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How long did your 2004 traction battery last?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Dilbert, Feb 5, 2017.

  1. Dilbert

    Dilbert Junior Member

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    Our '04 traction battery just went bad. It has ~138K miles but has been a family car, making many short trips since we bought it new. I am not complaining about 13 years, but the mileage seems a bit low for the battery to go bad. I ordered a refurbished battery and plan to swap it myself. Anyone else have an '04 battery go with this many miles?
     
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  2. Paul Schenck

    Paul Schenck Active Member

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    My 05 in California lasted longer mileage wise but not year wise. 13 years for a Nickle cadmium battery is


    iPhone ?
     
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  3. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    I might say that 90% 2004 with that low of a mileage would run original HV-battery. But the main point here is that HV-battery life depends on:
    -Heat. Hotter it gets less life on the battery. Especially the temperature in the parked car matters here.
    -Sycle depth. If Prius is just driven on the flat highway with steady throttle battery doesn’t really get any wear at all. On the mountains battery gets a lot more wear (2 bars uphill 8 bars downhill).
    -Sitting. If Prius is parked for long time with hv-battery that already has some wear it will get unbalanced and wear more.
    -Age. But this is the one that you already mentioned.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my neighbor has my '04 @ around 140k (haven't asked lately) with no problems so far. it's a short commuter car for him though, a few miles to the train and back, family runabout, etc.

    it has been a warrior, 4 years with me, ( 2 accidents) 4 years with my daughter in burlington vt. (huge deer accident) and 4 with my neighbor.
     
  5. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I bought my '05 with 121k on it. Traded it in with 149k and it was still working great. I have no idea what the original owner did for maintenance, but I used a grid charger on it at least four times a year over the 2-1/4 years I had it.

    Bisco, that's one tough car. If no one has named it, I recommend "Timex." (y)
     
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  6. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    How long a pack lasts is a combination of years in service and hours/miles in service.
    Yours died because of the years in service. 13 is years is a long time for a NiMh pack.

    Even if it only had 60,000 miles on it, there's a high chance the NiMh will fail after 13 years.
     
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's all house money from here in.
     
  8. Dilbert

    Dilbert Junior Member

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    Thanks, It will be interesting to see how long I get out of a rebuilt battery.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what refurb did you buy? warranty?
     
  10. Dilbert

    Dilbert Junior Member

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    Greentecauto $1,200 18 mo warranty. Pick it up tomorrow.
     
  11. stockdaddy

    stockdaddy Member

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    Extreme heat/cold, 1000's charges/discharges it's just about a miracle these batteries even last 1-2 years let alone 8+years.

    I'm dancing if my RC lipo packs last more than 1 year with 50 charge cycles.
     
  12. PA Prius

    PA Prius Active Member

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    '04 with 228,500 miles. Traction battery is fine.
     
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  13. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Any 2001 with original hv battery? | PriusChat

    I made a similar post a few months ago asking if any 2001 Prii still had their original pack. Check this out! The 2001 Prius went on sale in late 2000. And there really is some 17 year old Hybrid batteries out there still working away. Truly amazing
     
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  14. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    My 2004 Prius HV battery went bad a 195k miles (7 years). I replaced it with a ReInVolt (precursor to Dorman) for $2000 installed. It was still working well at 288k miles (12 years total) when I traded up to a 2016 Prius.

    JeffD
     
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  15. cthindi

    cthindi Member

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    2005 with 300800 Miles. Traction battery is still original. I live in Northeast US , though in a slightly hilly area. I believe High Temperature and big mountain slopes significantly impact battery life.

    Though now my battery has definitely lost capacity. It much more often is full green that what it previously used to be. The car also has lost 3-4% on fuel efficiency. I believe reduced battery capacity is part of that fuel efficiency loss.
     
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