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traction battery replacement options for Gen 2 with 210K miles

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Bucci, Jun 16, 2019.

  1. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    That's awesome you found my info useful, did a little work on your end, and secured yourself the 2nd lowest price ($1657) I have heard so far for a NEW OEM HV Battery. Good for you!

    The average non-DIY person here does not seem to get/understand that fact. A NEW OEM HV Battery buys you options!
    Put into another Gen2 w/ a dead HV Batttery.
    Upgrade to a Gen3 w/ a dead HV Battery; requires swapping your good Gen2 modules into the Gen3 HV Battery case (it is physically different and can not plug/play like computer parts).​

    Sorry. We will agree to disagree on Green Bean.

    1) $1549 GB price for a USED HV Battery. $1657 for a NEW OEM HV Battery + install fee or DIY time.
    If I could NOT DIY, I would pay a few hundred to have someone install the NEW OEM HV Battery.

    2) Best Warranty is one you will NEVER USE.
    GB gives you 5 years.
    Toyota gives you one year part when new OEM HV Battery is not installed by Toyota dealer; 3year part warranty when installed by a Toyota dealer.
    Which one do you think will last? Your original OEM HV Battery lasted 13years.

    3) Devil is in the details! From GB:
    "All suspected warranty claims must first be diagnosed by a repair shop or a Toyota dealership."
    Toyota doesn't read codes for FREE.
    Doubtful independent shops will read for free too.
    Only people I know who work for free are physicians who volunteer with Doctors w/o Borders; tough job going into war zones and bio-hazard areas.​

    4) BS marketing propaganda:
    Point1) The modules are the best of the working Gen2 modules they have acquired.
    Point2) Really? Toyota is a BILLION dollar international organization w/ RESOURCES and massive amounts of money spent on research. GB is saying Toyota produced a crappy ECU? Words are cheap and if GB was asked to prove any of this, they would say "proprietary/trade secret". Their proprietary secret is their proprietary method to clean ECUs to look like new.
    Point3) Copper is a superior electrical conductor. Something tells me they went w/ nickel b/c cheaper, and possibly less corrosion.
    upload_2019-6-18_17-26-9.png
     
    #21 exstudent, Jun 18, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2019
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  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    I suspect that their claim of "upgraded" ECU is nothing more than limiting corrosion from the voltage sensing wires that work their way up into the ECU socket and short out at the plug. I see that problem in so many packs. So I'm thinking some di-electric grease or a higher quality plug or seal for that plug is probably what their claim is based on.
     
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  3. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    I stand corrected. That is soooo misleading though. I bet most people when the see/read "Upgraded ECU," they think better firmware. Just like the auto enthusiasts who modify their cars will get the vehicle ECU "upgraded" by flashing new firmware to maximize HP/torque.

    The "improved" wire or use of dielectric grease only revealed this vulnerability itself after years of use; like 10years later. IIRC, it has been said that Toyota's view of design life of the Gen2 Prius is 10years. Lack go dielectric grease and a thinner wire is sufficient to get the Prius to 10years.
     
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    That's just my guess though... You might ask them? They certainly aren't sniffing proprietary code and translating it and rewriting the whole system and re-flashing it. If they knew how to do that they'd be building apps w/OBD2 readers rather than dumb batteries.
     
  5. MERIDIAN

    MERIDIAN Junior Member

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    After 13 years and 94K miles, I finally got the red triangle of death, I called Toyota and they happened to have one new battery in stock for $2150. with a core charge of $1350.
    I installed the battery myself but it was a bit more involved that I expected because a good deal of parts had to be transferred from the old battery to the new one. The job went well and my '06 Prius is running as it's supposed to.
     

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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    New in the foreground?
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    great price, well done!
     
  8. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Congratulations... Impressive that you figured out on your first attempt how to put together a pack... And on the bright side, had you bought a rebuilt pack instead of new you would of had to unscrew and rescrew 56 bus bar nuts and 28 more battery to chassis bolts, so this was the easiest wisest way to go...

    Best part is in the next 1/2 dozen years if you ever have a problem with your Prius that's too expensive, you'll still have a relatively new pack with lots of miles on it for your your next Prius. Who knows maybe you'll win the dream all us battery rebuilders have, which is a Prius being sold for super cheap because the battery has gone bad.
     
  9. donbright

    donbright Active Member

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    This is very interesting. I was under the impression that buying a battery from Toyota would be the entire thing as a single completed box, ready to swap into the car. I did not realize they required transferring parts like this. Also curious about what type of warranty they provide for a DIY install where you have to transfer a bunch of electronics. very interesting.
     
  10. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Warranty is typically 1 year if you DIY;).

    Just make sure to put everything back in the crate the same way it came out, otherwise you risk te core charge refund:cool:.

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
  11. MERIDIAN

    MERIDIAN Junior Member

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    Yes, and as you can see I already stripped the the old Bat of it's wire connection box and computer.
     
  12. MERIDIAN

    MERIDIAN Junior Member

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    The warranty is 1 Year or 25k miles. I already got my core charge back with receipt. The only thing is that I haven't yet seen the new pack get to all green, I suppose I need to take a long ride.
    If I don't get all green within a reasonable amount of time, I'll bring it back for a scan.
     
  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    The battery indicator should rarely be green. It's designed to stay in the blue range.
     
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  14. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I also just noticed in your photos, the black plastic air flow blocker was still installed on the old battery. Please tell me you moved it to the new one!!! It's the black plastic piece that clips on top of the clamp assembly at the ecu side.
     
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