Prolong Battery Charger (rent or borrow)

Since cost is a concern, maybe you could just build one yourself?
Could be cheap.

 

Still have to buy the special connection cable and wire it all up which is the hardest part. The cable is permanent installation.
And the charger does little to condition it you have to do it periodically.
The benefits of a full charge don't last long.

If you want to recondition it you must do the full discharge and recharge
That requires a discharger and a charger and a discharge cable. Takes about 2 days.

Before you bother with that take the top cover off the battery and see how corroded the battery connections and the buss bars are. It may need a total rebuild.. You never posted miles but age the car I'm guessing 200,000 miles.

 

Doesn't the Prolong charger require a harness install, not that easy to just borrow?

 

Correct. It's about an hour if you're quick, more likely two hours to install the cable. It's meant to be permanent. And, as Ed said, the Prolong charger is meant to be used regularly for periodic maintenance. When used that way, I think they usually pay for themselves. But they won't do much good as a one shot deal other than the possible temporary salvation of a dying cell.

How long have you had this car? It's common for even a healthy battery to drop into the purple bars in the morning if you're running the a/c and it was parked with fairly low charge the night before. That's because it makes heavy use of the battery wile the engine is going through it's warm up cycle.

Still, the Prolong is a good investment for older Prii. We got ours because we had two '05s. We still use ours on the remaining '07 my wife drives.

 

The first time youinstall the harness it took me awhile as you have to pull the whole back of the car aprt.
Including rear seats and then open the battery case and install cables to hot side of the contactor then install a power supply box for the battery fan and then chop into the fan drive wire.
Maybe 3 hours for me.
Then I discovered an issue with at power supply and had to repair that pcb.
Then to my horror I discover that I had the charge only cable. It requires a different cable if you want to do a discharge also using there load gimmick with 2 light bulbs.
That really pissed me off. What dont they just sell the charger/discharger cable....then it's a no brainer to move up to the discharger.
I had to buy another cable. Have not installed that cable yet as I am not looking forward going back in there again.

But if you have a high mileage high mile g2 if you go through all the trouble to install the cable take the battery cover off first. Your battery may be a mess and needs To come out anyway.

 

Hey @edthefox5, I didn't have to take out my back seats; just the back of the driver's side back seat. Two screws, iirc. But, if you completely open the whole battery case to inspect it, then I wouldn't be surprised if you have to remove both seat backs.

I remember your "consternation" when you found out you had the wrong cable. Ouch!

 

I'm sorry if this has been answered before but I did a quick search and didn't see it. Does using the Prolong system void any remaining warranty on the battery?

A second, more personal dilemma. Our 2008 is showing similar symptoms. We're not going to head out on our 6,000 mile trip in June with it in the condition it's in. Should I wait until May to get the Prolong system, hoping the battery goes and I get a free replacement under warranty from Toyota between now and then? Is there some damage being done to it in the meantime that the Prolong system won't be able to correct in May that it can now?

 

Anyone?

 

Let me see if I can get @jeff652's attention. I don't see that info on his FAQ page or find it in a quick google search, but I'll bet he's been asked.

 

Technically speaking, yes it could void the warranty. Practically speaking, no it will not. Martha Voss, a spokeswoman for Toyota, said that any after-market part could void the warranty if Toyota decided it was responsible for the failure that occurred. The inverse of this is that it will not void the warranty unless Toyota specifically determines that the aftermarket part is the cause. Here's the reference:
A Plug-In Conversion for Prius - Hybrid Cars - The New York Times

There is also the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act to consider - it basically says OEMs cannot void warranties unless the aftermarket part is the root cause of the issue. Our chargers extend battery life, not shorten it, so we've never had a customer with an issue. If someone wanted to be extra careful, they could simply remove the Prolong car harness before taking the car in for service. Takes 45 minutes once you have done it once already .

Sorry we do not rent systems. The sooner one starts using our products, the more benefit they will deliver. If you start using it now, the battery will have an overall benefit that is greater than than waiting a few more months, especially if the battery is already weak. If you wait until a cell fails in one of the modules, then it will have to be replaced - reconditioning alone will no longer be enough. Even in these cases, Prolong systems will save you a lot of funds compared to battery replacement. We have a trusted supplier of used modules (~$50 each), change the failed module then recondition. It's just a lot more work to replace modules then to simply cycle the pack as it is.

 

Thanks, @jeff652.

So, @srellim234, I think if it was mine, I'd go to the dealer now and lobby for a warranty replacement even if it's not throwing codes as long as you can demonstrate that the battery performance is significantly lower than normal. If they refused and Toyota corporate also refused, then I'd go for the grid charger and try to extend the battery's life. That way you'll have it on record that there was an issue before the installation and before the warranty expires, just in case the grid charger turns out to be too little and too late. But that's just me. You might also choose to roll the dice and see if the battery throws codes before the warranty runs out.

 

Thank you for the information. What I had in mind was that if a it fails in the near future Toyota will have to handle the battery replacement under warranty and it will cost me nothing. Then I could get the Prolong system and use it on the new battery, really extending the life of the car.

I know I can use the Prolong system now but it will most likely prevent the battery from failing within the next year while still within the warranty period.

I'm not much of a DIY person so I'm going to be having someone else installing the harness (your website lists an installer near me). If it came down to a module replacement I would probably opt for a full battery replacement. We're planning 3,000 - 6,000 mile trips each of the next five summers and I'm not particularly comfortable with a piecemeal battery in that situation. New would be better.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'm leaning toward giving it until May to see if it throws a code for a free replacement, then going with the Prolong system if it doesn't. I'm certain even the first conditioning will extend battery life beyond the warranty so hopefully continued maintenance will extend it another 4 or 5 years.

 

I did not notice you lived in Ca.
If I was you I wouldn't bother with a prolong and hope your battery fails before the 10 year 150,000 miles expires.

if you install a prolong harness you must remove it if you go to the dealer with a failed battery. They will void your warranty if they see an owner installed wiring harness installed on the battery side of the contactor inside there battery module not knowing what your doing with it.
As far as Toyota is concerned you have no business inside that battery module if your looking for warranty repair. It's like taking the car in for warranty for a failed ecu and they see you pried the cover off that ECU. Done deal. They will win that fight. Module has been compromised. I know Jeff won't join that fight as it's bad publicity for his product if Toyota throws a stink about after market charging. They will claim there system destroyed your battery.

So drive the crap out of it and hope wherever it fails they have a new hybrid battery in stock.

 

Like I pointed out earlier in the thread, we're taking it on a coast to coast trip in June and I don't want to be out there somewhere when the battery quits. I'll run it like crazy around here for the next couple of months; if it doesn't throw the code then I'll condition it before the trip. Losing out on the last 6-9 months of the warranty at that point will be worth it to know the battery is in good enough shape for the trip.

Realistically I'm probably overthinking this and worrying too much about it.

 

What you really need is two Prii! Our first big trip with a Prius (about 8,000 miles), we'd planned to take my car. Had it all prepped and ready to go, when it started getting all weird. No time to fix it before leaving, so we took the wife's car and fixed mine when we got home. Turned out that it's good we did, because we inadvertently put the miles on the one that was soon going to be totalled by a texter. Ya never know. Another nice thing about having two, is it makes the Prolong charger easier to justify financially.

 

I'd love to have another one but right now it's just not financially doable or justifiable. One daughter started college two weeks ago and the last child is only three years away from it. $$$$. Fortunately, neither one drives and transportation to school is free.

Besides, my wife is in love with her 2007 Yaris. She's not about to part with it even for the added safety and features of the Prius. She retired yesterday so it also makes perfect sense to switch the everyday usage to that car. Everyday usage for us is pretty much nothing over a mile or two at a time for shopping and carpooling some other high school kids (not ours). That's tough on any car but the Yaris is better suited for it. With her home now I'll be getting back on my bicycle most of the time.

The Prolong charger becomes even easier to justify now that the Prius is going to be sitting in the garage for days at a time. It will be relegated mostly to weekend trips of 70-200 miles during the school year and and longer trips ranging from 70-6,000 miles each summer.

Hopefully this car lasts long enough to get us into a nice Gen. IV on the used car market.

 

Well, I ordered the Prolong Deluxe Package yesterday. Expecting delivery next week.

Our long trip has been delayed until July so in June I'll have the 120,000 mile service plus a few other things done to the car (12v replacement, transaxle fluid changed, etc.). After that I'll have my son (eight years as an F-15 crew chief) put the Prolong harness on the car; then I'll go ahead and recondition the battery myself.

Quick questions: the last reconditioning step is optional in the product guides: disconnecting the 12v to reset the hybrid system and have it "see" the battery charge level change. What are the pros and cons of either doing it or not? Will the system eventually see it anyway and how quickly will that happen? Besides little things like having to redo radio presets and bluetoothing my phone, what other effects will disconnecting the 12v have on the car?

 

It only takes a few miles for the computers to adjust to the new charge level. Most people don't bother to reset the 12V each time, as stereo presets have to be reprogrammed, etc. No other major effects, aside from having to wait ~50 miles before getting a smog check.