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Advise Please: exploded hybrid battery on road trip (outside of Louisville, KY)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by castironandbutter, Jan 4, 2020.

  1. castironandbutter

    castironandbutter Junior Member

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    Below is the story but the basis of my post is a desire for advice about what to do about my stranded car with an exploded hybrid battery. The car is not in great condition. The interior is really dirty- I do a lot of dog sitting and am a gardener. I swapped the HIDs to LED (DDM tuning) and one of them is broken at the moment. I also have Hybrid Automotive's Prolong battery system wired into the car. And now it smells like exploded nickel metal hydride. I do not want to put a new battery in it. WHAT DO I DO WITH IT?

    THE STORY
    My car was going in and out of limp mode this summer, the dealership said I needed a new hybrid battery and computer (though I was admittedly suspicious of their diagnosis). If I wasn't on the interstate for long, it wasn't a problem. As winter approached, limp mode ceased to happen and I went on longer drives with no problem. I decided to risk a drive to Louisville from Pittsburgh to see family for the holidays. I imagined if I was going to have a problem, it would happen at the beginning of my trip and I could turn around. Alas, 2/3 through the trip my car goes into limp mode. I exit and let it sit for a half-hour. The rest is me pushing it- I took the back roads so I could go slow, going in and out of limp mode- which means the car would go into limp mode, I would stop, turn it off then back on and it would no longer be in limp mode and I would hit the road again. AND THEN there was a big pop from the back and then another and a bad smell- I pulled over into an extremely convenient driveway- stopped the car and another big pop and smoke coming from the back. I ran with my dog from the car.
     
  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    If you brought the title with you, donate it as scrap for local charity & claim the tax credit.

    If you don't have the title with you, get somebody to mail it to you ASAP so you can get rid of this thing.
     
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  3. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    16 year old car......

    Yeah, I think the "change owner" light is on.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    look on the internet for hybrid repair shops.
    compare rebuilt battery prices to new at a dealer.
    at 157k, there's a lot of life left in her. i'd throw in a new one if i could find something around $2,000.
     
    #4 bisco, Jan 4, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2020
  5. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    There's still plenty of life left in your car... If you lived near me I would of put a loaner battery pack in and fixed your pack before it went from bad to worse. Your car is still valuable to someone with spare a spare battery pack lying around.

    Hopefully rebuilder on here in your area see this and makes an offer for it. The smoke and explosions are going to be contained inside the metal case, so swap out the pack, and I suspect clean out the battery cooling fan and it will be back on the road for someone else or yourself.
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    A buyer might have to wonder, though, if there had been any other issues with the car that had also been dealt with in the same proactive and diligent fashion....
     
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  7. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Sounds like the HV battery fan could've became excessively clogged with dog hair and organic matter.

    Wonder if @TMR-JWAP would have any interest if taking this on, or getting it back on the road for you.
     
  8. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Some fighter pilots die, because they refuse to bail out ... thinking they can bring it in .... flames & all. You have to know when to fish, and when to cut bait. One limp mode is enough ... two? It's at one's own peril. This - coming from a risk taker.
    Don't forget to post your experience with Prolong Battery Systems. Extending the life of your hybrid. — Hybrid Automotive
    Maybe they'll help with what to do.
    .
     
  9. castironandbutter

    castironandbutter Junior Member

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    I checked the fan multiple times and it wasn't clogged. But I so appreciate all positive and helpful thoughts, solutions, and suggestions!
     
    #9 castironandbutter, Jan 4, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2020
    Data Daedalus likes this.
  10. castironandbutter

    castironandbutter Junior Member

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    I should have been clear in my post that I knew it was not a wise choice but alas, here I am. I will say though that I have done quite a bit of reading and had heard you could drive in limp mode it would just be without much power.

    Re: posting to Prolong- should I just message them?
     
  11. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Well that's possible, and yes there was a dog and dirty car that makes it highly likely, but if you have a bad cell that's heating up and you keep forcing the vehicle out of limp mode and continue to drive it, even a clean fan wouldn't help that much.
     
  12. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    That's a bit out of my range. But, one could always peruse the local craigslist to find a mobile repair person. They usually rebuild the HV battery on site or swap it out for about $400. May even come with a 30-6-90 day warranty. Don't forget to have them remove your prolong harness
     
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  13. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    If this is your bottom line feeling and approach, you don't have too much choice.
    It doesn't even matter too much what shape the vehicle is in, in all other regards, not running, and with a totally failed Hybrid Battery, 2004, it's not worth much. You're I would assume, be selling pretty much for scrap. Exactly what that might be, I'm not sure, but it's not going to return you much.

    I would also be concerned about the health and ecological safety of the situation. Especially if you are using the adjective "exploded", and smelling different chemical odors. It may be a situation where you don't want to touch, or breath anything. It could be dangerous. I'd call around to different scrap yards, etc, and give full disclosure, and see what they say.
    Safety first for everyone involved at this point.
     
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  14. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Since @TMR-JWAP is out of range, put it up for sale "as-is" on here : Prius Cars For Sale | PriusChat

    Then post it on CL in the auto parts section, as the cars and trucks section costs $5 these days.

    Someone would be happy to take it off your hands, most likely around 1k.
     
  15. Kenny94945

    Kenny94945 Active Member

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    SFO may have the best suggestion....if back at your residence...Craigs List, parts car, as is, does not run, needs to be towed.
    Is the car back at your residence or still "abandoned along your trip Louisville?
    If abandoned...also mentioned above, try a charity, yet based on your tax return this may not have a monetary benefit to you.
    You've mentioned you don't wish to put a battery in it or repair.
    If you change your mind as to a repair, as a preparation or to help in that decision, you can remove components to access the 12 volt and the hybrid battery.
    Smell indicates to look for a burnt wire or electrical arcing.
    I have no insights for the "popping" sound, except a battery case explosion.
    Good luck.
     
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  16. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I'm still concerned about safety.
    There's a lot of chemistry in a battery you don't want to mess with.
    There's a lot of voltage too...

    If the OP is smelling "chemical" smells and the battery has "exploded" it may not be safe to be around.
     
  17. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    The amount of toxic chemicals in any car is great in number. Just the grease under an engine is off the charts in all kinds of toxins... The Prius battery is very well designed for failure events like this and the steel sheet metal the battery pack is mounted inside of is more than strong enough to handle modules popping their plastic lids, which they're designed to do if they overheat.

    Also soon as the orange safety plug is removed the pack is no longer high voltage. There's also additional disarming access points that are designed for firefighters if a car has been destroyed in an accident...

    As for the electrolyte, I'm friends with people who've repaired these after they've popped and they aren't that messy to deal with, no where near as messy/toxic as engine work. And yes the electrolyte is highly caustic and you need to work clean, but there's no serious risks as long as you follow basic safety practices.
     
  18. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I don't care.
    The OP uses the adjective "Explode" and say's she smells chemicals.
    That has really NOTHING to do with grease in the engine bay, or how anything including the battery might be designed.
    You or I have not seen the damage, so speculation as to how minor it might be, how well the design has handled it or not, is unfounded.

    In absence of any hands on knowledge of the extent of the damage in this "explosion" I'm going to recommend caution. It COULD be dangerous.
    To my knowledge the OP has NOT removed the orange safety plug, nor does she profess to be trained in rescue recovery or Hazmat materials handling.
    I'm just going to say POTENTIALLY dangerous. Be careful, safety first.
     
  19. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Both myself and my friends have direct hands on knowledge of how these events happen and what they're like to clean up and repair... If you have some specific knowledge you'd like to share that's helpful please do so.

    What's not helpful to anyone is you promoting fear with no basis in fact or experience to back up your exaggerations. PriusChat is to inform and help people... You're clearly misinforming and not helping...
     
    Rmay635703 likes this.
  20. strawbrad

    strawbrad http://minnesotahybridbatteries.com

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    99% of the general population have no business working on high voltage batteries. But some of them try and rely on false statements like the above.


    High voltage is present in a Prius battery until all bus bars are removed from one side of the battery.


    Removing the bus bars requires working on a live high voltage circuit. Unlike house wiring, the circuit can not be turned off with the simple flip of a circuit breaker.

    Safety is almost never discussed here. This can make a DIY'er think there is no danger in trying to fix their battery.