How many miles on your traction battery?

It will go until it doesn’t. At 2800 you got a good deal even if you need a new battery soon.

 

What @Skibob said. Just be ready. Mine was still strong at 150,000 when I sold the car. My wife's was still strong at 174,000 when we got rear ended so hard it bent the battery. I like to think either would have gone over 200k, but there's no way to know.

Be aware, though that the PO may have already replaced it. It could have a rebuilt battery in it or even a new one, but I would think they would have bragged about a new battery and charged more for it.

 

Sounds like a good deal. You should be budgeting for a hybrid battery replacement though. Original ones seem to be going out between 10 and 15 years of age. Better to be prepared and not have to do it than to be scrambling financially because you do.

Time, heat and lack of use (low mileage) are much bigger factors negatively affecting hybrid battery life than high mileage. The car was designed to be driven.

Consider reconditioning if it's an old battery. It's a maintenance item, just like maintaining any other system in the car.

 

You can't really go wrong with a $2800 prius. When it dies, it'll still be worth $1000 to wrecking yards.

The common failure you'll encounter on high mileage prius are

Combination meter failure
Inverter pump failure
Bad 3 way valve
Bad oil consumption
Bad catalytic converter
Brake actuator failure
HV battery failure

Less common

Transaxle failure

 

I bought my '07 with 175K a little over a year ago. It now has very nearly 200K miles and is running as well as when I bought it. I have done one Prolong reconditioning cycle (charge, discharge, charge, discharge, charge) last October and plan to do another one soon before this winter. I am hoping to keep this battery going as long as possible. From what I know it is the original pack.

 

Fairly normal for it to be at two or one on long uphill stretches. Mine will usually hit one or two bars going up the Cajon Pass on the I-15. We see purple often on our trips every year through Colorado and Utah.

One indicator to look for is when you start the car in the morning. If the bars drop 3 or 4 levels in the first block of driving the battery's weak or imbalanced. Rapid fluctuations up and down are an indicator. Reconditioning the battery can really improve those situations and extend battery life but that only slows down down inevitable. 100% of them will wear out eventually.

Unfortunately, sometimes there are no signs the battery is about to fail. It just does.

 

About 180k before the first module failed and just did another at about 203k, so 12-13 years or so.

 

I know from memory we just hit 177,777 no probs.

To baby a battery, one thing you want to do is warm up a few minutes before you pull out. Especially if the car has sat unused for some days and with A/C blowing, and you just immediately pull out, then that gets you to purple real fast.

 

I am a total newbie here. I've asked some questions in the newb section here but I have a ton of questions and it's stupid to start new threads. I ALMOST bought a 2005 Prius yesterday but I was advised to do a bunch of tests on it today. It was bought by a car dealer that I know. He drove it back from the auction and it displayed the gear selector flashing on the dash and then stalled. He thought the transmission went out. The only thing I know for sure is that it definitely had a bad 12V battery and I read many posts stating that this could cause the problem. Then I started to read a ton about hybrid battery issues and how quick they fail, plus the prices. Anyways the 2005 Prius started when jumped with a jump pack and would drive. I was offered it for $1200. I was then told on here that unless it was perfect to avoid it and I was told that Prius cars with bad hybrid batteries could be bought for less than $1000. So, yesterday I did my research. The cheapest Prius I could find with a bad hybrid battery was $2900 and over 300 miles away. I don't even know that the $1200 Prius needed a hybrid battery. So I decided to buy it today. It was sold. Now I'm determined to buy a Prius. It's the same feeling that I had when I was bit by the Bug and got an old Bug when I was young. I know all about the hybrid battery. I know about the 12V battery. But some people are talking about a traction battery. Please tell me the traction battery is the same thing as the hybrid battery. How many batteries in total does a Prius have? I hope the traction battery and hybrid battery is the same thing or else I might have to fight off this bug. I know new dealer prices are high, but I've seen the traction battery and labor is $5000 and the hybrid battery and install is $5000 and a 12V battery is $200. I know the purpose of this car is to avoid expensive gasoline, but if you have to spend $10,200 every 100,000 to 150,000 miles, that makes gasoline like $8.00 a gallon! No, I didn't do the math, just saying. Please tell me how many batteries the Prius has and hopefully the traction and hybrid battery are the same thing!

 

The official term is "traction battery." It's called that because it supplies power to the traction motor, which is the traditional term used for an electric motor that's used to power the traction wheels on a vehicle. Lots of people just call it the hybrid battery since non-hybrid cars don't have one. Then there is the 12V, or auxiliary, battery which powers up the computers and closes the relays that connect the traction battery to the rest of the car. The car needs both batteries in order to function.

$10,200???!!!!!? WOW! Where did that come from? If that was true, the Prius line would have died out at least 10 years ago. In fact, there would be no hybrids at all on the road by now. I know I would not have one.

The traction battery should be good for at least 150,000 miles. Hence the 150,000 mile warranty in CARB states. Some will fail earlier. Most will last longer. A few will go 200-300k miles. When it's time to replace it, you can go to Toyota and they will put in a new one for something like $2,500 and you're good for another 150k miles or 10 years or so. (Compare that to having an automatic transmission repaired on a regular gasser.) That's the expensive option. You can also put in a used but nearly new battery for less money. And there's also the option of the kit from @2k1Toaster which consists of new non-Toyota cells that will perform as well as a new Toyota battery for about $1,600 it you like to work on your own stuff.

 

I just did a quick search on cargurus.com. Within 200 miles of you there are 19 listings for 2005-2009 Prii in the $2500-4000 price range. Mileage on the odometer varies from 126k-239k miles and most of them fall in the "good deal" or "great deal" categories. The remainder of them are listed as "fair deal" and none are listed as bad deals. Some may have poor or poorly rebuilt traction batteries but some are going to be in good shape. Just look for one that has great service records so you can see what's been done to the car.

If you get one that hasn't had the traction battery replaced but hasn't thrown any codes yet, you can prolong the life of the battery by reconditioning and balancing the cells.. Some people do it on a cell-by-cell basis using low cost hobby chargers while others like me use the more expensive Prolong conditioning system and do the entire battery at once. It won't prevent the batteries from the inevitable failure but it will delay it by months or years (the jury is still out on any kind of average).

Not sure where you've seen anyone trying to charge $5000 for a traction battery. Even a Toyota dealer will only hit you for $3000-3500 including labor. Those wild claims of $5000 and up were started well over a decade ago by anti-hybrid people and have hung around ever since. It's always cheaper to avoid labor cost by doing it yourself but even a non-dealer mechanic will get you out the door with a brand new battery installed for less than $3000.

You don't indicate exactly what kind of budget you have for the car. Whatever it is, make sure you also have a fair amount set aside in a "just in case it needs a repair" account. The cars are incredibly dependable but the few repairs incurred do tend to be a little more expensive. They don't nickel and dime you but occasionally will require a chunk. If it turns out it's not really worth a repair, you'll already have a fair amount to put down on your next car.

 

For @Tedh1979:

Hybrid battery = traction battery. There are two batteries in a gen 2 Prius. On traction (NiMH 240 and some Volts) and one small 12V lead acid. No starter, so 12V does not need may CCA.

 

Thanks everyone. Yes I learned on the internet that the traction battery is also the same thing as the hybrid battery. I was scared for a moment lol. I have seen a few posts on the internet from people that said they paid $5000 for a new battery including labor. There is even a YouTube video that shows a quote from Toyota for that price. My $10,200 figure was based on IF the car had 3 batteries and were replaced at a dealership.

I have seen multiple Gen 2 Prius cars for $3000-$6000. I also have seen multiple early Gen 3 Prius cars for the same price. So which one is better? I've read multiple articles and people argue about this but I don't see a winner. Going on the internet on a certain site that it won't let me mention here for some stupid reason, 2010 is the year with the most complaints and most issues. The second most problems are 2008 and 2007. The main complaint with the 2010 is that it consumes oil. I've read a ton of posts on the internet saying that 1.8L Prius engines burn a ton of oil, most averaging 1 quart every 1000 miles. There is no recall for this and the only fix for this is a new engine. The 2011 models don't have near the complaints on this issue, so Toyota must've fixed the problem. To be fair I have seen Gen 2 owners complain of of oil consumption problems too but this isn't complained near as much with Gen 2 compared to Gen 3. The big complaints with 2007-2008 are headlight problems. I've watched many videos and I see how to install new bulbs but nobody has a fix for the problem because new bulbs aren't the answer.

My budget is over $10k but I don't want to spend that much on a Prius. For one, I don't drive a lot and I don't need a flashy vehicle. I would like to spend under $6000. I'd pay up to $6000 on a Gen 3, if people can tell me why I'd want a Gen 3. If I'm going to get a Gen 2, I'd like to spend under $4000. Honestly I'd rather buy one with a bad battery and do the work myself. I would rather install a hybrid battery and therefore get a great deal on a Prius and also have a known good battery. I am decently handy with cars. I don't know much about Prius cars but I do know some things and I'm a fast learner. I work at a car lot and we get cars from auctions all the time. I get to see how bad cars look before they are detailed. They are disgusting. I currently have a nice car and my two kids have torn it all up as well. I don't allow food in my car, but there is dirt and mud everywhere and it needs detailed. I have seen a lot of Gen 2 Prius cars with really nice cloth interior especially considering that some of them are approaching 300K. I have seen some Gen 3 models for sale and you can tell the dealer tried to detail the car but it seems the Gen 3 interior doesn't clean up as well when it comes to deep dirt and stains.

I've rented a 04, 10, and 16 Prius. I liked the Gen 2 interior but noticed that I was messing with the touchscreen a lot instead of keeping my eyes on the road. In the 2010 model, it seems they tried to address this issue but I don't like all the radio and climate control buttons and they are hard to figure out at night and I don't like that the video screen is gone and the energy indicator is part of the dash display. If I had a good reason, I suppose I could get used to the Gen 3 display. But I've read that the Gen 3 models have more issues than Gen 2 and Gen 3 hasn't even been out as long. I can't remember everything I saw on the list. But if anyone can give me good advice because I see Gen 2 models with 200K for $3500 and I see 2010 Gen 3 models with 200K also for $3500. Which is better and more reliable? Thanks everyone for all the info. My last question is, how do you find out what "package number" the Prius is? Toyota did a terrible job of marketing their options IMO. I ask most owners what package number their Prius is and they don't even know. Some things are obvious to figure out such as leather seats or cloth, but they are a lot of other options that I don't know how to determine by looking at internet ad pics. Upgraded stereo? Added features? HID headlights? Wheel upgrade? Etc

 

I can address the issues with the 2010 quickly. That was the first year of the third generation model. The first year of any model or generation is usually the one with the most problems as problems show themselves and get addressed/fixed in subsequent years. Personally I would take a 2009 (last year of the second generation) over a 2010 (first year of the third generation).

 

If the car you purchased spent its entire life in the moderate climate of San Diego, I would say that bodes well for the longevity of its HV battery. Our 2007 Touring spent most of its life in that area, and is now approaching 275k miles on the original battery. We paid $6,300 Cdn (about $5k US) for our car with 211k on the odometer, and I would consider that a good deal considering that we haven't really had to do anything to it, other than change the fluids, tires and spark plugs. Well, we did have to replace the windshield when a chip turned into a crack and at 272k our original inverter pump finally failed, with a repair cost of $377. (I could have saved a couple of hundred if I'd chosen to replace the inverter pump myself). In addition to HV battery issues, I've seen a lot of instances of ABS actuator failures in the Gen 2 cars on this forum, another big ticket item we have so far managed to avoid with our car. Hopefully your experience will be the same.

 

I"l try to make a list of things to consider.

Storage: Gen 2 wins with more little places to put stuff.
Noise: Gen 3 is quieter, but nowhere near luxury quiet.
Power: Gen 3 is a little stronger.
Fuel economy: Gen 3 does a bit better.
Ease of maintenance: I'd have to say Gen 2 but it's close. No EGR circuit to clog up. However, the Gen 2 has an external belt for the water pump to keep an eye on although it's cheap and easy to replace. You just don't want it to break. But the Gen 2 has a "thermos bottle" for engine coolant to make warm-up quicker while the Gen 3 trades that for routing engine coolant to the catalytic converter for quicker warm up and it's very effective.
Reliability: both approach the reliability of gravity.
The x factor: Gen 2 has a bladder in the gas tank for emissions control that sometimes makes it hard to tell if you've filled the tank or not. Also, the Gen 3 offers more data and feedback to help you drive more efficiently.

Hope this helps.

 

I read a post, and it was on this site but I can't find it now. There was a list of pros and cons of Gen 2 and Gen 3. I remember that the Gen 3 had head gasket problems. I never saw anything on this on the internet, but I looked it up and yes a lot of people have complained about this. Yeah I know all cars are going to have issues. Buying a used car with over 200K is scary. What is weird is that I know the Prius is capable of 300K, but I also know they are rated to do better in the city on MPG VS Highway. Most Prius cars that I've seen have extremely high miles for the year, meaning they had to all have been used for highway driving. Seems like the Prius is the go to car for highway driving.

 

Within your budget, have you taken a look at the 2009 for sale right there in Fort Wayne at Image Cars? $5397 with only 112k miles on it. If that one has good service records it might be just what your looking for. It likely isn't close to needing a battery replacement for a few more years at the earliest. With reconditioning the batteries it might still be good for quite a long time.

Image also has a 2007 for $4985 with 148k miles that's ok but doesn't look like nearly as good of a deal.