New Battery at 88,000miles?

welcome!

fairly common these days. 10+ year old prius batteries suffer from age related degeneration.

stay away from them, unless your willing to put 3 or 4000 into a new toyota battery.

the rebuilt are iffy at best.

 

If we're talking the HV (high voltage) hybrid battery, it's good that it's been replaced. Low mileage (or use) and time are two big reasons for replacement and that car has both (05 and 88k miles). I have an '06 with 50k and it needed replacing two years ago. Down here, I also have the third reason for failure: heat.

Verify if it's a genuine Toyota or an aftermarket rebuilt (repaired) battery. BIG difference in longevity.

Finally, in the Prius there is still a regular 12 volt battery too and confusion/miscommunications can easily occur on exactly what is being discussed.

 

I agree with bisco. It seems the batteries are much more likely to fail due to old age and lack of use than they are due to anything related to high mileage.

If the replacement battery is a new one through Toyota with the new three year warranty that's great. It is most likely going to last the 10 years Toyota warranted the original batteries for in CARB states. A rebuilt battery is probably going to fail again multiple times in that same 10 years.

The jury is still out as to how long a battery conditioning system like the Prolong system, used regularly, will allow you to get additional life out an older or refurbished battery. Those of us around this site that use it are very optimistic and have documented better performance but we won't know about the longevity issue until we actually have to start replacing ours.

 

You need to know who replaced the battery. If it was new Toyota battery, that would add value to the car. If it is a refurb battery such as Dorman, we expect it may not last the 3 years and you could be making use of that 3-yr warranty and in general wasting your time on battery problems.

 

plus installation costs.

 

The most likely reason would be the low milage. These batteries don't like sitting around. So, hopefully, you intend to put on at least 10,000 miles per year on it, if you buy it.

No, it is not a common problem on any Gen II year model, but it does occur in a low percentage of cars, typically with low miles, but also as the car gets passed the 10 year mark. The percentage failure rate for 10 year+ cars is still only about between 5-15%

As a few others have said, if it is a genuine Toyota OEM new HV battery installed by Toyota (to get the 3 year warranty) then no, it is not a red flag, quite the opposite, as it adds value. However, if it is any type of after-market HV battery (Dorman, Greentech, etc) then yes, it is a red flag. It most likely will not last 3 years and you will have the inconvenience of you car out of action for days each time and possibly the labor cost to replace the battery with a replacement.

Be sure you know what you're getting, make sure you sight the invoices for the HV battery job.

If it is not a genuine Toyota OEM NEW HV battery, it is not worth anything, so make sure you offer price includes a deduction of $3200 to allow for a genuine new Toyota HV battery that you will inevitably be replace in the not to distant future.

 

While I would not suggest it is untrue, I also would want to see the repair order to verify. If it was installed by a Toyota dealer, as others have said, it would add value. We are presumingly discussing the HV battery and not the 12v, either are possible. One costs ~$200 installed and the other in the $3k-$4k range at a dealer.

The Gen2 does not really have any kind of defect, batteries are not "life of vehicle" components for anything, much less a vehicle. Toyota however, did an excellent job and most HV batteries last 10 years or more, well beyond what anyone expects from consumer electronics.

As others have suggested, the low mileage makes sense that the HV battery required replacement. Lack of use and heat are the two worst things for them.

 

@dolj Your 5-15% failure rate seems reasonable. We have no good data here, except a 2013 survey by Consumer Reports which showed 2006 Model Year at 3% failure rate, and I think could be as high as 10-15% by now.

What trends are you seeing or hearing about? Seems to me 2008+ not failing as fast as 2007- did

 

I will agree with these observations.

My mom's 2005 Prius, with 97K miles, was running fine until the middle of June. She fell and broke her wrist, and couldn't drive for six weeks. During that six weeks I drove it twice, really just to drive it that little bit. It also just sat out in the Florida sun during those weeks too.

Now, the pack is failing, and I am certain this is the reason.

So don't ever fall and break your wrist if you get a Prius.

 

We are getting a battery at 470k miles right now on our 2007 Prius.

I was going to get another 2008-2009, but the comments here about age and failure are definitely pushing me towards a new Prius!

 

I bit on the "remanufactured" (Dorman) drive battery with 36 mo warranty a few years back - got burned. I think local auto repair shops will do the "remanufactured" replacement, while a Toyota dealer will only do their own drive batteries. In my case my penciled notes infer 36 mos labor and battery - nope, local shop may have said that (under their breath). My first failure was at 9 mo's, and the local shop gave me another Dorman, labor too, no $. At 17 months, my local shop supplied another Dorman, no $, but demanded $550 labor. I had nothing in writing from them, and nothing on their website - state attourney general's office told me I didn't have enough to push back with since I did not have it in writing. If a local shop says 36 mos' warranty I would push them to put it in writing, materials and labor..... odd's are they'll back down on that labor piece. The "catch" - Dorman sends the replacement free of $ only if the local shop who originally installed it will do the install (warranty void otherwise). Ask your local shop that, too. It feels like a scam - local shop gets overhead and profit off labor (you pay) each time the remanufactured battery they promote fails you.
BTW - I use the term "drive battery", I think Toyota calls it a "traction battery", some here call it the "high voltage" - "HV" battery. These terms all refer to the big (like army footlocker sized) battery under the cargo area. The little "1/2 gallon of milk" sized low voltage battery that goes in by the spare tire is the "accessories" battery (radio, heating fan, etc).

 

I concur on the above regarding hybrid batteries. They seem to degrade more due to age than mileage.

I had a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid whose hybrid battery kicked the bucket at only 75k miles, but at about 11 years of age. The "rebuilt" one I had installed lasted only about 3 more years before following suit.

If possible, I'd suggest finding a mechanic who is able to test the quality of the replacement battery before buying it.

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