3rd Hybrid Battery?

Hi there, I'm new to this site...(hope I posted this in the right place)

My sister just purchased a 2006 prius partly because I loved my 2005 prius so much and partly because they are generally just great cars.

Unfortunately we have been having some problems.

History:
According to the CarFax, this car got it's battery replaced in 2007 (when the car only had 200 miles on it). This car was mainly used up north New Jersey and New York. Then it was shipped here to Florida and my sister bought it with about 123,000 miles on it.

The problem:
A few days ago, my sister starts the car and gets three warning lights. The master light, the brake light, and the check engine light. We try and take it to Toyota, but on the way there it just refused to go over 15mph(It moved, but it was like driving through mud). We had to get it towed.

Toyota claims that the entire Hybrid battery is dead and needs to be replaced for $3,300. Yikes...We knew there were other options (like buying a used battery) that wouldn't be that expensive. So we had the car towed to a mechanic recommended to us. [Question: Can you replace cells in prius batteries? Our mechanic says you can only do that in hondas?]

We purchased a battery from Gagel Auto Parts (Super nice people, and a 6 month guarantee for parts). Our mechanic claimed the battery was completely useless.(?) The people at Gagel were immediately apologetic (and confused because they had tested the battery before they sent it) and refunded us and shipped the battery back to them (still waiting to here what they say).

So the question:
How can a prius have gone through 3 hybrid batteries before 125k miles? Doesn't it make sense that something else must be going wrong with the car? Our mechanic says everything is perfectly fine, but I'm skeptical. I'm pretty sure this mechanic and Toyota just run the codes and don't actually ever inspect the car thoroughly.

Obviously the battery is going to have to be replaced now, but how long will it last if something else is actually wrong? Has anyone had this sort of problem? Does anyone know a mechanic (In, around, or near Tampa?) who actually knows or specializes in hybrids?

Thanks!

 

I agree, one could of just gotten through quality control.

The car has only been in Florida for a few months maximum and my sister just bought it 2/3 weeks ago. She doesn't own any dogs, and hasn't even had the chance to put anything in the car because its so new.
We actually didn't check the 12v battery...I might give the mechanic a call about that, but I'm assuming he would have checked that? (maybe not..)

So details...she has owned it for less than 3 weeks. She got an full syn oil change at Toyota a few days after she purchased it (where they said everything in the car was fine she just needed new tires). A week and a half later, it was dead, and Toyota told us we needed a new battery.

 

Ok, I'll ask him about that orange plug as well. I've heard of Mellor's and I might give them a call to ask what they think (they are a bit far from here though)

 

The carfax didn't specify what battery, so maybe you are right, it could just be the 12v.

 

Ok, well that would be good if it was just that battery's time to go and wasn't something worse. I will post what the battery seller says once I get it. What is the HV safety link and what does it do?

 

Ok, yeah I agree. So maybe they just replaced the 12v and maybe it was just this current battery's time, and maybe this new battery was just faulty and a new one would fix it. Hope so!

Still wish I knew more about the problem, or at least wish I had a mechanic who really understood what was going on. I dislike the vague answers and brush offs, but I'll keep at it until I know what is going on for sure...

 

Update and Solution!

You guys are the best! Turns out the 12v was bad. Replacing it fixed the issue (with the previously thought to be bad hybrid battery replacement)

I'm a little disappointed that the mechanic didn't think to check that battery, and he way overcharged us on it. He charged us $300 dollars for the 12v!

This was absolutely ridiculous, but he installed it without telling me and said that taking it out and putting a new one in would cost me more.

So do you think that this issue most likely originated with the 12v and since that one works with all the computers (or so i'm told) then that probably effected the hybrid? Not completely sure how all this works in the end...

Is there a way to check the 12v on occasion so something like this doesn't happen again?

Thanks!