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Prius v hybrid battery life

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by wstt, Jan 9, 2021.

  1. wstt

    wstt Member

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    I am selling my 2012 Prius v with 101,000 miles and everyone keeps asking if I’ve replaced the hybrid battery. Is this really a concern? Aren’t these batteries designed to last the life of the car? I feel like people are just knocking the price down bc it’s still got its original high voltage battery. It is not under warranty I believe but whenever anyone buys any old used car, it’s not under warranty and people don’t drop the price bc that used car doesn’t have a new engine as the old engine still isn’t under warranty.
    It seems misleading to say a Prius is a low maintenance car if you have to eventually pay a lot for a new battery.
     
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Usually the hv batteries will last to 175k-200k. Everyone will ask that question and will try to get a discount. Factor that in. You just have to price according to the interest and to how long you wish to wait. What are you asking?
     
    #2 rjparker, Jan 9, 2021
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2021
  3. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    What did Toyota define as the life of the car for design purposes? I suspect they were designed for 100K miles but usually last longer.
     
  4. tvpierce

    tvpierce Senior Member

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    The problem is this: the battery is not a mechanical device, it's a chemical device. It's lifespan is dictated more by age than use/mileage. You can buy a low mileage, well maintained conventional car and and be pretty confident you're going to get good service out of it (as long as you continue to maintain it)
    There's no such thing as a well maintained battery. A 9 year old battery -- regardless of miles driven -- is nearing the end of its useful life. Could it last 15 years? Perhaps... but unlikely. I think a fair average/estimate would be in the 10-12 year range.
    The only way a hybrid pays for itself is if you drive it a lot, so you offset the extra expense by saving on fuel.
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the battery does last the life of the car. if it dies, the car is dead.

    if you live in a good state, you have 2 more years of warranty, that's when mine is going
     
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  6. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    You know when the battery is going to die or do you plan on killing it??
     
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  7. djasonw

    djasonw Active Member

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    I used to have a 2004 Prius approaching 300,000 miles. Back in 2017 I had an accident and decided to junk the car. The car was still averaging 45 mpg and the cells were in good shape based on the Torque app. There are mobile companies that will swap out your battery pack for less than $1,000.


    iPhone ?
     
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  8. wstt

    wstt Member

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    I like your first line about the life of the car.

    Does that good state thing that adds 2 more years to the warranty, apply back to 2012 cars or is that just for newer year hybrids?
    Does the owner need to live there, meaning file taxes there and have local drivers license? Does the car need to be registered there too? Or does the car just need to be taken into a dealer in one of those states? Or does it just need to have been purchased in one of those states?
     
  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    And they cannot afford the time to properly rejuvenate and balance the pack.

    Unless you can find a pack from a low mileage wrecked Prius, your next best option is @2k1Toaster kit of new cells from newpriusbatteries for $1600 delivered.
     
  10. tvpierce

    tvpierce Senior Member

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    Clipped from this site: Toyota Expands Hybrid Battery Warranty - The Green Car Guy

    California mandates a 10-year or 150,000 mile warranty for critical parts of a vehicle’s emissions system, and after hybrids debuted at the end of 1999, the state decided that the hybrid battery should be included as part of the emissions system.

    Over the years, a handful of other states – mainly in the northeast – have adopted California emissions rules to help improve their air quality.

    Today, the California emissions states, also called CARB states (the powerful California Air Resources Board – CARB – sets those emissions rules), are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Washington D.C. also follows California emissions rules.

    EDIT: I just Googled "CARB states" and got a more up-to-date list.

    The states that have adopted the California standards are: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico (2011 model year and later), New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.
     
    #10 tvpierce, Jan 10, 2021
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2021
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That makes too much sense. Between retirement and COVID, we’re over 10 years, closing in (at a glacial pace) on 89,000. Kilometres...
     
  12. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    People always seem to worry about the battery, but I don’t think it’s that big of deal. Heck there are still some gen 1 Prius with their 20 year old hybrid battery packs, that’s even shocking to me!

    I’m sure people are just trying to get the price down. Don’t let them take down the price too much. If they really knew a Prius they’d know to be concerned with the headgasket, and the EGR system.
     
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  13. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    In the data collected for Consumer Reports and reported several years ago, that range was just when the batteries were beginning to fail in statistically noticeable numbers: four percent of them by eleven years, five percent of them by twelve. Five percent is one in twenty; that does leave nineteen in twenty at twelve years that had not failed.

    When I sold my Gen 1 after an accident, it was 16 years old with 23x,000 miles. Had never given me a battery related trouble code, though I had noticed (and written about here) a few times when the car seemed to put it through a programmed balancing cycle. The person I sold it to did tell me he replaced the battery shortly after.
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    unfortunately, many of those questions are grey areas. the problem starts when you get a code, and take it to the dealer.
    they decide if it is under warranty, usually with a poor understanding of the warranty rules.
    if they say no, you have to escalate to toyota corporate or a state agency.
    finding all the specific rules and regulations can be a chore, and most likely, like all laws, not completely black and white.
    i have this knowledge only: if you lived and purchased it in a carb state in 2012, and it has been registered there the whole time, it has 10 years and 150,000 miles from the original registration date.
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i know toyota, it is going to die the day after the warranty dies :p
     
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  16. archsteve

    archsteve Junior Member

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    My Prius V with 115k miles needs a new battery. My guess is its only a couple of cells to replace, but I figure for $1600 (from Greenbean) its worth it. Maybe I can get another 100k out of it, plus if I do sell I can show that we've done it.
     
  17. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    You would be better off spending the $1600 for a kit of new cells from newpriusbatteries. That basically gives you a new pack and you can sell you good modules to lower the cost further. Green Bean like most all battery repair places do not have a reputation for reliability. The link is in my signature.
     
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  18. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    Don't buy a used battery.
     
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  19. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Your profile is incorrect. There was no such thing as a 2013 Prius v XLE AWD-e sold in the US.
     
  20. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    I special ordered mine........