Reconditioned Battery/5 year warranty/1500 dollars

how often have you heard of the green bean rebuilds going bad? im in sofla and green bean is scheduled to come all the way down here by tuesday morning. i think im just going to go with it.

 

all rebuilds go bad. most important is the warranty, and the company standing behind it. not much good if the company balks, and companies that come to your door can just not show up.

 

I've accepted the fact that it is that another battery failure is guaranteed. and them not showing up is pretty much the same as me not being able to show up to them. i figure this battery will last enough time to save up for a "brand new one".if not then i guess I'll find out if one of tims guys will show up or not. from what ive read so far.. green bean has stood behind the results they produce. please forward me to any noted negative reviews. just a bunch of people doubting is all i have read. unless someone else want to drive to palm beach county to do this better and cheaper... by all means. please forgive me if I'm coming across aggressive but im sure this is a therapy group more or less so please dont judge me.. i had a rough day.lolol

 

understood, all the best.

 

So have you actually used this greenbean yet or heard from anyone who used it ?

 

I'm new here as well but if you follow this thread from the beginning there are a couple reviews.

Best thing to do is do your research, have a plan in place for the future of your car(fix for long-term use, turn and burn, a placeholder for new car etc) and be confident in your decision.

I just purchased a 06' with 144k, my first Prius. It has excellent service records and was owned by the same family since new. I know that going with an older gen 2 that at some point(hopefully later rather than sooner but probably not) that I'm going to need a new battery. Being in Michigan there seem to be fewer options than in other parts of the country. Before purchasing I did my research on battery replacements and costs. My initial purchase cost was a good enough deal and below budget to accommodate a replacement battery at some point in the future.

I truly hope that I don't ever have to talk to Tim at Green Bean, but if that time comes, based on my research, that is more than likely what I'm going to do. Again it fits my needs.

YMMV...literally

 

Why, when you can spend almost the same money ($1600) and get a kit of new cells from @2k1Toaster here?
The only reason I could see is if you could not wait for the current lead time on fulfilling orders. It seems he cannot get the cells from China fast enough to meet the market demand for his product.

Unlike any of the reconditioning shops I have heard of absolutely no negative reviews of this product. It basically gives the car a new battery with improved air circulation to aid in cooling.

 

If my battery were to fail soon I would not be in a place to wait for a shipment of new batteries from 21 to show up. There is also the question of install. At this time I'm not ready to take that on. On a scale of 1-10 I'm about a 2 at the moment. Over time that will certainly change, and my opinion possibly will as well. Again based on my research up until now, that's where I'm at.

You have piqued my interest though. How long as the testing been going on for these? Any threads anyone can direct me to that I can read over? I'm always looking to learn more.

Thanks for all the info!

 

I think there are a couple of threads. Here is one of them.

Prius Battery Replacement Kit (GenII/GenIII) with NEW custom cells | PriusChat

There is also a link to the website in my signature.

 

I work on hybrids for a living. I was one of the first to purchase and install one of these

I tried one out for a few thousand miles and a few months before uninstalling it and selling it to another member of this forum.

You'll see my posts on that thread.

I'd be happy to discuss if you want to call.

 

Thanks both. My problem with the new one you mentioned is that, i don't have a place to swap it out. I live in a condo which prohibits working on a car. So, someone who has an experience to get it done quick which greenbean offers. I like that fact. I looked at the google reviews for the company, and the reviews are great for the service people had. As the company seems to be only a year and half old, i could not see how the product actually performs over time.

Also, i saw below youtube showing that greenbean using gen 1 battery for gen 2 type prius and ship.

 

A major problem with these "reconditioners" is mixing module generations. Many times they put one or two Gen 3 modules in a Gen 2 pack because good used Gen 2 modules are getting scarce.
Carefully testing and balancing a pack takes more time than a company has to spend on a pack. There are some people here, like @TMR-JWAP that rebuild packs as a hobby and spend the time to do it as well as they can. He has been known to drive to a customer with their new pack running his Prius, install the new pack and take the old one for parts. He carries a spare pack to drive home.

Here is a long thread where he troubleshoots a bad "reconditioned" pack and the steps he takes to properly test and balance a pack.
Just Another HV Battery Thread and Experiments | PriusChat

 

Looks like @Prodigyplace and @ericbecky have shown you some of the answers. Definitely only do what you feel comfortable doing.

For condo owners there are sometimes garages that let you rent the bays by the hour or days which would help in those situations. I've heard of condo associations fining people for washing their car in the spot or even just checking the fluids under the hood. If yours will let you slide by for a couple hours of work, then awesome. But there are alternatives. In the US, lots of WalMarts double as daytime garages now. You'll find auto work being done in the back spots of most of the Walmarts in this area and they seem to not care as long as you don't make too much noise or mess.

 

ok, just to update. I called greenbean and talked them and got a confirmation that they do not use gen 1 batter at all as shown in the youtube video. Warrant has no mileage limit but the time limit of 5 years as long as the batter goes bad. I made a schedule to swap out with them on Thursday. Swapping charge is $250 which is already included in the whole price of $1549 for gen 2 prius. Much less headache for me.

 

Interesting Green Bean video. I posted a comment on the video asking if it is NEW Gen1 modules or USED Gen1 modules.

 

Less hassle, but you are buying a used battery instead of a new one.

Please start a separate thread that you update every 6 months or so with your experience. I will be especially interested 2 to 3 years from now.

For used batteries I'm am seeing them fail sooner than I had expected. Some not making it to the 2 or 3 year mark without having to be replaced.

 

Thanks for the question and all the replies. I'm new here - battery hasn't died yet on my 2006 160K-mile Prius, but I'm trying to figure out whether to spend $1000 on fixing A/C, considering that the possibility of battery death at any moment is looming over me.

I found you all by googling "Green Bean Battery," as I, too, was wondering whether the company was real and would actually be around to fulfill the warranty if needed. You all have me thinking I'll stick with the regular mechanic.

 

Yeah, that is a hard choice.
You could take that $4,000 ($1,000 ac, $3000 new battery) and put it towards a different car. Maybe even (gasp) a non-hybrid.

Easier to sell you car while it is running than if battery dies.
If the battery dies, you car will basically be worth scrap value.

 

Battery performed well?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Battery failed on my 2007, which I purchased 6 months ago from the second owner. It has about 175,000 miles on it. GreenBean told me by phone today that the warranty is not prorated. $1,500 for a 5 year guaranteed battery is $300/year, or less if the battery happens to outlast the warranty. GreenBean said they have a 5% warranty replacement rate "because they are reconditioned not new batteries." If true, that's a 95% chance that a GreenBean will not fail. Compared with other reconditioned warranties and with $3,000 cost at the dealer with only a 1 year warranty, it seems like a reasonable option for an older car. My long time mechanic who ran the codes and diagnosed the battery failure recommended Green Bean, and said that several other customers have been happy with GreenBean.