Dr Prius cost and value

Thank you, I loaded the PIDs last night, I will try again today to see if I can pull codes, I know I have one in there for a wheel speed sensor.

 

Well, I may have been foolish, and I just paid for the in-app purchase for full diagnostic abilities. It was $34.47 via the Apple app store. Maybe there was a place to get it for less, but I was in my car with the app running and didn't want to go research for discounts and such.

I don't know, maybe the price went way up, and that's the base price now. Nevertheless, I think the value is really very good. I got the TonWon OBDII reader on Amazon (attaching file) after a bunch of research ($27...If you want to do your own research, I highly recommend reading "Clone wars" about OBDII readers. Mind you, this one isn't listed but is obviously identical to one that is....just branded differently). I had a bluetooth OBD2 reader in the past that wouldn't connect with my iPhone. At first, I seemed to have the same issue, but may have just not seen the correct item to connect with, as I was in an RV park and about 20 devices populated in the app. I went away from other devices, in a parking lot that was empty, and saw the device (named IOS Vlink) and connected (within the Dr. Prius app, as instructions say to do). Then, it worked. The Dr Prius app gave me very detailed info on the battery cells, and seemed to be very responsive to everything I did with the car. It disconnected a few times, but would reconnect and work again. When I went to look at the other features (diagnostic testing), the app prompted me to buy the full app to get these. I did it, and I'm glad. I ran the car through the driving test (accelerate quickly and decelerate quickly, a couple of times, over about 30-45 seconds) and it gave me good health function scores. Then I checked predicted battery life:

I have a 2013 Lexus CT200h. Was in Amarillo, TX for about 5 years, kept in a garage, then in Colorado in the Rockies (8500 ft elevation) for the subsequent years. Garaged at about 50-deg F in the winter, and about 65-degrees in the summer. Driven huge distances to AZ, TN, GA, CA, WA, etc many times. So after about 10-years since the battery was new, I figured I was getting somewhat close to a refurbish/replace. 130,000 miles.

I have been researching LiFePO4 vs NiMH, and was pretty much settled on LiFePO4's from projectlithium.com (Dr Prius site, where I realized I should get the app, after reading on forums about it a bunch).

So my predicted battery health, at 10-years, 130,000 miles, is 81.6%
This battery-predicted longevity test takes a full 15 minutes, and I had to adjust the AC/lights/fan to keep the amperage draw within the arc, many times during the testing. With the area-under-the-curve calculation from full charge to limit of "empty" (around 20%), over 15 minutes, with constantly varying but consistent mid-range amperage draw, I have a lot of confidence in the ability to evaluate battery health from this app.

HOLY CRAP!! So after all the research and gyrating around, thinking I needed a new battery, I now likely have YEARS left on the stock battery pack, and can continually monitor the health of them, so I can change them before anything getting "iffy" and harness the gains of improved mileage, etc with new batteries. They may only last a couple of years more (maybe two?three?....living near Houston now, car outside, so it's going to hurt the battery...particularly in the summer).

So, hopefully this is helpful to some of you (all the details), and I can tell you that for me: ABSOLUTELY worth it to buy the OBDII reader and Dr Prius app, even though the total was $60. Plus, I shut off the stupid seat belt alarm with the app. I drive with a seatbelt always, except when I'm tooling around a parking lot or down the main street in my little town, where the speed limit is literally 7mph for two blocks, and otherwise 15mph. So sometimes, just hopping in and going a block, I don't put it on, and it's always been annoying. Worth $20 to me just to get rid of that.

 

$11.99 for a three car individual license. (Possible $2 discount as well.) Go from Dr. Prius to your Google account to upgrade.