Battery Cell #5 Replaced

[jjf]

Five warning signs showed up on the dashboard and multi-information display. The fan for the hybrid battery pack started running all the time. A trip to the dealer determined that cell #5 in the battery pack was weak.

Fortunately it was under warranty. Otherwise the service guy thought it would take $3,300 to replace it. He said it's the first time he's had to replace one of those cells.

Mileage dropped by about 3 mpg recently. I'm blaming that on the bad cell.

Warnings: /!\ + (!) + VSC + Check Engine + red car with "!"

The dealer replaced it free within 24 hours and the car is running fine again.

[fruzzetti]

It's wonderful that you could get that done under warranty. Is your car modified in any way? If so, I'd really really appreciate an itemized list of overall mods so I can have a documented precedent.

Thanks,

~ dan ~

[jjf]

Originally Posted by fruzzetti

an itemized list of overall mods

I put some PIAA fog lights on plus the 3M invisible film for paint-chip protection. That's all.

-jjf

[efusco]

Thanks for posting that...it may be the first case reported of an individual cell replacement. It's just a recent change in their service procedures to do that and they have to try to closely match age and mileage of the replacement cell to that of your car...they aren't just supposed to pop in a brand new one.

[Mobius570]

Originally Posted by jjf

Five warning signs showed up on the dashboard and multi-information display. The fan for the hybrid battery pack started running all the time. A trip to the dealer determined that cell #5 in the battery pack was weak.

Fortunately it was under warranty. Otherwise the service guy thought it would take $3,300 to replace it. He said it's the first time he's had to replace one of those cells.

Mileage dropped by about 3 mpg recently. I'm blaming that on the bad cell.

Warnings: /!\ + (!) + VSC + Check Engine + red car with "!"

The dealer replaced it free within 24 hours and the car is running fine again.

Roughly how many miles was on your Prius when this happened and what year is the car?

I'm curious because 2 years ago when I had my Honda Insight I replaced the batteries. They were warranted for 80,000 miles and they went out at 96,000. Total battery cost was $7000 and $1000 for labor. Fortunately Honda covered it as if it was still in warranty. When I bought my Prius, I was under the impression from some research I have done, that the cells last much longer than they used to. Thanks.

[brick]

Are you sure they just replaced the sub-pack? $3300 is close to what it costs to have the whole battery replaced.

[jjf]

Originally Posted by brick

Are you sure they just replaced the sub-pack? $3300 is close to what it costs to have the whole battery replaced.

Within 24 hours of getting my car back from the shop, someone backed into it while it was parked on the street. Now I have to get the front bumper replaced. Bummer.

So while I was at the dealer this morning I asked specifically whether they replaced just the bad cell or the whole battery pack. They said they replaced the whole hybrid battery pack.

I'd call that good news since now I don't have to worry about a mismatched cell.

Sorry if that first post was misworded, I wasn't really aware of the issue of replacing just the cell vs the whole pack.

The car is a 2006 Prius with 18,000 miles on it. Pretty new. I've heard that electronic-type components tend to either break early in their life or last a really long time. I'm guessing this is one of those early breakdowns.

[efusco]

Oh, well that's different. Pretty unusual still to have a battery die that early. Now I wonder why they didn't just replace the individual cell?

[fruzzetti]

It's safer and less stressful on battery management if you replace the whole battery. Though you -can- replace one cell, you will get less-than-optimal performance depending on management. That's how I understand it.

Realize I am the kind of dork who enjoys engineering better batteries for cordless telephones and other such nonsense. I have learned that swapping out one of three cells for a higher-capacity (more milli-amp hours) cell makes the battery seem to perform worse. Probably because the battery management systems charge it until only the one cell will take a charge, but that cell always runs short.

~ dan ~

[David Beale]

It's not surprising that a cell failed. After all, they make millions each year. There are bound to be a few that will fail after a year or so of use.