battery pack failure

Still suggest you name and shame the dealer if they're charging or quoting way over the odds. That way Toyota can investigate and other owners on here can consider whether they want to use said dealer.

 

Not to hijack the topic.... Mods, feel free to split this to a new topic is approptiate.

I live in NJ which is believe is a CARB state. So that means my 06 with 123K miles still has a battery warranty??? I never knew that! What else would be covered by this CARB regulation?

What is the typical life of one of these batteries?

The reason for asking is that I have seen a reduction in my MPG over the past year or so. For example, today I drove from Delaware to NJ a trip of 250 miles, using 7 gal of fuel. The computer claimed 41MPG, my calculator came in at 38. While the difference is minor, the 41MPG Vs the 48 I used to see is significant.

I am wondering if the battery is getting weak and not properly charging? As I drive and look at the display, the graphic details page seems to show a lot of the "green arrow" going into the battery even when the battery is green and almost fully charged. Little seems to be coming out of the battery as I drive.

Any experts have any thoughts?

 

Pendetim - trust me, if the traction battery ECU detects even the slightest anomaly with the battery, you will get a christmas tree variety of warning lights on your dash. The car would tell you something was up probably before you could pick up on anything.

Check your tire pressures, ICE oil level and 12v battery. The car knows everything, its kind of like a teenager.

 

That might be true if the NJ legislature made the CARB rules effective before 2006. They may have.

I find this which says 2009 but it is not from a trusted source "Effective January 1st, 2009 NJ is requiring all new vehicles (starting with MY2009) meet CARB's emission standards"

I would read your warranty booklet.

 

Agree about reading the warranty booklet.

FWIW, I listed the states that are in my 06's warranty booklet at rear ac will not shut off | PriusChat. Ignore the map, it's definitely wrong for 06 and almost certainly wrong for which states are currently CARB states.

 

I am not even sure the traction battery is failing, just asking the question about if that is a possibility.
Engine oil is OK. I change that myself and use 100% synthetic. Plugs were changes at 100K and I saw no difference in MPG after.

There really have been no pre-failure symptoms. Only thing I have is the tire pressure warning as there is a bad sensor on one of the wheels. Tires are fully inflated AFAIK, but I will double check. I never want to nice person/u/me. The 12V battery is the original from 2006, so that would be a good place to start. I will dig out my Fluke and test it with the headlights and defroster turned on. Should be above 11.5V correct?

I did have an incident at 60K miles, where the air mass flow sensor failed and shutdown the engine. Being on the Pennsylvania turnpike we had to drive the car a little distance on the battery to get to a safe place. This process apparently completely discharged the powerpack as when we tried to move the car after towing to the dealer, it only went a few feet and shut down. However, knock wood, no alarms are showing.

 

That's not really a good way to test it. The DC converter supplies 14v to the 12v battery when the car is turned on. Check out thread: Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat

 

Actually I was going to test it without engine running, so all I guess I could test it with the lights on unless the rear defrost will function while in ACC mode.

 

Lights on is a sufficient load to test the 12v battery. The voltage should not drop precipitously and should recover when the lights are shut off. It is not only that the ICE is not running, you don't want the inverter to be charging the 12v battery during the test.

JeffD

 

OK just back in from the garage.

The car took a 30 mile trip this AM and a 250 mile ride yesterday, so I guess it should be as charged as it will ever be.

I connected my Fluke to the Jump Start terminal and frame. with all power off it measured 12.4 volts
Turned on HID headlamps and dropped to 11.4 and slowly recovered to 11.5. Left it there for 4-5 minutes and it held.

Without stepping on brake, pressed the Start button 2x, MFD and dash lit up.
With HID headlights on, and in ACC mode, the voltage dropped to 11.2,
When I turned car off, voltage went up to 12.2; so I dropped 0.2 Volts in 5 minutes of playing.

Does the "hive's wisdom" concur that the battery is getting "old"?

Next question, where the heck is it? LOL

 

It is getting old but, those readings should still be good enough to not cause any problems. It is holding a charge.

 

I would think about a replacement as the drop to 11.4 is a bit more than I see on a fully charged, fresh battery. The 12v battery is in the hatch next to the right rear wheel well. Lift off the hatch floor and you will see it. The charging system in a Prius is very slow as it is a "constant voltage" system - safe from over charging, but sloooow and subject to undercharging if the Prius is used for short trips.

JeffD

 

Yep, you should not have seen any sustained 11s.

It is at the passenger side rear under the cargo.

Optima DS46B24R Optima battery direct fit replacement for Prius 2004 + & Plug-in Prius with Instructions

 

You state you turned on the HID headlamps "with all powered off" the only load this will put on the battery is the side lights as the HID's will not come on till the start button is pressed twice. So your 4-5 minute load was side lights only.

John (Britprius)