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2006 Prius Hybrid Battery Issues - Possibly End of Life?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by pricoaster, Sep 16, 2013.

  1. pricoaster

    pricoaster Member

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    Owner of a 2006 Prius, bought brand new August 2006. Current mileage just about 145k. Most driving is city, with some freeway. For the first few years, a lot was freeway since I was commuting far (was averaging 30k/year). It's done long freeway trips too...and lots to Vegas.

    Got in the car this morning to go to work and when I started it up, the hybrid battery indicator was at one bar (red). When I parked it yesterday evening, it was definitely higher, at least in the blue and above the halfway mark. I started driving it and it began recharging. When I came to a stop at a stoplight (probably about a 1/2 mile later), the battery was at green (one below fully charged). But then it went to fully charged (still at a complete stop) and the engine turned on. Now I've had this car for awhile, so at times, especially after a long downhill, the battery will go to fully charged and when I come to a stop, the engine will run a bit. But this time, there was no hill, and when the engine turned on, it sounded different.

    Anyway, I continued on and the charge came down to normal. About a mile later, as I was driving, I then noticed the charge dropping rapidly. Down to red. This was clearly abnormal, as I was on a level street, and not accelerating fast. So I pulled over into the next parking lot. I parked, shut it off, and then turned it back on. That's when the red exclamation triangle light came on, and the MFD indicated 'Problem.'

    I had it towed to the local dealership where they are checking it out now. My guess is the hybrid battery is having issues. Fortunately, I'm just under 145k, and the warranty is 10 years or 150k...so if it is the battery, looks like lucked out there.

    Will wait to see what the dealership says, but anyone else have this issue or know what may be wrong?

    One more thing. On Saturday morning, upon starting and driving it, whenever I pushed the gas, there was a slight pause before it went forward...kind of like there was no initial power. ICE was on. I parked it that time, turned off, and then back on, and everything seemed to be working fine. But now that I think about it, the engine seemed a lot louder when I was driving it over the weekend.
     

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  2. Eclipse1701d

    Eclipse1701d Prius Enthusiast

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    It could be the inverter pump is failing. However, since you have 5,000 miles left on your warranty, I hope for you that it's the HV Battery...
     
  3. pricoaster

    pricoaster Member

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    Just got a call from the dealer...yep, the hybrid battery failed. So they're replacing it for free under warranty :)


    Made it just before the 150k warranty expired!

    Should I expect better mileage? I was averaging in the 40-43 mpgs lately.
     
    dogfriend and JMD like this.
  4. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    I would think you will see better MPG. How old is the 12V? Good to get the new HV battery but I wonder about the 12V.
     
  5. pricoaster

    pricoaster Member

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    I replaced the 12V in April 2012.
     
  6. SteveLee

    SteveLee Active Member

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    Ahhh, that's encouraging. Best of luck then.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    that's great timing, all the best!(y)
     
  8. Valencia Orange

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    You are very lucky. Some other states only have a warranty for 100000 miles.

    It seems several 2006 models have had this problem recently. My 2006 had its hybrid battery replaced at 98000 miles several months ago.

    I am getting better mileage since the battery replacement. On the freeway 405 I am getting over 50 mpg. In town I only get 36 mpg.
     
  9. pricoaster

    pricoaster Member

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    Picked it up around 5pm this evening. Battery definitely seems better, especially at slower speeds when it only uses the battery. We'll see how the mpg averages out within the next few weeks, when I got it back this evening, it was at a terrible 34 mpgs, got it back to around 36 during the short time I drove it. (I had recently reset it after filling up about 80 miles ago)

    And for sure counting myself as very lucky :)

    My dad's Prius (a 2005), lasted around 225k before the hybrid battery died. Quite the mileage difference between his and mine, although his was primarily driven on the freeway in the Seattle area, very little city driving. I'm guessing the city driving, LA freeway type driving, and the hotter weather attributed to mine's shorter life. And I've driven this car...in the desert heat to Vegas countless times, San Diego, up north through the Grapevine, Yosemite this past summer (and packed with as much as it could take)...it's definitely done it's share of hard driving.
     
  10. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    Lucky you !
     
  11. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    This experience points up that we have no data on HV battery life. I am sure Toyota does, and Toyota says failure rate is very rare. It would be nice to know how many % have replaced batts and at what miles.

    >>How about a Prius chat survey??...actually we would need a survey for each model year 2004, 2005, 2006 etc. asking if battery was replaced and what miles. Obviously the survey would be biased to those responding (we would not know how it fits into the whole population of Prii). But we might pick up some insights.

    Maybe we start survey for 2006 and build up every model year if it goes well.
     
  12. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

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    I'll start your survey
    2007 - 160,000 miles still strong in Ohio (mine has experienced all seasons) it has ran out of gas 4 times. A good mix of both highway and in town driving, and I avoid routes with a lot of stop and go traffic even if I have to take the long way home.
     
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  13. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Thank you for the info! OK - I started the survey here: (kindly re-enter your comments if possible)

    Hybrid Battery Survey-Gen2 Prius 2004-2009 | PriusChat