To buy a battery or let it go. ... That is the question.

Here ya' go: http://www.newpriusbatteries.com/

 

How is the body and frame? rusty at all?

Over time there will be normal wear and tear aka, tires, brake pads, and maintenance among other things.
But as long as it isnt a rust bucket, just replacing things that go bad will make it last longer.

+1 on the battery posted above

 

Your decision has a great deal to do with your skill-set. You could easily double the mileage on this car at very little expense if you enjoy working on cars and like learning how to do so. But if you're not the type of person who ever does that and you don't have a friend that will do work on your car at a great price, it's going to be super expensive. For example in some cases a dealership will sell a new hybrid pack for over $3K for parts and labor. But some dealerships will sell a new battery pack for as low as $1650 and if you do the two hours of labor to install it, that new battery pack will be good investment that will last for a dozen or more years. You could even put it in your next Prius after this one gets to old and too expensive to keep repairing. Or alternatively your could spend a couple hundred on charging and discharging gear and replace the bad modules in your battery pack and keep it on the road for months or even a year before it's time to replace the next bad module.

 

i would be interested what the experts here say .... but doesnt the HV battery cooling depend on the AC working?

 

it does, but at 12 years and 200k, it was due.

i would put in a new battery, realizing that other expenses will come along. weigh the possibilities against the cost of a newer car
no one can guarantee you won't have other expensive repairs

 

If you have a perfect condition car with just a dead HV battery, definitely replace the battery ($1600) and you are probably good for some 5 - 10 years. If you have a $2000 AC repair due, plus this HV battery issue, that's $3600 repair which basically totaled this car.

On the other hand, if you do decide to replace the HV battery using the above link, I, as a newbie in car repairing, have done the replacement by myself alone in a few hours. If you get someone around willing to help you, it'll be a task you can do yourselves.

 

The $2000 for A/C repair is what I'm skeptical about... Sounds like someone was trying to rip them off and it might be a much cheaper fix. Of course hard to say for certain because of the lack of details.

 

PC: Yes that's also possible. So maybe it's better to diagnose the AC part again before making the decision.

 

If you don't mind being without a car for like a week google "voltek hybrid repair". He's in highland MI. I think around $500 out the door one year warranty to rebuild it.

 

A/C and HV battery already down? Can the Illudium Q-36 brake modulator be far behind?

That car’s done.

 

I don't think he does AC. What is your issue with AC? Do you know what is bad?

 

Not really.

 

Be aware that there's new replacement battery and there's refurbished battery. Refurbished battery has a few years of age on it before they recondition it and send to you. New battery is freshly made in the past few months. There are many threads here about GBB or similar companies, and there are threads about brand new replacements. Food for thought if you're interested.

 

Variations of this situation reoccur.
I don't know the answer, because who can predict the future of a 12 year old, soon to be 13 year old vehicle approaching 200,000 miles?
I would say, any vehicle Prius or otherwise with the same age and mileage parameters would get accessed with similar questions about the value of investing $2,500-$3,000.
And I think on paper, it's hard to argue that it's a good investment. But it could be good investment for YOU personally, if you simply want to keep a running vehicle for more time and mileage. But you are way past the point where significant investment increases the value of the vehicle commensurately. Outside of once your Hybrid Battery is officially dead, your Prius at that point is well....not worth much.

I would recommend if you do decide to try to extend your working relationship with your Prius you go with a Toyota OEM battery. I've just read too many posts of ultimate disgruntlement with other aftermarket options.

 

DO NOT get a used battery......nothing but trouble....ok so they have warranty...how many times do you want to break down and where.....
they gonna drive hundreds of mile to replace again.....
I have the $1600 new battery system...works perfect.....

 

Some people can't afford a brand new battery and a couple few hundred bucks replacing bad modules as they start to fail every 6 months to a year is in some cases a more affordable option.