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How To Clean Battery Cooling Vent

Discussion in 'Prime Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by macarose, Jul 8, 2023.

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  1. macarose

    macarose Junior Member

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    Hi there. Hope all is well.

    I just got a 2017 Prius Prime and it's obvious that the prior owner let his dog take rides in the back.

    I want to make sure that the cooling fans work as well as possible for both batteries. How do I remove the back seats and/or the plastic moldings to get access to that area?

    Thanks for all you do..
     
    #1 macarose, Jul 8, 2023
  2. road2cycle

    road2cycle Active Member

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    The plastic molding for the two filters near the rear seat belts pop off with a trim removal tool, then you can vacuum the filters. There is also a vent port (or two, I can’t remember) at the rear seat at floor mat level. Give them a good vacuuming with a shop vac.
     
    #2 road2cycle, Jul 19, 2023
  3. Marine Ray

    Marine Ray Senior Member

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    These two areas you need to address. Bottom has no filters, just vacuum. Top has filters.



    Charging air intakes.jpg rear side vents.jpg
     
    #3 Marine Ray, Jul 19, 2023
  4. MarcoDC

    MarcoDC New Member

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    Thank you for the filter cleaning video link!
    I have a question about a related service the dealership offered my wife.

    She went in for scheduled service and they gave her an estimate with this item marked as needing "IMMEDIATE ATTENTION":

    Hybrid fan cleaning:
    Hybrid System Intake Vent for Cooling Fan requires periodic service.

    It was a $185 service.

    She would have done it if not for sensing a "frighten a woman into giving us money" vibe as they overplayed their hand and also listed a 12V battery replacement as requiring "IMMEDIATE ACTION" for another $340

    What exactly does this "Hybrid Fan cleaning" involve? My guess is that it must be a nearly trivial service judging by the battery replacement costing $135 more than their own list price for the battery -- they certainly have a frighteningly high labor cost markup. So if a five-minute battery swap has $135 in labor cost, I wouldn't be surprised if the "Hybrid Fan Cleaning" involves sticking a vacuum or compressed air in a duct.

    But I can't find any information on this service or any instructions on what it involves

    TYIA!
     
    #4 MarcoDC, Jul 19, 2023
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