starting to get a bit worse for wear and you're only considering keeping it a few more years then taking a gamble on a cheap s/h battery could be the go.

 

Honestly guys, I don't think this is overly shocking or startling. A 180,000 lifetime in a hot climate is probably down around the 20th percentile, but far from a freak incident.

I know that a survey is inherently self selecting, but the results of a recent poll here indicated 15.1% of respondents had a failure under 200k miles. About 77.8% reported no failure in the same range, giving a marginal (conditional) probability of about 16%.

See: Hybrid Battery Survey-Gen2 Prius 2004-2009 | PriusChat

 

An excellent way to look at it Greg. Considering that you're doing about 20k miles per year, even the new battery wont set you back more than 2 years of gas savings (over a 25 MPG car). That still leaves you 7 years of gas saving ahead of the game.

 

I think your perspective is skewed a little bit here.
A really LOT of cars have parts prone to fail after 100,000 miles.
Most people would not consider that "troubling reliability".
Neither do any of the respected auto testing organizations, as I don't think any of their reports even go that high.
(Now to see what the rest of the posts have to say.)

 

Hey Greg, biased advice here (warning)!
If it were me, I'm all about the $899 battery and a DIY install and yes it can be a DIY job and.... there are even videos on youtube for you.