Do I Need a New Hybrid Battery in my 2005 Prius?

Hello all! I have been getting some pretty poor MPG's as of late and I have been looking into the tell tale signs of a bad hybrid battery. My battery has gone from about 80% to 20% instantly while I'm driving, which has only happened a couple times that I have noticed. The battery seems to hold a charge overnight, but it loses a few bars. And I am getting around 37-40 MPG in the current summer months when I should be getting upper 40's to mid 50's. I plan on taking the car to Minnesota Hybrid Battery for replacement with a refurbished battery. I've heard a lot of people are pleased with their service, so I am confident that should be a good choice. I am wondering if I should wait until I get the red triangle, or just bite the bullet now and replace the battery before then?

 

Its actually a decent deal. So for $850 they'll come to your house to install a refurb battery and the battery comes with a 12 month warranty. Here's the website: MN Hybrid Battery – MN Hybrid Battery Apparently the owner Brad is well known on the forums here, and is very knowledgeable of Prius batteries.

 

I feel as though reconditioning will only delay the inevitable? I could be wrong since I know little about how reconditioning a battery works. This is something I would do myself correct? I found this kit from this website: Online Store – Hybrid Automotive

 

Intersting... Ok, I'm willing to give it a shot if it's not too hard. I'll do some forum searching on what I need to do it.

 

Upon doing some quick research it seems that reconditioning the battery takes several days, and is somewhat dangerous. I also currently live at home and can't use my parents garage for several days straight. It also appears that buying the discharger and reconditioning kit would be only a few hundred bucks cheaper than paying Brad to do it. We'll see though, probably better to wait until the battery fails completely like you said.

 

I actually called him and got a hold of him yesterday. Seems like a really honest and genuine person! He told me that if I wanted to have him take out my battery and recondition it that it would take a couple weeks, which is quite inconvenient. He recommended I get a wireless OBD II scanning tool and an Iphone app to test the state of the battery. I told him about my MPG's and battery issues and he said they were very early signs of a bad battery. Again, he seemed very knowledgeable and honest. Once my battery fails, I'm taking to Brad without a doubt.

 

I would like to get a new battery, but the car is not really worth it to me. The exterior has a lot of rust since its a Minnesota car, and its got dents and dings all over. Just wouldn't be worth spending $2000+ on something that's going to rot away in 5-10 years.