Hybrid Battery

Nope.

He should thank you for the investment.

Find a good deal and there will be less to worry about. Clean the hv battery fan while you are at it.

 

Only a new HV battery will go the distance, the best deal for a new "aftermarket" battery is currently http://www.newpriusbatteries.com/

It will require installation, and the above option has a network of installers if the DIY curve is too much.

You could possibly use a reconditioning product like http://hybridautomotive.com/ and get more time/miles from the existing pack. There are other options for HV chargers as well.

Don't fall for a refurbished battery, unless you fully understand what that entails, as they are not 'mission critical' options and may fail often.

Do you know any of the service history, in not enter the VIN at Track Your Service Records with Your Toyota Owners Account

There could be a couple of other items that might need addressing before you hand it over to a college student living in the desert heat.

 

@arrosen

The Gen 2 can be a great car for a college student. I gave my son a blue 2005 that had 270k miles on it for college, then we sold it to one of his best friends, who got married , has a young baby and the car is still going strong, with 300k + miles. The odo locked up at 299,999 about a year ago.

These things were done within one year prior to giving him the car:
I rebuilt the HV battery using 2013 modules (at the time, those were only 2 years old)
Transaxle fluid change
Oil change
New tires
new spark plugs
new cabin air filter
new engine air filter

Since U of SC main campus is in Columbia, after his freshman year, he stayed at our house instead of the dorms. During that time, I replaced the front hubs because I thought they were getting a bit noisy. Still not sure if it was the hubs or just the tire tread pattern. With him staying at the house, it was easy to keep an eye on the car. Other than keeping up with oil changes, that car was a tank and never had any additional repairs performed. I did use his car as an experiment platform for several batteries I built. It was nice having that available, lol.

After selling it to his friend last year, it still had a rebuilt Dorman HV battery in it. I replaced that battery about a month ago so I could do some testing on it to see how it was holding up. I've also installed a new inverter cooling water pump about 4 months ago.

I think, if you:

1. put in a QUALITY HV battery
2. replace the ICWP (if it hasn't been done in the last 40k miles)
3. install new spark plugs (make sure not Chinese counterfeits)
4. fresh oil change
5. transaxle fluid change
6. verify the 12v battery is strong (modern electronic load tester)
7. verify the tires are good or replace

your son will have an extremely reliable car for school.

 

If you don't have any warning lights it means your battery still has some life left in it... The problem you're experiencing happens with all NiMH and requires deep cycling to correct. Basically the electrolyte and anodes inside the pack have crystallized and conductivity has become inefficient and your battery pack is at 50% capacity. But by discharging and recharging the pack 3 times at deeper and deeper levels you can break up that crystallization and restore that 50% back up to 96%.

Learn more about the science here: BU-807: How to Restore Nickel-based Batteries – Battery University

Learn more about reconditioning here: FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) | Hybrid Automotive

 

I have a practically brand new agm battery for 2008 Prius hybrid

 

Don't forget throttle body cleaning\ Mass Air Flow sensor cleaning

 

Who is "they"?

 

A little late to the party but I don't see any downside to replacing the battery before it throws a code. Our 2008 with about the same number of miles was showing signs of weakness after three years of reconditioning regularly with the Prolong system. We did exactly that last October since we moved to the hot climate in Laughlin. We fortunately got an OEM battery replacement before the prices went up this year. The car is performing better, the battery screen is much steadier and I know that system is good for many more years.

 

Do you replace light bulbs in your house before they burn out as well?

 

I do when I'm dealing with an old LCD bulb that is acting like a strobe light and it's not the ballast. When things are obviously wearing out I replace them. Do you wait until your tires are completely bald and the steel belts are showing to replace them?

 

Yes, I buy my tires and maximize the remaining life on each remaining one and put on a new tire only just before a road trip or when the tire is worn down to the point traction loss is noticeable. Last set of tires I bought I put on one at a time in this manner and it took me over a year to have them all installed on the car... And because I drive 20K miles a year I save a huge amount of money with that strategy.

My point is we live in a hyper-consumptive throw away society that offsets all the loss of resources and related costs to a far off future that's fast approaching. We need to make our consumption foot print way smaller and one blessing about Covid is people out of the need to survive are finally starting to do that.

 

What's an ICWP?

 

Inverter Coolant (or Cooling) Water Pump.

 

Thanks! After a while I thought WP probably was Water Pump. But I couldn't figure out if IC was Internal Combustion or Inverter something.

 

I totally agree with the premise and consumption society part of your argument but have a couple of remarks. First, note I said I replace things when they are obviously wearing out. The battery pack was and we were facing a new situation that would tax it even more. Second, if you wait until you notice a loss of traction in your tires to change them it may very well be too late when presented with an emergency situation on the road.

 

We all make safety decisions all day every day... It's a balancing act... And in my opinion the only thing more dangerous than a person who never makes wise decisions/disregards basic safety is someone so overly-consumed with fear for their safety that not only do they become mostly dead inside, but they become so hyper vigilant to the most minor safety concerns that they get blindsided by the biggest most obvious safety concerns because they were distracted by way too much irrelevant stuff.

 

Ahh.......memories of my younger days.....

Sadly, in my single, much younger, more financially unsecure days, the answer to this was a resounding 'yes', but only after they also popped a hole. It was always fun changing those tires with steel wires sticking out on the inside edges, trying to poke holes in your fingers

 

Here in Colorado, the law says that from September to May your tires have to have 3/8 of tread on them or more. Which is a lot seeing how they start out with around 5/8. And add to that I always have two sets of tires for every car, a set of winter tires that I put on when it starts snowing in November or December, and a set of all season tires I put on when it seems to have stopped snowing around April. I also always carry around a set of tire chains or cables.

I don't think I'm hyper vigilant. I do think that people who get an AWD and then think they don't need winter tires are in greater danger than people in 2WD with proper tires. I've driven on 2WD all over these snowy mountains and have never gotten stuck, except in driveways. It's always people's driveways who don't do a proper job of cleaning out the snow where I get stuck.

I think there's a difference between safety and non-safety parts on a car. And it's best to change out safety parts before it's too late. When in doubt, change it out. But the rest doesn't matter as much and can usually be left even up to the point it fails.