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Mechanic Replaced my Hybrid Battery Fan. Should He Have Just Cleaned It?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by tingus, Aug 24, 2021.

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  1. tingus

    tingus New Member

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    Hey Prius Chat,

    Red Exclamation Triangle along with VSC & Check Engine light recently turned on. Brought to my mechanic and he said that it could be the hybrid battery fan as I could hear a loud fan running in the backseat, so he ordered a new one and replaced it today. Turns out the fan wasn't the main problem, my hybrid battery is dead/dying. Feel dumb for just finding this site now because after some research it seems like a full replacement of the fan was completely unnecessary. Mechanic said there was some gunk in the fan but I've since learned its quite simple to just clean this part out with some pressurized air. Did I get ripped off here? He was going to charge me $500 for labor plus part but held off as now he may replace my hybrid battery and kept the ticket open.

    I now feel somewhat lost. One, it seems like this repair was not needed and extremely overpriced and two, I am now left with an even bigger cost (replacing hybrid battery) and am not sure where to start on that front either. My 2007 prius has 137,000 miles on it.
     
    #1 tingus, Aug 24, 2021
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    This mechanic obviously doesn't know how to fix a Prius. He didn't diagnose the problem and decide to replace a perfectly good part (that's blowing high speed). It takes 20 minutes to replace that fan, so not sure how he got to $500.

    Yes you are about to get ripped off. If you end up paying for the part, make sure you ask for the old part back.
     
    #2 JC91006, Aug 24, 2021
    burrito and tingus like this.
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i don't ever recall a cooling fan going bad, but it must have happened to someone.

    i would ask him to put the old one back in. before he starts on the battery, a new oem shouldn't cost more than $2,400. installed, or you could get a 'newpriusbatteries.com' for 2k installed.
    it pays to shop around, i'd be concerned about someone who just replaces parts willy nilly
     
    #3 bisco, Aug 24, 2021
    tingus and burrito like this.
  4. tingus

    tingus New Member

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    Talking to my mechanic tomorrow, hoping he still has my old part, will clean it and just return the new part. Not gonna pay $500 and certainly not letting him touch my hybrid battery system.
     
    #4 tingus, Aug 24, 2021
  5. tingus

    tingus New Member

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    Gonna do just that. And am in the midst of shopping around for batteries. Do you have any opinions on lithium battery replacements?

    And thank you @bisco and @JC91006 ! This is all so helpful. Feel like a total newb. Trying to learn as much as possible as I sort out these issues.
     
    #5 tingus, Aug 24, 2021
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    jack the ripper's new lithium looks interesting. the only thing missing is long term data
     
    #6 bisco, Aug 25, 2021
  7. burrito

    burrito Active Member

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    Link?
     
    #7 burrito, Aug 25, 2021
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    #8 bisco, Aug 25, 2021
    tingus and burrito like this.
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