Was curious about the batteries and whether they're similar to previous prius gens when it comes to degradation, did they use the same battery or something that's more durable. Do we have any idea what's a 'lifespan' for it?
you'll probably see a few percent after a few years. everyones experience is different. we don't have any official testing data from toyota. these batteries last forever
The traction battery changed to lithium from gen4 forward and your given a 10yr, 150K mile warranty on it. The gen4 had a lead acid battery under the hood, which went back to an AGM battery in the rear passenger side hatch on the gen5. Hope this answers your questions....
I only just got my Gen 5 a year ago, and no change so far, but I owned a Gen 3 for ten years, and it lost about 12% capacity since new.
I appreciate real experience like this. I trust that the Toyota engineers did a good job again with Gen 5. The Traction battery charging is set up with a good amount of buffer when empty or fully charged, which will help to extend the life. From what I’ve read here the battery is rated at 13.6 kWh and a full charge takes about 10.5 kWh. Zero miles of EV range still has 1.9 kWh or 13% charge remaining and fully charged is 12.4 kWh or 91% charge. So we are using 13% to 91% of the battery capacity. Also, Gen 5 is set up with liquid heating and cooling of the traction battery pack which will help to extend its life.
The '24 Gen5 Prius Prime aux battery is a 12v flood lead acid battery located in the back right hand corner of the car.
I'm hoping my Gen 5 will be as trouble-free as my Gen 3. I spent almost nothing for repairs for it. I think I read somewhere that Toyota designed the hybrid battery to charge to 70% capacity for the purpose of longevity. I'm inclined to believe it. My cellphone battery went bad in less than 2 years, and both types are lithium based.
The Prime can lose half it’s capacity in say 15 years and still be working fine just more charges than before. In a full ev, losing half can be a bigger problem. In a prime you can go on and still enjoy the low cost travel on trips and have long range on gas. Figure 20 years is about as long as most people keep a car, it is not something to worry about. Ok lots of 2004 cars still running fine, but will you be using a 20 year old car in 2044? I’ll have run my course in life, a car is the least thing I need to think about.
I honestly don't know if my hybrid capacity has diminished in one year, but I doubt it. I might expect that from a cellphone battery. My EV range has gone down from a record of 61 kms during the summer, but now it tops out well before 50. I noticed that my EV range is directly related to the ambient temperature. I expect it to return to 60 kms this summer. Based on experience with my Gen 3 lithium battery, I was losing a bit more than 1% per year. When I bought it in 2012, the EV range was 18-20 kms. When I sold it recently, the EV range was 16-18 kms.
I had a friend who bought a cheap used Nissan Leaf for $3K. Battery would only take him 70 miles on a charge. After another 5 years, he's down to 35 miles a charge. His commute to work is only 15 mile and he recharges at work. Great around town car and I'd say he got his money's worth out of it..... During the hot summer months, he needs to watch his AC usage - otherwise he may not make it home He usually preconditions the car while it's plugged-in. As stated earlier, you'll just drive the Prime in HV mode, if the battery goes bad since you've got a lot of capacity.
