1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Any battery replacement services worth using?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by maddog2020, Jul 16, 2019.

  1. maddog2020

    maddog2020 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2010
    67
    13
    0
    Location:
    SoCal
    Model:
    IV
    I know they all use "refurbished" batteries, or more likely batteries from wrecked cars. I can't even find a single one on Google now, but when I looked 4 or 5 months ago I found a ton of them, wondering if they've all gone away, surely not.

    Anyway, I replaced a module on my daughter's car 5 months ago, now another one had died - yes, I know, to all that said that would happen, you were right. She would prefer to go ahead and buy a new battery from Toyota, and I'm inclined to agree, but just wanted to check if anyone could recommend one of the replacement services....

    Thanks,

    Ian
     
  2. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    6,035
    3,854
    0
    Location:
    Rocky Mountains
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    You could DIY with new. Or if you want someone to do it, we have had great success with mobile installers installing our kit in customer cars.
     
    srellim234 and Skibob like this.
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    10,774
    4,372
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Well... Most replacement services I see are found on Craigslist...

    And yes, just replacing a bad module without reconditioning remaining modules individually is one of the main reasons for having to replace the next module 5 months later. But if you watch them discharge during reconditioning you'll see some modules losing voltage much faster.

    There's also a self-discharge test where you max charge all modules and then see which modules lose their charge the most just sitting there for a day, a week or a month... There's also charging and balancing via a grid charger, as well as keeping corrosion out of the voltage sensing circuit and keeping an eye out for cells that are running hotter than others via a thermal imaging camera. Without all these efforts and more, you can only get months not years out of a rebuilt pack.

    Then, beyond the rather crude DIY techniques outlined above, there's professional rebuilders who have $30K in lab-grade electrical testing equipment that can get incredibly detailed information about each module and build super high quality refurbished packs, like the guy I buy used modules from at: Hybrid Battery Conditioning | Reconditioned Hybrid Car Batteries Service
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i would prefer the new prius battery for $1,600.