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Dead Hybrid Battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Isaac Sonntag, Sep 15, 2022.

  1. Isaac Sonntag

    Isaac Sonntag Junior Member

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    Hello everyone,
    Sad news... had the red triangle of death appear this morning on my 08 Prius. Pulled the engine code and sure enough, it says to replace the hybrid battery. Any recommendations on the best and most cost effective place to get a refurbished battery? Anyone recommend green bean? Should I be cautious about driving it until I get another one? Any advice would be great... thanks!
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I drove my '09 for about 90 days while I decided what battery I was going to buy I couldn't get the round cell thing the nex cell whatever. So I drove about 500 or so miles getting 40. The last few days before I was to pick up the battery at the Toyota dealer the new one My original '09 battery was starting to fail very badly by this time and I was running on the ice engine all the time at about 37 mi to the gallon drove all the way 60 mi one way to pick up the battery and drove back with the battery and then put the front end from my '09 battery on the new one and installed it and was right back up to 47.1 miles to the gallon on the same tank of gas.
     
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    green bean, green tec, they are all the same, hit or miss. you can drive carefully and locally
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how many years do you plan to keep her?
     
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  5. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    I’ve only dealt with GreenTec not (GreenBean). I’ve found GreenTec’s new cell, not their refurbished cell, batteries to be very good in a Camry I owned. They are not cheap but probably the next best thing to an OEM battery from Toyota. They also have shops nationwide which is helpful for installation and any potential warranty service trips.
    A refurbished battery is cheaper and probably would suffice if you don’t expect to keep the car very long.
     
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  6. Isaac Sonntag

    Isaac Sonntag Junior Member

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    I was planning on bringing it well past 300,000 miles and making it last as long as possible. Oddly enough, I am still getting 44+ miles to the gallon. When the light tripped the battery was completely dead according to the screen (the car had been sitting for 10 days). Bought the car in 2020 and have slowly noticed MPG drop from 50-55 city down to 45-46. Seems to be switching to the gas engine sooner when getting going. Based on everyone's responses, it looks like aftermarket or refurbished batteries don't keep the car going very long??
     
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  7. Isaac Sonntag

    Isaac Sonntag Junior Member

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    You got one from the dealer? Oof! How much did that run you?
     
  8. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Believe it or not Rick Henderson the race car people have Toyota dealers here in North Carolina I bought the battery online for I think 1,400 and all it needed was my computer for the front end of the battery use change that from your original battery and put it on the new so basically you're buying a rack of cells with the cover on it You're getting a new cover and the cells and you're going to bolt your front end of the battery from your old battery onto the new one just takes a minute then set that in your car and go and over the years all I've heard about was three four and $5,000 batteries and you know when the dealer said oh 1400 I was like you got to be kidding so of course I just bought the dealer battery that lasted almost 20 years and I'm figuring this one will do near the same but I might be dead before the 20 comes up oh well
     
  9. Isaac Sonntag

    Isaac Sonntag Junior Member

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    Found a Toyota dealer that has the battery for $1700. My local dealer carries it at the MSRP of $3300 still. If I can get my local dealer to price match and pick it up for free I will be one happy guy...
     
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    They are in short supply, so if you find one, jump on it
     
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Refurbished batteries are hit or miss because they are made of old modules.

    some folks get lucky and some don’t.

    the quality of the rebuild is important, as well as the warranty and strength of the rebuilder
     
  12. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Look to your local dealers website the big Toyota dealer in your area like Rick Hendrick or Fred Anderson or whoever the big Toyota dealer is in your state or city and go on their website and look for the web deal on the HV battery and see what that muster's up seriously You're calling the dealer and talking to them on the phone that's your first mistake The deal for the batteries and the high moving parts or what have you is always online The dealer on the phone is not going to save you squat he's looking to make his commission etc you get your deals online from the Toyota dealer network it's just that simple so look online and get the online price same thing with the Toyota Prius hood at the dealership blah blah blah they will not have it and they want $400 online I have found them for 180 from Toyota USA this is for the aluminum not the steel fake that some of the Toyota dealers will sell you the fake steel hood and still try to get 300 for it that's available in the aftermarket for $100 just no one has it right now
     
  13. Isaac Sonntag

    Isaac Sonntag Junior Member

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    If I could just buy it online I would, problem is every Toyota dealer I've found won't ship or has it as MSRP. I have had my local dealer price match other dealers before (if I'm not mistaken I think they have to honor other dealers prices). Most Toyota dealers don't have it at this point, and like I said, the ones that do are charging MSRP for it. You're making it sound easy, why don't you send a link lol...
     
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  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    they don't have to match, but some will if they want to sell
     
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  15. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    It’s called a market, what a concept
     
  16. Isaac Sonntag

    Isaac Sonntag Junior Member

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    Well, I just called the dealer to ask about getting battery diagnostics done. The lady on the phone told me that unless the code stays on and I'm getting bad gas mileage I'm "still winning." Still getting 44+ (48.3 currently) and no codes have come back so in my book I'm good for now. The original code came on after letting the car sit for 10 days, and based on how I like to sit in the AC and listen to music at the end of a drive sometimes I could have potentially left it pretty dead before that. I'm gonna call this one a fluke scare...
     
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  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    might have just been a low 12v glitch
     
  18. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    Did you run Dr Prius to look for issues?
     
  19. Isaac Sonntag

    Isaac Sonntag Junior Member

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    I don't have a kit for that, and based on what I was told I don't think I need to...
     
  20. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    It's free if you have a smartphone
    good info on battery issues