I find the cause of my problem...finally!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Prius92, Jul 6, 2025.

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  1. Prius92

    Prius92 Active Member

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    In all honesty the design of the battery in the 2nd gen is terrible. For starters the foam they used on air sealing areas is very low density and as such degrades in high heat environments and is damaged/torn easily.

    The sheet metal they used is way too thin for the amount of weight involved and warps/bends easily.

    You can't just buy the foam they used, either. The list price of the intake duct is $188, for literally no more than $10 worth of plastic and foam.

    Personally, I think they should have used duct work that had flanges with rubber seals.
     
    #41 Prius92, Jul 14, 2025 at 4:08 PM
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    That's the usual story for a lot of weird-shaped, largely-empty dealer auto parts:


    $  9.00 plastic
    $  1.00 foam
    $ 30.00 shipping
    $ 50.00 warehouse space
    $ 98.00 cool logistics system that gets it to any dealer by 10AM tomorrow
    –––––––
    $188.00


     
       
     
    #42 ChapmanF, Jul 14, 2025 at 5:12 PM
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2025 at 5:30 PM
  3. Hayslayer

    Hayslayer Member

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    It's all about mass production and using a system that is 'good enough'. I'm pretty sure Panasonic engineers and Toyota engineers know exactly what the end product needs to be and design the 'item' to meet those needs. I think a Gen 2 Prius HV battery typically lasting 13+ years and 200k+ miles is pretty reasonable. If they got fancy with everything, add 20k to the price of every car.
    As for parts? That's why ebay, this enthusiast forum and many other enthusiast forums exist...............
     
    #43 Hayslayer, Jul 14, 2025 at 8:16 PM
  4. Prius92

    Prius92 Active Member

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    Since y'all were worried about the foam or backer creeping over a module, I ran my borescope through the other side before assembly.
    [​IMG]
    Clean as a whistle. I checked every inch and no spray foam came through or pushed the backer farther back over a module.
     
    #44 Prius92, Jul 15, 2025 at 4:29 PM
  5. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Is friction all that is holding that backer foam in place?
     
    #45 pasadena_commut, Jul 15, 2025 at 6:40 PM
  6. Hayslayer

    Hayslayer Member

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    I think you misunderstand. Not worried at all. It's not my car. I'm just stating what is happening based solely on the photos you provided, while being 1000+ miles away thinking about the 100's of Prius batteries I've built......it's your car, you're entitled to do anything with it that you wish.
     
    #46 Hayslayer, Jul 15, 2025 at 7:54 PM
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