Battery Replacement Worth It?

Probably the best way over this problem is not to buy your battery from Toyota. A battery from a late wreck will probably cost in the region of $500 assuming your in the US. If you put your location in your avatar more specific help can be given.

John (Britprius)

 

I am forgetting my manners welcome to PC.
Some other information would also be helpful. What fault codes are being given for the problem.
Reconditioned batteries are also available with guarantees. Your car will be worth much more with a battery fitted (if that is the problem) easily covering the cost of a replacement should you decide to sell.

John (Britprius)

 

(All this assumes you are in the US, various installers may be local if you give us a hint where you are)

I can recommend a rebuilt battery. They should be near $2000 installed, perhaps $1600 if you install.
Remanufactured Hybrid Vehicle Battery Packs

A used battery from a wrecked Prius is a viable option if you are physically strong and extremely cautious.
Prius battery in Parts & Accessories | eBay

Then you may have another 100,000 miles of motoring. (So long as it is cheaper than car payments, it is a good deal)

299,999+ Mile Club | PriusChat

 

My manners are slightly less refined than BritPrius', so I'll put it bluntly: get rid the car now. The next thing to go will be the tranny (you did drain and refill right?) and/or the ABS actuator ($3000).

 

Rich Do you have any statistics on the frequency of either of those repairs?

I am unaware of more than 5 failed transmissions, although I also recommend ATF changes every 60,000 miles, I do so to keep the electric Motor/Generators healthy, not due to transmission failures.

I have never heard of an ABS failure, but I suppose one may have failed somewhere.

So, do you have a "1 car in x number has this failure" statistic?

 

188,000 is plenty of miles. I would sell the car and purchase a new one.

You can repair with a reinvolt battery and the cost with install is $2,500. But chances are other things will start to go wrong. Unless you a mechanic I would just call it a day and sell or trade it in.

That's my opinion.

 

Any car going 188k miles and over 12 years is a darn good run. What is unknown is how well the the car has been taken care of. That would be a key factor in the decision.

 

The car is 8 years old not 12 years.

I agree with FL how well the car was cared for is important to the decision

Was the car a city car or mostly a highway car?

Was recommended service done?

 

IF you decide to replace the traction battery, try to get one that came off of a recently wrecked Prius. If not, I'd say this may be a good time to treat yourself to a Gen III after a good run.

 

I majored in math. I'm working hard to find some exotic theory to explain how I came up with that.

 

No. I also don't have any peer-reviewed statistics about getting HIV from unprotected sex either. You, see, my friend, there's this little thing called logic and common sense; they're married in my mind and have served me well.

You sound like the Toyota service techs clawing their eyes out when they had to replace my hybrid battery at 98k. "We've never seen this. Ever. This NEVER happens. Ever."

Do a forum search on ABS actuator. You will be well served to do so.

*sigh* No, sir, once again, I do not have said statistics. The fact that *I* don't doesn't mean they don't exist somewhere. Which is not the point. The cost to replace both the tranny and ABS actuator are laborious and costly. Which *is* the point.

Now, good day to you, sir!

 

Just as I suspected: the first two hits are you making claims in this thread, then three hits of folks trying to help you in your thread, then mostly discussions of bubbles going through the actuator, not failures. So we seem to be talking about 1 in a million, not 9 out of 10.

YOU would have been well served to try it yourself before advising that it would prove your point.

There are any number of expensive repairs that happen to a Prius, (or any car) some you can prevent (don't jump start, do not do your own brake work, replace the ATF every 60,000 miles) and some you can't. If any of these were common, Consumer Reports would have a poor rating for the reliability of the Prius.

Back on track, 188,000 miles is not that old for a car these days, if it was otherwise reliable and I had a second opinion with codes, that it really was the Hybrid battery, I would buy the remanufactured battery and re-evaluate my decision when the second battery failed.

 

If you are anywhere near the Tampa Bay area(Florida), I can help you get it rebuilt for around $500. If you decide not to rebuild it, I will buy it from you.

 

My perusing of priuschat has led me to believe that major component prius failures are few, but very painful when they happen. I purchased my 2004 in 2009 with the milage yours now has and it continues to serve me well.
If you let this group know your location, you may be advised of a source in your area to better to evaluate your situation and advise you of your options.
Good luck