My HV battery replacement experience - Australia.

I agree with most of what you're saying, but labor hours isn't the issue... An experienced rebuilder with high end testing equipment can work very fast. I submit the main limit is reliability of the repair. A new pack of batteries is fixed for five years or longer, but module repair is fixed for only months or years, which is fine for DIY & craigs list repair folks, but not something you want to base a large scale biz investment on.

 

The issue is not labor ours as much as you cannot rush the laws of physics. A battery pack can take 48 hours on a grid charger to balance and usually multiple charge/discharge cycles are used for proper reconditioning. This is in addition to any load testing to verify the results.

 

You may not be able to rush the laws of physics, but you can optimize them... A bank of smart chargers for RC boats, planes drones can work much more efficiently charging up individual modules one at a time. Also the $4K pro version of the charger & discharger that Prolong sells can do a full discharge and recharge and balancing on the whole pack without removal of it from the car in less than than 8 hours and only 5 or 10 minutes of labor from the mechanic if the harness is already installed. And as time goes by there next generation of equipment, or even just firmware upgrades will make this process even more efficient.

 

What is the normal fee for a prolong battery recon approx?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Depends on how you do it.

If you buy the equipment, you can get the cost off of Prolong’s website.

If you find someone with the equipment, it’s negotiable .

Good luck .

 

Hi Jamie, I realise the post is a couple of years on but I am considering replacing the Traction battery in my 2007 prius. The price is still around $2400. Did you get the $500 rebate when you returned the old battery. Also Toyota Australia are now saying only a 1 year warranty. Any particular tips from your experience of the replacement ? Cheers, Frank

 

No need to worry about the warranty part, because these packs have exceeded expectation greatly on longevity, so odds are 10 years or more without issue. As for the price, it might be different in Australia, but Toyota decided to give dealerships the ability to be price competitive with after market hybrid battery sellers so call around because some places are offering the pack for as low as $1650 USD and if you have basic mechanical skills, it only takes a couple-few hours to install.

 

The real price in the USA is around $1,800 so at today's exchange rate (AU$1.4563) a reasonable expectation in Australia would be AU$2,621.34 + GST. Here in NZ, I would hope that I could get it at NZ$2,834.74 + GST NZ$425.21 = NZ$3,259.95 just for the part. Yup, that brings tears to my eyes too.

Not sure how it would go to actually get one at the parts counter. Never had to try it yet, and I don't know of anybody that has needed to buy one.

 

If you are replacing it yourself you might want to message @2k1Toaster he sells a kit of new cells that basically gives you a new battery pack. The pricing th the link in my signature includes US shipping but I know he has shipped internationally.

 

Yes, but I'm not sure the US exchange rate applies because Japan and Australia are an entirely different animal that lives on the other side of the world and the US has nothing to do with the transaction. Maybe we should make a PriusChat post asking people around the world to post the lowest price they've seen for a new battery pack? It'd be nice to get a better sense of the global market.

 

While that may have some truth, I find from experience that parity exists. Besides which, it was just an indicative comparison.

I do these comparisons often between different countries to see if a particular importer is ripping me off. Generally, they are not. It is usually simply that our currency value is so much lower plus the value-added tax, it makes NZ$ price seem so much more expensive, when in fact it is more or less equal.

 

G’day FJS56

I spoke to Ryde Toyota in Sydney last week and was told no trade in for my 2006 battery as it is too old.

 

"I know that a lot of people think it's not worth spending anything on a car this old, but I do all the maintenance and I really know its history, so fixing it seemed a much safer bet than say buying a cheap one second hand where everything is an unknown."

I agree totally. People often ask me why would you put that much in a car worth $3500? EASY! Because its WAYYYYY cheaper than the depreciation of a new car, and another used one could very well give me the same problems. On top of that I happen to love getting my hands dirty so it's a win win. Keep driving!

Ian in California

 

Does anyone here have experience with purchasing a full set of cells directly from China on Alibaba - just checked price and it is about $1500 US (this includes just under $400 shipping cost)

 

There was this guy in the US who made a business out of sourcing and selling quality battery modules because he couldn't find quality batteries out of China. He sells a set for Gen 2 and Gen 3 for $1600 delivered.

 

yeah, newpriusbatteries.com

 

don't buy batteries directly from china

 

If you are still looking then try Phil Gilbert Toyota .. I have found them very reasonable.

I have a 2005 Prius and the battery failed at 120,00 km at about 10 years … and I believe this was due to corrosion on the bus bars which then caused modules to overheat.

I decided to re-condition the battery myself. First I cleaned the bus bars in CLR and then sprayed them with battery terminal corrosion preventative spray. The I replaced two failed modules and also removed to fully cleaned the battery fan.

The car is now 14 years old and I have done 190,000 km. Having said that I have had the battery out about 3 times now and have bought a Prolong charger. I know a lot more now than when I started. Recently I bought and old pack with 26 good cells for $200 so I will just keep replacing cells every 1-2 years.

However if you are not interested in fixing things I would strongly recommend that you replace with a genuine new Toyota battery as a lot can go wrong with re-conditioned batteries based on my experience and most people just want a car that is reliable.

 

@PriusCamper Apologies for bring back an older thread. How many spin nuts is needed to replace all of the original? And I'm curious if you know recommend cleaning the corrosion vs buying new bars? Thank you!

 

28 modules that need a nut on each end so 56 nuts total... As for bus bars the most effortless way to clean them is putting them in a rock tumbler for a day or two.

In the early days I always replaced everything with brand new nuts and brand new solid nickel bus bars... These days not so much. But if it's your only pack or two and you want to be thorough/perfect let me know and I'll post highest quality for lowest price links for both.