Replacing Battery for 2006 Prius to Lithium Ion

Hey all. Just recently bought a Prius about six months ago from a dealership. Had about 105k miles on it, battery was replace round 85k from the original owner (I'm the second owner) and recently the red triangle light came on, along with the brake failure light. Which really upset me, because I love this car a lot and it's also very young into its life, especially being with me.

I took it into a couple places to see what was wrong. One place said the entire pack was basically dead, and the second place said two specific cells were weak, and that is usually means the pack needs to be replaced. Obviously I wasn't exactly happy about this, having the car for such a short period of time and all of a sudden I have to drop around $3000 to put a new battery in. I called a local shop and they offered to replace the battery with a lithium ion one (making me a plug-in Prius) for around $1700, but I've had friends tell me that changing to that style of battery will reduce the life expectancy of my car.

I don't particularly want to replace the nickel battery with a lithium ion one unless I know it'll be worth it, but I also do not want to spend $3500 replacing the battery at a dealership when I just bought the car not long ago. Is there anything anyone can suggest I do? Be it replace the battery with a lithium ion, find someone to replace the cells, or anything of that sort? Thanks in advance.

 

This is what I was thinking... When I asked them, they said it would be $1700 and have a year warranty and they would do a like of check-ins with me about the car. I checked their site and reviews on Yelp and they have nothing but excellent reviews from people, and I've been recommended to go to them from another mechanic.

Also not a single person has gone to lithium ion with a 2006? That's... unnerving for me, especially since they said they do not replace batteries with other nickel ones (They told me they aren't in production anymore and are harder to find brand new, so that is why they replace with lithium ion.)

 

Yeah, I would much rather a new nickel replacement, but cannot afford the $3000+ price tag, when I could, and would rather, be spending that on my loan to pay off the car.

It sucks too cause I have a warranty with them that covers drivetrain and I've called multiple times trying to argue that the hybrid battery is considered part of the drivetrain, but they just come back saying that because it "isn't specifically said, a hybrid battery doesn't count. Also it isn't a lubricated part so it isn't covered." when no where in the contract I have does it even talk about hybrids in the least bit, whether they cover them or not. It's basically just a huge fiasco that I don't really want to deal with, especially when the dealership isn't working with me on anything at all and is considering this a wear and tear thing and not drivetrain.

 

I honestly wouldn't mind doing it myself. I've considered purchasing the cells (only two, so about $80) and just replacing them myself. However, I'm afraid of A. electrocuting myself, B. making things worse by breaking something else. Also, I've read that they will need to be rebalanced, and I have zero idea how to do that as well, let alone what tools I would need.

I know it wouldn't get as much life as replacing the battery entirely, but I really need the car drivable as soon as possible and for as little as possible... I'm currently trying to talk with a friend about how much he would charge to do the labor if I bought the battery itself, but if that doesn't work, I may just end up doing the cells.

It's frustrating too, cause the battery itself is only 30k miles old at most, I can't believe I would have to replace the entire thing already...

 

Not a problem.

And really? I had a really close friend tell me I shouldn't do it for a few reasons, one being that it'll end up shortening the life of the car, and that if left out in the heat, will end up causing it to catch fire. I do not have a garage to place it under, and it does get a bit hot in Maryland over the summers, so I wouldn't want to risk it catching fire or anything just sitting outside. Plus it being exposed to the elements and all...

 

I'm just relaying what I've been told from the place I talked with and seeing what options I have. I agree that it's insane that it is that low, which is why I have such a hard time going with them and instead am trying to replace the cells or pack itself with a nickel one.

This is all entirely true. I've just heard from him and took his word to heart, probably a little too soon before doing my own research. And like I said, I wouldn't mind going with them, it's more I'm nervous to spend that much money with them, especially with a few people here saying that not only has it not really been done, but also way too low for the price. And that is definitely something I am more worried about now rather than it catching fire.