01 - 03 Battery Reseal TSB - should I go for it?

kocho · 03-24-2008, 11:26 PM

My '02 with about 123K miles on it is subject to the "free" reseal TSB for the traction battery, based on the VIN number.

What do you folks think - do I need to do this? I am very reluctant to let any mechanics to get near my cars in the fear of them doing more harm than good. But if this procedure can prolong the life of the battery, I'd consider having it done.
I have not yet gotten to look at the battery myself, being lazy to take the covers off so I do not know if it shows any signs of leaking or not. Perhaps I should take a look first, but that may have to wait till the summer...

Thoughts?

Thanks!

bwilson4web · 03-25-2008, 02:54 AM

It is hard to say because I've had one informal report that they may have 'improved' the process using epoxy. But I've also seen some photos posted of corroded terminal bars in "Prius Technical Stuff."

Perhaps you could get them to report on the health of all battery modules too.

Good luck!
Bob Wilson

rick57 · 03-25-2008, 07:07 AM

I would not recommend anyone to disassemble the HV battery unless you know what you are doing and have the proper equipment. Accidents do happen and I don't want to think what would happen if you shorted it while taking it apart. I have always been cautious when working on them. Better to be safe than sorry,

.

As for the recall, as long as the tech is trained, there should be no problem having it done. But as with anything else there all sorts of techs out there.

Patrick Wong · 03-25-2008, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kocho

My '02 with about 123K miles on it is subject to the "free" reseal TSB for the traction battery, based on the VIN number.

What do you folks think - do I need to do this? I am very reluctant to let any mechanics to get near my cars in the fear of them doing more harm than good. But if this procedure can prolong the life of the battery, I'd consider having it done.
I have not yet gotten to look at the battery myself, being lazy to take the covers off so I do not know if it shows any signs of leaking or not. Perhaps I should take a look first, but that may have to wait till the summer...

Hi Kocho,

I recommend that you have the sealing done. The bus bars will be replaced as part of this service.

Maybe you could ask the service writer to tell you when the mechanic has obtained access to the battery and removed the top cover. Then you can go down & look at the battery to see its current condition.

kocho · 03-25-2008, 12:12 PM

Good advice folks. Thanks! I will schedule this when I get a chance.

I need to also see if I can find information on which dealer is good on Prius repairs in the Washington DC/MD/VA area. All I know is that I definitely do not want to go to Arlington Toyota on Lee Highway - my friend has only had trouble with them for his Camry repairs lately and I have not been to happy with their parts dept. either (though they did an OK job with my own Camry under warranty 8 years ago)....

I also like to find out from Toyota somehow the service history of the car. I know it has the latest ECU and now a relatively new cat converter but I'd be interested to know more. Any suggestions on how to go about this? One local dealer said that they can only give me history if repairs were done at their dealership and I have no idea where the car might have been serviced previously....

Thanks!

Patrick Wong · 03-25-2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kocho

I also like to find out from Toyota somehow the service history of the car. I know it has the latest ECU and now a relatively new cat converter but I'd be interested to know more. Any suggestions on how to go about this? One local dealer said that they can only give me history if repairs were done at their dealership and I have no idea where the car might have been serviced previously....

Hi Kocho,

Any Toyota dealer should be able to input your VIN and determine whether mandatory recalls had been performed. However, other service history probably is not available on a centralized basis, as your dealer indicated.

If you are interested in reading about the SSC 40G traction battery recall, it is posted in Yahoo toyota-prius-sat1 files. The file with mechanic instructions is 3MB in size so I will not post here.

03-24-2008, 11:26 PM	#1
kocho Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 111 My Car: 2002 Prius Model: Package: Base Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	01 - 03 Battery Reseal TSB - should I go for it? My '02 with about 123K miles on it is subject to the "free" reseal TSB for the traction battery, based on the VIN number. What do you folks think - do I need to do this? I am very reluctant to let any mechanics to get near my cars in the fear of them doing more harm than good. But if this procedure can prolong the life of the battery, I'd consider having it done. I have not yet gotten to look at the battery myself, being lazy to take the covers off so I do not know if it shows any signs of leaking or not. Perhaps I should take a look first, but that may have to wait till the summer... Thoughts? Thanks!

03-25-2008, 02:54 AM	#2
bwilson4web 03 and 10 Prius Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Huntsville AL with 2003 Prius Posts: 3,871 My Car: 2010 Prius Model: III Package: #1 Thanks: 147 Thanked 367 Times in 203 Posts Friends: 20	Re: 01 - 03 Battery Reseal TSB - should I go for it? It is hard to say because I've had one informal report that they may have 'improved' the process using epoxy. But I've also seen some photos posted of corroded terminal bars in "Prius Technical Stuff." Perhaps you could get them to report on the health of all battery modules too. Good luck! Bob Wilson

03-25-2008, 07:07 AM	#3
rick57 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Circleville, Ohio Posts: 565 My Car: Other Non-Hybrid Model: Package: N/A Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 1	Re: 01 - 03 Battery Reseal TSB - should I go for it? I would not recommend anyone to disassemble the HV battery unless you know what you are doing and have the proper equipment. Accidents do happen and I don't want to think what would happen if you shorted it while taking it apart. I have always been cautious when working on them. Better to be safe than sorry, . As for the recall, as long as the tech is trained, there should be no problem having it done. But as with anything else there all sorts of techs out there. Last edited by rick57; 03-25-2008 at 07:10 AM.

03-25-2008, 12:12 PM	#5
kocho Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 111 My Car: 2002 Prius Model: Package: Base Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Re: 01 - 03 Battery Reseal TSB - should I go for it? Good advice folks. Thanks! I will schedule this when I get a chance. I need to also see if I can find information on which dealer is good on Prius repairs in the Washington DC/MD/VA area. All I know is that I definitely do not want to go to Arlington Toyota on Lee Highway - my friend has only had trouble with them for his Camry repairs lately and I have not been to happy with their parts dept. either (though they did an OK job with my own Camry under warranty 8 years ago).... I also like to find out from Toyota somehow the service history of the car. I know it has the latest ECU and now a relatively new cat converter but I'd be interested to know more. Any suggestions on how to go about this? One local dealer said that they can only give me history if repairs were done at their dealership and I have no idea where the car might have been serviced previously.... Thanks! Last edited by kocho; 03-25-2008 at 12:14 PM.