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Hybrid Battery Failure at 67k miles

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by texasboy77904, Aug 23, 2016.

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  1. texasboy77904

    texasboy77904 Junior Member

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    Was driving about 60mph. Tried giving a lil more gas then the car sputtered and wouldnt accelerate. Car started shimming around and then died.

    "Hybrid system overheat" then "Low traction battery" popped up on the dash.

    Had it towed. Toyota tried charging the hybrid battery but wouldnt hold a charge.

    Good news: Toyota is replacing the old hybrid battery with a brand new hybrid battery under warranty.

    Bad news: The car was left in neutral by the tow truck and Toyota techs couldnt move the transmission position out of neutral with the dead hybrid battery. They wont know if anything else failed until the new battery is installed.

    Seems pretty low mileage for the hybrid battery to fail no?
     
    #1 texasboy77904, Aug 23, 2016
    bisco likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    absolutely. heard of a few, but usually older cars i think. better now than after the warranty. texas heat is bad for them, but not that bad. are you the original owner?
     
    #2 bisco, Aug 23, 2016
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I didn't know Toyota has HV battery chargers, good to know
     
    #3 JC91006, Aug 23, 2016
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    back in the day, before they were common, they were so expensive, toyota had one per region, and you had to wait for it to show up.
     
    #4 bisco, Aug 23, 2016
  5. wirelessjava

    wirelessjava Member

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    What year was the Gen3 and were you driving it everyday or occasionally or 15K miles per year?
     
    #5 wirelessjava, Aug 23, 2016
  6. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Interesting.
    Yep, that's a very early failure.

    I suppose the good news is you get a brand new hybrid battery.
     
    #6 The Electric Me, Aug 23, 2016
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Maybe this really is an inverter problem......so they'll give you a new battery and then later discover it's not a battery problem.
     
    #7 JC91006, Aug 23, 2016
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  8. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Probably to early to determine the root cause of failure
     
    #8 mrbigh, Aug 23, 2016
  9. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Good point, considering that inverter failures to be sudden, while batteries normally deteriorate gradually.
     
    #9 CR94, Aug 23, 2016
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    wow, that would be a real black eye for the dealer. i wonder what toyotas requirements are for battery warranty authorization.
     
    #10 bisco, Aug 23, 2016
  11. texasboy77904

    texasboy77904 Junior Member

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    My Prius is a 2011. Daily driver.
    Im praying that the battery is the only. Guess Ill find out in a few days.
     
    #11 texasboy77904, Aug 23, 2016
  12. texasboy77904

    texasboy77904 Junior Member

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    Also my concern is how it failed so early in 5/6 years.
     
    #12 texasboy77904, Aug 23, 2016
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did you notice a decline in mpg's recently?
     
    #13 bisco, Aug 23, 2016
  14. texasboy77904

    texasboy77904 Junior Member

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    Not much.
     
    #14 texasboy77904, Aug 23, 2016
  15. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If you're getting something expensive for free......don't question it. Just accept it and say "ok, if you say so"
     
    #15 JC91006, Aug 23, 2016
    m.wynn, Okinawa and texasboy77904 like this.
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think the cause, like any defective product, is a bad part or workmanship. even toyota isn't perfect.:oops:
     
    #16 bisco, Aug 23, 2016
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  17. texasboy77904

    texasboy77904 Junior Member

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    New Hybrid battery now installed. Transmission is now shot. :(

    Options:
    1. $4500 for a new and installed transmission.

    2. $1500 for a used and installed transmission.

    3. Call it quits and trade it in for what its worth.

    Total bummer. Extended warranty would have been great about this time.:confused:
     
    #17 texasboy77904, Aug 23, 2016
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would go for the used tranny. how many miles on it? do they think the tranny got damaged because it was left in neutral?
     
    #18 bisco, Aug 23, 2016
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Hey you got a new battery for free, even though it wasn't the problem.

    Now I would contact Toyota corporate for a free tranny
     
    #19 JC91006, Aug 23, 2016
  20. texasboy77904

    texasboy77904 Junior Member

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    Their only "guess" is that it was left in neutral when the tow truck picked it up. It was towed from the front not the rear but I had to manually push it in reverse in the neutral position from my parking spot so the tow truck could then pick it up from the front.

    67k on the original transmission.

    Im still wordering if my insurance would cover this issue.
     
    #20 texasboy77904, Aug 23, 2016
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