Replace Hybrid Battery before it dies or just wait and see?

That is indeed the risk.

 

I didn't know Toyota made batteries.......

All I know is that I paid $1600 delivered to my door over eight months ago and it works perfect. Plus I sold my old battery to some goof on Craigs List for $250 cash. And I did tell him that I had replaced it.....was in the add. That put the price down to $1350.....
My v doesn't seem to know or care that's it's not a Toyota.... (panasonic)
and my billfold was happy.....

 

Another vote for newpriusbatteries. Com. I just replaced my pack with the cylinder cells. Couldn't be happier. Nothing against Green Bean battery, but for the price difference of $151, I much prefer having new vs. Reconditioned.

 

Sorry I'm late to the party but I've been offline for a bit.

In early 2016 our battery in SoCal was exhibiting the identical behavior. Packs were more expensive then so I bought a Prolong battery maintenance system. Three years later and balancing at six month intervals the car was still running great. I recently preemptively replaced the pack instead of waiting for it to fail. The pack was finally showing weakness more often and we moved to a much warmer climate. I didn't want my wife and daughters to get stranded in the 120*+ heat of the Mohave Desert in August and September and they needed to make that round trip weekly.

I don't suggest you buy a Prolong system in your situation though. Mine has paid for itself; in three years battery pack prices have dropped more than I paid for the Prolong. I don't expect they will drop that much again over the next few years though. Before biting the bullet and replacing the pack check if one of our members in your area has a Prolong system you can borrow or rent cheaply.

 

Yeah, it's no longer an easy decision to "invest" in the grid charger on Gen 2's given the economics involved. Gen 3 owners OTOH.....

 

I'm wondering if the cylinder batteries would recondition similarly with a Prolong system (not that I'm eager to find out, just curious).

 

I don't think they recommend it...... at least not on newer batteries..... better ask them.....

 

The cylindrical modules themselves has no inherent reason why reconditioning wouldn't work. HOWEVER, reconditioning a new battery, any new battery, is just taking life off the pack. The process of reconditioning is not nice to the pack. It just makes them super hot as it tries to top balance. On an old pack, this isn't too bad as you're selling cycle life to get capacity balance. But on a brand new pack where you already have capacity balanced, you are selling cycle life to gain nothing but extra heat.

 

In a few years time, when these Cylinder batteries reach that point, is a Prolong 'band-aid' a practical solution?

 

Yes, once sufficient time has passed, you will have some imbalance in the cells. The more you keep ontop of it with balance the better. That's what I suggest to people that ask, wait 3-5 years before you use the kit, but install the wiring harness when you do the installation.