Battery Dilemma on my 2010 Prius vs my 2008 Prius

1. You can contact Toyota HQ and see if they'll throw in any goodwill money towards the repair. You have at least 2 vehicles that are Toyota and they may help out just to keep you a happy customer.

2. If you are good at DIY, you can swap in a new battery yourself. You can get it online at Autonation Toyota Houston for $2558.xx

3. Chances are the 2010 pack is still fairly good, you probably just have 1 defective module. You can have that module replaced and hopefully the battery pack will last another few years.

 

There's a member here that's from Houston.....

Houston Hybrids | PriusChat

 

Good luck on Toyota HQ. But since you live in the suburbs of Houston, why not use that resource? One of them is Prius Battery Repair of Houston

 

Wow guess what:
This is the first USA Gen3 batt failure that I recall here at Prius Chat.
Overseas we had a few Gen3 batts replaced, but some felt that was due to different quality of parts.

 

can't complain at 200k i suppose.

 

I noticed that too

 

The "failure" is not really a good indicator of comparing the two cars. Sure one left the car with a warning, but is a pack that has 1 bad module and more capacity worse than a pack with all the modules equally degraded in capacity? There are always bad apples and when you start stacking components over 200K miles the odds are you will have a problem. Remember when if your car made it past 60K without a major repair it was a miracle?

Replace the 1 module for $30 and be done with it.

Having said that, it has long been speculated that the GenIII is a downgrade in quality. The GenII had to be robust. Super over engineered and built to withstand everything. The GenIII built off of the GenII's success and didn't have to prove that a hybrid can be a good car. So they downsized the inverter changed the battery got rid of some of the cool little things that made it weird but awesome (fuel bladder, coolant thermos, etc). I personally would rather have the GenII than a GenIII.

 

Give ericbecky a call. P0A80 2006 Prius with 154k, Need Module Supplier | PriusChat

Then, after talking with Houston Hybrids and ericbecky you should have a better idea about what your options are.
Whether it is a new pack, a pack rebuild to replace the defective pack module, a grid charger
or something else.

 

Here is another related thread posted a few days before yours.
dead battery after recall service? | PriusChat

I had a similar thing happen with my 2006 Civic Hybrid last Nov.
It's not fun trying to figure out what's actually happening with the hybrids when they code right after a service.

 

o.k. guys... let's not set up false expectations.
Dhillonflygirl is not going to get a reputable shop to come in and replace a module for $30!
In most shops that's not even 30 minutes of labor. Not to mention the cost of the part.

No way is a shop going to be able to...
- remove the battery pack
- open up the battery pack
- replace the module
- balance the pack
- put the pack back together
- put the pack back in the car
- run diagnostics on the car
... all for $30.

So if Dhillonflygirl is going to do all the work. Maybe. But it will not be a long term fix. We all know that.
Dhillonflygirl will need to go back in sometime and do the process over again. That's why I sell modules in pairs.

 

You going to either have to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself on the cheap, or pay through the nose to sit back and watch someone else do the same thing you could have done with a youtube video and patience. You will not find someone *else* to replace a module for $30. You yourself can do it. If you want a shop to do it for you, probably a thousand dollars. And if you go that route, you are really just paying the labour anyways, just swap the pack with a good rebuilt one for a few hundred more because once you start replacing modules it is whack-a-mole so you better know how to do it yourself and fast.

agreed on all points.

 

You have nothing to lose in contacting Toyota and seeing if they wouldn't help in the battery replacement. There are threads where Toyota has been rather amazingly supportive in this area.

BUT if they say no, you don't have too much grounds for complaint.

The fact that you have 2 Prius and the "older" one hasn't failed is rather immaterial.

The "Older" one has nearly 20,000+ LESS miles on it. Hate to tell ya, but when the older one, reaches 205,000...it may also need a battery replacement.

Both vehicles are in the range where a failure shouldn't necessarily be unexpected.

Given that,- I think your best approach is to find that hybrid battery replacement shop in your area that you can trust and is reputable. But I'd call Toyota first and see what they say...nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Change is inevitable.

But I wouldn't argue that the Gen 3 is a "downgrade" in quality.

Not to inflame a "Generation War"...but the fuel bladder for many has or does become problematic. NOT having a fuel bladder is a nice plus to Gen 3.

The heat reclamation system, seems to be as efficient at least as the coolant thermos. Without having the coolant thermos.

The Gen 3 is a beltless system.

Toyota sold the Gen 2 for a longer period than normal. It was ground breaking.

Down sizing or making parts lighter and smaller is fairly normal in automotive evolution. Heading in that direction, helps lead to products like the Prius c.

We will see what the NEXT Generation Prius embraces. But my guess it that it WON'T have a fuel bladder or a coolant thermos.

 

Gen3 also did some things to improve battery life such as preventing the batt to discharge fully when the motorist is out of gasoline. I am thinking Gen3 HV Batt reliability is going to be much better than Gen2, but we just have to wait and see (Toyota may know the answer already).

 

The Gen III is actually a down graded GEN II ,,,,,, really ??

 

It downgraded the weight of my wallet.