Advice on '08 Prius with possible battery failure

You can ask how much their service dept char

I don't know about OK, but in hot CA, I know of people that tried driving on a bad battery and the battery cells would overheat and explode inside the case.

 

You can open the inverter coolant cap (right in the middle of the engine bay) and see if the coolant has ripples when the car is "Ready". If there's no ripples in the coolant, the pump is not working.

There are a rash of inverter pump and battery failures. Hopefully yours will be the inverter pump (I don't think it is)

 

This battery exploded inside the case from overheating

 

we have only seen one dealer refuse to accept a core, iirc. i think there were a few mismatched cells. the owner bought it used and didn't know the battery had had work done on it.

 

I've seen batteries in heat get quite damaged from driving on them. Even blow out with a loud "pop" sound and then they release fumes. Maybe yours won't but I would not have my teenager take a chance.

$1950 retail price for a NEW battery, from a dealer is a great deal. Last year this time it would have been more near $2,500.

If you need cheap, but not reliable just to kick the can down the road a bit longer, then just swap one block of modules. I'll sell you a block of good modules( set of 2modules) for $100.

If you want it done right and reliable for the next 7 - 10 years, bite the bullet and buy a new battery.