Replaced my HV Battery preventatively

I don't think anyone is saying it's obligatory. If you own hybrid long enough, and commit to continuing to own it, it becomes inevitable.
For anyone, if the Hybrid Battery fails, if past warranty, the decision always becomes invest into battery replacement in some form or another, (discounting those that try DIY refurbishing or repair) or make an entire vehicle change.

I don't know. The argument can and is always made with an older vehicle that you reach the point where the cost of the repairs and potential repairs exceeds the market value of the entire vehicle "as is".
This is when a majority of people use that reality as a reason to get a new vehicle.

But if the person wants to do it? I'm not against investment into an older vehicle. I think it becomes more of a situation where the truth becomes, how much is it worth to YOU, not how much could you turn around and sell it for.
Many times a vehicle in which you are aware of it's age, condition and potential needs, trumps the wild card of resetting with another used vehicle, AND assuming repairs and replacements are done right? While it may not significantly increase the total value of the vehicle, I think it does make the vehicle more valuable to the owner. In other words, a 2006 Prius with a brand new Hybrid Battery, is a 2006 with a brand new Hybrid Battery, and while that doesn't negate the possibility of other things going wrong or needing eventual repair, it does leave the owner with that aspect more or less reset.

Some planes are kept in service for decades. Rebuilt and maintained to various degree. My point being, machines can be kept operational, indefinitely, it just depends on investment.

For a Prius? If $2500 results in even just 2-3 more years of economical driving, I'd think it was worth it. It could easily result in more. Therefore? IMO....not so crazy.

 

That I completely agree with. Lets's ignore whether a failed battery should or should not be replaced as that's another conversation.

My opinion is it's crazy to preemptively replace the battery as it could very well last the lifetime of the car or some other high dollar repair/accident could render a battery replacement secondary or altogether unnecessary.

 

It would be a more plausible course of action if you did a full assessment of the battery with Techstream, see what you were dealing with. You'd also feel better if it indeed was found to be on it's last legs, vs the wondering. I think there's no way in heck the guy that swapped it would ever come back to you saying good things about the old battery, no matter how noble he is. Oh I don't know, lol.

 

Hey guys I hope you don't mind me joining the thread since it's about me.

First I want to thank Chris (the OP) for sharing his experience with the group.

The new batteries that we sell come directly from Toyota, they aren't knock off's from China or anything like that. I've found that the most cost effective way to exchange bad modules for good modules is to give all the junk back to Toyota in exchange for new packs and then sell those to Prius owners at or near wholesale cost, then I can use the core batteries for parts. By doing this I keep my rebuild business operating smoothly without buying parts batteries from junk yards.

I think one thing to remember about a new hybrid battery is that it will hold it's value no matter what happens to the car. If something were to happen to the op's Prius he could get another like it, maybe even a cheap one with a failed battery and swap them out.

I could go on for a while about hybrid batteries but I won't. If anybody has any questions I will be happy to answer them. Thanks.

Matt

 

What's exactly is the average price to get a new HV battery installed? I recently bought an 08 with 100k. I know it's fairly expensive but not exactly sure of what I'd be looking at price wise

 

Wow, that is a steep price. I'm going to make a few calls tomorrow and grab some more quotes. The toyota dealership i spoke to recently said $2500

 

Cant remember, it may be installed but my memory is hazy lol. Hence why I'm going to call again tomorrow and around town just to be sure of what to expect

 

Matt has posted that sheet. Search his posts to find the whole sheet. Here is the short version. The modules have serial numbers. The first two digits are the day of the month. The third digit is the month. X, Y, and Z are used for Oct, Nov, and Dec. The fourth digit is the year. My memory trick for remembering the years is that 2004 (the first year of Gen II) gets a grade of F. The years just follow the alphabet from there.

Brad

 

I think you made a good choice. You would not been able to get it replaced for that price anywhere that I know of including installation at your convenience. Those were all signs of upcoming problems.

Glenn