Is buying a prolong charger for HV battery worth it??

welcome!
you're the perfect candidate. prolong charger from hybrid automotive.com

all the best!

 

Immidiet = immediate
Deffenitly = definitely

The prolong set up will cost you around$700.

Alternatively you can buy another battery from a recent wreck and pay around $1200 and not have to mess with the battery for 5+ years

 

Yes... And while you're in there installing the Prolong harness, the cleaning of corrosion off bus bars and nuts is worth doing too, or just replacing bus bars and nuts with new ones is about $75 for new hardware but even easier and longer lasting than just cleaning them... Do you plan to have a mechanic do the work or are you gonna do it yourself?

 

Before I spent that money, I would spend $50 getting an OBD bluetooth device and some free apps that will allow you to monitor the HV battery and perform basic load tests using the AC system. This will allow you to (inexpensively) keep track of the battery condition where you'll be able to see if you have any modules that are becoming weak. Hopefully you have an android phone or access to one. There are zillions of apps available. My favorite for load testing is Hybrid Assistant and Hybrid Reporter. Toyota Techstream is also available from online sources that can work on any 32 or 64 bit laptop to allow even better monitoring of the car.

 

I bought the setup and haven’t looked back.

It keeps our 2010’s battery with 184 k miles running like new.

Since we also have a 2017 RX450h, I can compare a new battery with our reconditioned battery. Both perform the same after a 2 cycle session.

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

Your spending close to $700 on something that may or may not prevent a battery failure. But for an extra $500 you can get a great battery slightly used.... doesn’t make sense to me. I just replaced mine with a 2 yr old battery for around the 1200

 

When did you start using it?

I can't claim much experience with vehicle-size batteries but from my other electrical experience I would expect a battery conditioning system to have its greatest effect when started early and used consistently. I just wouldn't expect much from tacking it on close to the end.

 

It works. It seems to have been good preventative maintenance for me and many others. It is best to start using before you have problems. But it's not going to guarantee nothing will happen. There is no sure thing.

 

Installed the wiring harness at 149 k miles (CARB warranty expired at 150 k miles).

I was seeing signs of degradation, but they are long gone now .

If it got to the point where a module failed (and I think they are slim as long as you continue the battery maintenance), I’d swap it out and use the Prolong equipment to continue to use the battery .

I’m more worried about the engine side of the Prius equation having this equipment. Helping to rebuild 2 packs and see the results of running well afterwards, I’ve made my decision .

If you can find others in your geographic area that see this similarly, the cost equation is very favorable, given the equipment sits idle most of the time.

After tomorrow, I’ll be sharing with 2 other members so once each Prius has a harness, the equipment cost is very reasonable.

An excellent tool for the DIY toolbox .

 

I'm ready now to do the first grid charge on my the '15 battery in my wife's '07. But it's too stinkin' hot. I'll wait till fall.

 

I think that battery will outlast the car, without any reconditioning needed

 

It was 100 here yesterday .

I was going to top end balance to show the difference as the other member just got a harness and is at 176 k miles, but won’t be able to.

I did a 2 cycle reconditioning over Easter and still holding up well. I bet we can still see a difference in our 2 Prii tomorrow though.

You’ll be doing the reconditioning just because or starting to see signs ?

Don’t forget to let it sit once the charging is done when you do get around to it.

 

There is no rush in reconditioning a healthy pack. Wait for temperatures to get back into the 80s before you do it

 

You're probably right. That's why I'm in no hurry. It's running great. Still acts like a new car, but has over 125,000 miles on it.

 

I just used the Prolong charger on my 06 Prius with 160K miles which was showing a bad module. I ran two conditioning charges 24 hours apart (wasn't sure I did it correctly the first time). Fault codes are gone, and my mileage went from 37 to 47MPG (!!). It's only been a few weeks, and I may eventually have to replace that module, but I'm already convinced of the usefulness of this tool.

I'd read some pretty complex tutorials here about battery reconditioning, and had concluded it wasn't worth the trouble. But for the DIY mechanic, this charger seems to resolve most of that. If and when that module goes out, I can buy one for $50, rebalance the entire pack at one time, and be on my way.

The downsides are the relatively high price of the charger, and the hours you'll spend installing the harness. In a perfect world, Toyota would have designed one of these conditioners into their car in the first place, at a cost of maybe $50. But that's not where we live.

My sense is that Prolong might ultimately make more money if they lowered their prices – the current price makes it a tough call relative to the convenience and certainty of buying a new(er) battery. And if they were cheaper, more people might opt to install them in addition to installing or repairing their battery (since the mechanic is already in there). But I know nothing – first they may need to figure out how to lower their costs...

 

They're a small hardware startup in silicon valley in business for only about 4 years. So their current prices reflect all the legal & engineering costs of getting a high voltage charging system as a consumer product on the market. That's no easy task...

I suspect that they're a niche market as most people with car problems that go up into the thousands of dollars would rather finance a loan on a new car even if their old car loan isn't paid off. People are more scared of car repair bills than accumulating massive loan debt.

And you're right, had the CARB states talked to scientists about battery pack longevity in hybrid cars rather than just increased the warranty time period, they would of realized requiring car makers to provide a charging and reconditioning system on all vehicles would keep the cars on the road longer than extending the warranty...

As for "is buying the charger worth it?" I got mine used for $200 so It was worth it too me. But in general, I've had a hard time getting anyone who doesn't do work on their car to be interested in buying the system as preventative maintenance, a concept they don't seem to value.

But for the DIY crowd, especially for people who hunt for bad modules before they go bad, this system is incredibly complimentary to all the other tools of the trade and a final charge and balance before returning a rebuilt pack back to the owner always seems to go better than when I've not had that option.

 

I do very little work on my own cars but I have used the Prolong system for over 2 1/2 years. Once I had my hybrid mechanic install the harness, the system is so easy to use I've not only done my car but another member's as well. Has it been worth it? Absolutely! My MFD was sowing all the wild swings of a weak battery when I started. Over two years later it's been rock solid. In the meantime, the price of a new replacement battery from Toyota has gone down more than I paid for the Prolong. I'll even recover more money when I do finally replace the battery in another year or two as a preemptive measure (after all, it is called Prolong and not Lifetime Fix). In my case I will actually turn a financial profit on the Prolong system, not just delay needing a replacement sooner rather than later.