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Hybrid battery decision

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by JAT, May 10, 2014.

  1. JAT

    JAT New Member

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    I have a 2004 Second Generation Prius with 240,000 miles on it and got the dreaded triangle/hybrid battery signal next week. I have a few questions regarding the replacement.

    First, is it worth the investment in the battery for a car with this many miles on it. It has had no other issues other than normal maintenance though did have a code come up for the power steering ECU at the dealer)?

    Second, if so, from what I see from the forum and elsewhere, most people are not opting to go with dealer Toyota battery replacements due to cost and limited warranty. What experience have people had with the Dorman replacements? The warranty seems good

    One other question. When my lead acid battery went, I bought an Optima battery and the dealer says it is giving erratic voltage from 5-14 volts when running a test. Does this seem right. From what I have read the Optima is a fine replacement for the Toyota battery.

    Thanks.
     
    #1 JAT, May 10, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    this is really a personal decision. for me, 240k, i would think the car did very well by me and move on. optima's can sometimes be trouble and you should look further into testing.
     
    #2 bisco, May 10, 2014
  3. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    I have a ReInVolt (Dorman's predecessor company) rebuilt HV battery in my 2004 Prius that was installed by my Toyota dealer ($1600 + $400). It was installed at 195k miles and is doing fine to date at 257k miles.

    JeffD
     
    #3 jdenenberg, May 10, 2014
  4. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Congrats on 240k that puts CARB warranty issues to rest.
    But give us your state in your profile, because some regions have good HV battery shops to fix cheaper.
     
    #4 wjtracy, May 10, 2014
  5. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    That's all up to you. Personally, I would be fine with putting cheap parts into a car with that many miles, but I would definitely have to consider other options if it was a $1500-3000 fix. The rest of the car will still have 240k miles. It could end up doing another 100k trouble-free miles, have the engine or tranny go a month after installing the battery, or have it constantly nickel and dime you with parts like brakes and shocks that now want some lovin'.
     
    #5 vskid3, May 10, 2014
  6. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    It could be, if the rest of the car is in really good condition for it's age. Personally I think I'd go for salvage battery from a reasonably low km wreck if one was available.

    Five volts sounds incredibly unlikely if you haven't been experiencing problems with it. Very likely just not measured properly (and perhaps the dealer being overly keen to rubbish a non OEM part).

    One final thing:
    Man, that's some wicked clairvoyance you've got going on there. :p Can you let me know if anything ominous is going to happen to my Pruis next week.
     
    #6 uart, May 10, 2014
  7. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    WAIT! If your 12v is bad, fix that first !
     
    #7 kenoarto, May 10, 2014
    ItsNotAboutTheMoney likes this.
  8. JAT

    JAT New Member

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    I'm in the Boston area so if you know of any good places, great! I looked up the Dorman replacement and my mechanic said he could install it for me. Looks reasonably simple
     
    #8 JAT, May 11, 2014
  9. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    This. If the 12V is erratic, you can reportedly get all sorts of weird behavior.
     
    #9 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, May 11, 2014
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