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Predict my battery life ???

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by Chris Wolfgram, Mar 12, 2020.

  1. Chris Wolfgram

    Chris Wolfgram Active Member

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    Alright so, I bought my 2019 Prius LE brand new about 4 months ago. I think, as of last night, it has 17K miles on it.
    So, obviously I do a lot of driving... And many (most ?) Of those miles are freeway. But here's the thing, I also do a LOT of just sitting, always with the fan + heater or AC on, at least low. I've even had several nights (soon it will be 1 night per week, all Summer long) where I will sleep with the car powered up, for like 2-6 hours straight. Motor typically cycles on for 2-3 minutes, then off for 20.
    Also, while I'm certain the fan + heater / AC uses more juice than anything else, I also have the aftermarket stereo with a nice little 5ch amplifier, usually on. Granted, I don't usually play it full blast when parked. More likely to do that when on a fun drive by myself, and not wanting to hear road noise.

    Anyway, long story short, how long do the main batteries typical last (years / miles) and how long do you think mine will ???
    Oh, one more thing, I'm only expecting the car to last 4-5 years (250K miles) Do you think my battery will last that long ???
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is that the nimh or lion battery?

    50k a year for 4-5 years? i think you'll make it. the nimh battery has always loved to be used. lion has a great record so far.

    keep your cooling system clean
     
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  3. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Seeing TOYOTA puts a 10 year, unlimited kilometre warranty (here) on the HYBRID batteries (for private owners) - that translates to "they're very confident it'll do 10+++ years of a "normal" driver.

    12volt batteries - generally time rather than distance is what wearies them. Mine is going on for 4yrs with no problem (it went ½ flat once about 2 yrs ago when I left lights on), but bounced back fine.

    I had 2 cars at one stage, one (that had the highest consumption) we didn't drive unless the other (cheap to run hatch) was being used, so it didn't do many kilometres. The one we used most, the batteries lasted longer.
     
  4. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    more the use the better! Basically miles don’t matter as much, more of time. I’m sure the battery will last 10 years.
     
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  5. Chris Wolfgram

    Chris Wolfgram Active Member

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    Well heck, if the car lasts 5 years, I'm going to have over 250k miles on it, so we will see what happens I guess.
     
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  6. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    I like your chances...
     
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  7. husami

    husami Junior Member

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    Download and use Dr Prius App to check full battery health
     
  8. Chris Wolfgram

    Chris Wolfgram Active Member

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    TY. I tried, but it failed...
    Would not connect with my car. Not surprised. I'm jinxed with all sorts of apps, that do not work like they are supposed to.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Could be the bluetooth adapter? Carista worked for me.
     
  10. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    The NiMH battery is an all-you-can-eat buffet for about 10-12 years. Nothing to worry about on the 5 year horizon.
     
  11. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    I wouldn't think there was anything to worry about on mileage either, some Gen 2 taxis were quoted as doing 300k miles on the original NiMH battery.
     
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  12. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Or more - Google just came up with one with 621,000 miles in Austria, another with 664,000 miles - both with original batteries.
     
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  13. Chris Wolfgram

    Chris Wolfgram Active Member

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    WoW ! That's crazy ! That would be like 10 years for me !
     
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  14. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Just curious, what type of fuel economy are you getting with all your highway driving?
     
  15. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Here, nationwide in the United States, warranty recently got bumped to 10 years / 150,000 miles. It was that already for the CARB states. So, it's safe to say they are seeing good reason all over to be confident about longevity.
     
  16. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    250K miles would be 100 years for me, I'm not confident the rest of the car would survive, but you never know it might become a fully restored classic on original battery. :D
     
  17. Chris Wolfgram

    Chris Wolfgram Active Member

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    Good question, with an interesting answer.
    So when I first got the car, I was really babying it, and trying to see how good I could get. Which was 56.4 for the first few thousand miles.
    That was cool, but I have a job to do. So I started driving it quite a bit harder. Mileage dropped to about 52.8.
    But here's the interesting thing, since then, I haven't changed my driving at all, but slowly but surely, it has started to climb back up, by like 1/10th every week or two. So now I'm at 53.5.
    I was talking with my mechanic and he and I totally believe this is because after almost 23K miles, my motor is finally getting fully broke in, and loosened up. Can't think of anything else that could explain my increased mileage in the last few thousand miles.
     
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  18. Chris Wolfgram

    Chris Wolfgram Active Member

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    See now, that wouldn't be so great for me, as I will have 150K in less than 3yrs
     
  19. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    You're also using it commercially. I don't know if Toyota makes exclusions, but it's pretty normal for things to have shorter warranties when in professional or commercial operation.

    But honestly I wouldn't waste time even looking it up. It's a Prius. It'll last through 5 years of rideshare no sweat.
     
  20. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Temperature?