Preparing for hybrid battery failure?

I've got 263,000 on my 05. Haven't changed anything except tires, oil and rear brake pads. My daughter now has it at college and I've replaced 2 side view mirrors and 1 tail light.

 

I take frequent long trips with my 2010 Prius
I have 103k
Will I know when the battery is dying?
Will I get any notice ?
will the car die on the highway?
Thanks

 

you might get a code on the dash. one indicator is a drop in mpg's. you always have the engine so you're okay but with reduced power. if you had to have it replaced while on the road, you'd probably get stuck paying a dealer full price instead of being able to shop around. i wouldn't sweat it tho, it's very unlikely. all the best!

 

One day the car is fine, the next your instrument panel will light up like a Christmas tree.
When this happens you'll find that driveability is impaired, the engine will be running constantly, and you probably won't be able to drive at freeway speeds. So you'll probably need to take immediate repair action.

 

Can you tell the hybrid battery is dying. Over a period of time?
Maybe the gas mileage goes down?
Or is it this sudden failure?
Anyone with personal experience?
Thanks

 

you can search here for threads by people who have experienced hybrid battery problems.

 

Sudden failure.

I had the traction battery replaced under warranty on my 2001 Prius and 2006 Highlander Hybrid. Amazingly, my 2004 has just logged 150K miles and the traction battery is still functioning well, although I am starting to hear the battery vent fan more than in the past and the SOC gauge likes to cycle from 8 green bars to 1 pink bar when ascending and descending mountainous terrain.

 

and that's in the heat of az!

 

Actually the two traction battery failures occurred while we were living in south Orange County (CA), where the ambient temps are fairly moderate at least compared to southern AZ.

 

Kinda late to this thread but my 04 w/ 191700 just lit up with all the warning lights. Auto zone confirmed it with a code reader. I'm getting a refurbished pack but I have to drive 200 miles in limp mode to get it swapped. I didn't notice any loss in mpg or degraded performance. Just woke up one day and boom - failure. Dreading this drive at 40 mph...

 

where are you taking it, autobeyours?

 

You could try clearing the code out (using Torque or similar code reader or maybe disconnecting the 12 volt aux battery for a while). The code will come back, but if you can figure out how to drive it gently (very little current into or out of the HV battery) you can prolong how long until it goes into turtle mode again.

 

Yes, going to see Steve at auto be yours. I actually disconnected the 12v three times and each time I restarted it, within seconds all my lights were back up. I am about 1 hour into the trip and it is driving well. Still averaging 42 mpg mpg while averaging about 55 mph. State of battey display is bouncing back and forth from green to purple. Much more optimistic now than before I started the trip.

 

just replace it ( when you want to do it yourselfs ) with a junkyard battery pack .. around 400 dollars or so if your lucky.

 

Just grabbing a $400 junk yard battery is a bit too much of a gamble considering you can get a refurbished and tested battery with a year warranty for less than $900.

 

Seller?

 

Autobeyours dot comJust had it swapped. Runs like it's fresh off the Toyota lot!

 

Steve is really good at what he does.

 

congrats dru! glad it worked out. great testimonial for steve.