Battery filter won’t unscrew

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Jared Leibowitz, Feb 5, 2026 at 1:17 PM.

  1. Jared Leibowitz

    Jared Leibowitz Junior Member

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    Hey I’ve got this warning message on my 2016 Prius and when I try to unscrew it it just keeps spinning. I’ve tried no pressure as I unscrew it and using a flat head underneath as I use a Phillips to unscrew, but both methods won’t work. I have a shop that’ll fix it and clean my fan for $250 but I’d rather try to open it and replace the filter before spending that money. Any tips?
     
  2. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    Don't know what panel your trying to remove.
    On mine; you just peel back the rear door weather strip and pop the filter retainers out. You should've been doing that every oil change.
    That might just be a maintenance scheduled warning that you can clear through the maintenance reset procedure.
     
    #2 BiomedO1, Feb 5, 2026 at 5:33 PM
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2026 at 7:53 PM
  3. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    There is a trick to it. Use a Phillips of course, and engage the tool lightly into that plastic screw and turn lefty-loosy trying not to press and the screw should back out. It's a captive screw, so unscrew until obviously loose and extract the panel.
     
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  4. Doug McC

    Doug McC Senior Member

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    Just get some Panel and Trim tools and use a thin one to pry under the panel. That will either put enough pressure on the screw to unscrew it or pop the panel out. The screw itself is actually pretty useless as the panel just snaps in place.
     
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  5. Bill Norton

    Bill Norton Senior Member

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    Yeah, the screw comes out a bit then the whole fastener needs to be pried out like other plastic fasteners.
    Get ready for some gross chit.:eek:

    Mine was totally clogged with dust bunnies. I don't think it had ever been cleaned since new. I cleaned it at ~233k miles.
    Never got the code.
    It's very cleanable. Just pinch off the worst of it, tap it on the ground, then to the sink.(y)

    I think the filter is different if you have a Li-ion or Ni-Mh pack.
     
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  6. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    THIS ^

    It is not a regular phillips head. Do NOT press hard when unscrewing, the head will jut out slightly, then just give it a pulll and it will come right out. Then you can pry the panel off.
     
  7. Robert21PrimeLTD

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    It’s probity a plastic pop-up fastener where the center piece is tapered so that when the center is raised the fastener can be removed. Take a knife edge and pry the center part up about an 1/8” then use pliers to pull it straight up.
     

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  8. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    There are videos too as I recall.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    Poor choice of fastener for a maintenance item.