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Driving 2004 Prius with failing/bad HV battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by odub, Feb 4, 2017.

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  1. odub

    odub Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2010
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    After 12 1/2 years and 173,000 miles, the HV battery alarm lights have finally popped up. Took it into my local service station and he confirmed what I suspected. I knew this day would eventually come and we've been prepared for it by saving up for a new car.

    My question is this: how much more driving can I squeeze out before the car completely stops working? We can't go looking for a new car until next weekend at the soonest and I'm hoping this will get me to the airport and back (70 miles round trip) with four days of being parked in between. In scanning the forums, most people seem to agree that if you continue driving on a bad HV battery, eventually the car won't run but I can't tell when "eventually" will be. Matter of minutes? Hours? Days? Miles?

    Thanks.
     
    #1 odub, Feb 4, 2017
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    unfortunately, there is no way to answer your question. the future of a hybrid battery is an unknown quantity.
    i suppose you could constantly monitor the battery with tech stream, and with some experience and expertise, get a feel for health degradation.
     
    #2 bisco, Feb 4, 2017
  3. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

    Joined:
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    Location:
    District 6
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
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    If you continue to drive with the bad battery it's possible your Prius will go into limp mode at the worst possible moment - on the freeway. I'm going to say this in the nicest possible way - don't be stupid. Don't drive it in this condition.
     
    #3 jadziasman, Feb 4, 2017
    strawbrad likes this.
  4. stockdaddy

    stockdaddy Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2015
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    Location:
    Missouri
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I know a dealer who drove a car with a bad battery on a long trip. During the trip the battery started popping, basically overheating to the point where the cells started to explode. Lucky the car didn't catch on fire.
     
    #4 stockdaddy, Feb 6, 2017
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