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Needing a new HYBRID battery, best option?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by DinaTOYOTA, Jan 8, 2020.

  1. Larryy

    Larryy Active Member

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    I installed a new prius battery from 2k1Toaster into my 2007 gen 2 two years ago and it has been working perfectly ever since. I think the cylindrical cells promote better cooling as air can flow nearly unimpeded through the pack. The car gets 55mpg between 45mph and 55mph, 44 mpg over 65mph. I would do this again.
     
  2. George W

    George W Active Member

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    Thank for correcting me. I have updated my response
     
  3. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Personal attack??? How so? Just because they don't drive much in their 80s someone says you're harming your battery. FYI the car sat for at least a couple of years in the garage. Nothing....

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  4. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Nope.

    Thought it might be a good idea.

    Sorry.

    Over and out...

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  5. royrose

    royrose Senior Member

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    So, Toaster, I have a question. I have a 2010 Prius with 98,000 miles. We bought a 2019 Rav4 hybrid, so the Prius is now just an around town car for me. I expect to put about 3,000 mile on it per year. I do drive it a few times a week but not far. Dr. Prius shows a healthy battery at this point.

    Would you recommend a grid charger in my case?

    BTW, I may run into you, literally, some day in the Springs.
     
    #45 royrose, Jan 25, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2020
  6. royrose

    royrose Senior Member

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    You may not have meant your post as a personal attack but it sure came across as one. It is well known that infrequently used Prius batteries sometimes fail early. Just because your parents hasn't failed, doesn't mean that there is no increased risk.
     
  7. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Try not to injure him.
     
  8. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    I don't agree with this. Have you ever seen an expiration date on those rechargable Ni-MH battery packs? I just bought some at Ikea.

    Does the warranty book say non-use will void the warranty? (I obviously missed it if it does say so). JPEG_20200125_195316_9211569465000507631.jpg JPEG_20200125_195539_8530828331164694948.jpg

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  9. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Well, at least you're comparing apples to apples :rolleyes:
     
  10. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Unless you know which metal halide they used in each, yes they are the same chemistry....

    The same or similar Redox or reduction oxidation reaction applies...

    moto g(7) power ?
     
    #50 jzchen, Jan 25, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2020
  11. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    From my experience, those AA NiMH don't last very long and have a very short number of cycles in practice.

    The IKEA ones pictured, claim to last 1500 charges and/or 5 years, but I haven't found this to be the case with the EverReady NiMH AAs I have used. I hope these ones live up to the specs.

    Funnily enough, I was wondering if it was because they spend a lot of time sitting around and not being used. Hmm, I wonder.
     
  12. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    NiMH is Nickel Metal Hydride. I was just going to bed and remembered what it stands for. My apologies. Hydride is not going to change if I remember my chemistry enough, so just which metal could be different...

    We know that NiCd/nickel cadmium batteries are short lived, NiMH is an improvement, and that Li-ion is the longest lasting, meaning more cycles before they go bad. This parallels to cost, NiMH is cheaper than Li-ion. I have no idea how expensive Ni-Cd batteries are nowadays but I suspect cheaper than NiMH. So far all cell phones I know of have switched to Li-ion for more charge density AND longer life...

    I also have the Duracell rechargable batteries, with the super quick charger, and they seem to go bad quickly as well/fail to charge on the quick charger quite early in life. These are rated at 2500 mAh. They are rated for 10 years or 400 charges, whichever comes first. I have an OLD style charger that takes maybe 12 hours and it is still able to charge the ones that blink fail on the fast charger. NiMH just goes bad, and much faster if you fast charge them it seems.

    So I truly believe a larger capacity battery, which would be slower charged and cycled less because of it's larger size, would last I'm guessing double the life.


    moto g(7) power ?
     
  13. George W

    George W Active Member

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    You don't have to agree with the experience base of an entire Prius community. Please do Your Own Thing.
     
    #53 George W, Jan 26, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 27, 2020
  14. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Just understand a NiMH battery is a low cost alternative to a Li-Ion....

    And a defective one is just that, defective. They do not expire from non-use... I'm pretty sure they'd at least put a manufacture date/stamp on them, but I only see people guessing how long the battery was in there when they buy second hand.

    And I'll be happy to keep to myself, enough said.

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  15. George W

    George W Active Member

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    You're not the first person to experiment with this idea of increasing capacity to a great design. But those that have most always report that the effort did not justify the end. You can find YouTube videos where Prius owners will parallel an entire pack to increase capacity, but they run into obstacles with getting reliable, repeatable performance from the car. Some of them get so frustrated that they don't even post their conclusions.
     
    Travis Sanders likes this.
  16. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    I remember all those long gone companies who added battery capacity and plug-in capability to the Prius. Not one of those companies survived.

    Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it?
     
    Travis Sanders likes this.
  17. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    But why would you want that?

    That is a serious question. With the existing battery typically surviving between 10-20 years in service, why would you go to so much trouble to make it last longer?

    The rest of the car isn't likely to survive much beyond that time horizon anyway. The vehicle will be fully depreciated by anyone's standard, and thoroughly out of date in terms of style, emissions standards, safety standards and driver-assist conveniences.

    Love it or hate it but consumer automobiles are simply not built to last. I think Toyota's done a pretty good job of harmonizing their hybrid battery lifecycle with the rest of the car.
     
    Tim Jones and Prodigyplace like this.
  18. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Labor cost, which I've been overcharged many a time, or physical exertion if I do the swap myself, I may hurt my back. Downtime. These are my main motivations. I would most likely try to do it myself, but I'll be cursing myself if I hurt my back. Longevity is precious to me if a car part does not come with a lifetime warranty. (As an example I know AutoZone warrants brake calipers for life, so I'm willing to sacrifice reliability for free replacements). If I have to pay for a replacement anyone understands wanting something that will last longer. I'd rather pay double, have it last twice as long, rather than having to replace it twice, and paying the same amount for two batteries.

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  19. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    You're really losing me. You're ready to pay extra for a battery that would theoretically last 20-40 years to fit a car that would almost certainly be off the road just 5-10 years post-swap due to non-battery causes? And you want to swap this (likely) 200lb monster yourself?

    I'm also having trouble parsing your Autozone example. Your main motivations are avoiding physical labor, risk of injury and vehicle downtime, yet you are willing to tolerate serially replacing their garbage parts through their lifetime warranty?

    That's like saying you want to hedge your bets both ways while admitting that you can't keep track of whether you're winning or losing at any given moment.
     
  20. George W

    George W Active Member

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    I did the swap myself, and I'm almost 60. I took all day, used leverage to move the pack in and out of its spot. I've had 3 hernias, 2 heart attacks, Neuropathy from Diabetes, and I didn't hurt myself. Just gotta take your time.