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Hybrid battery is dying, unsure which way to go

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by liberate88, Jun 18, 2022.

  1. liberate88

    liberate88 New Member

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    Just confirmed that my battery is on its way out. I have 222,000 miles on my car with brand new 45,000 mile tires I spent $800 on three weeks ago. Mechanic told me the other week that everything looks good besides the timing cover is leaking and one of my wheel bearings need replacing sometime in the near future.

    I’m looking for advice on which way to go. Used Prius are so expensive right now, I’m seeing 180,000 miles go for $7k, when I bought mine in 2016 with 160k for $4k. I also realize that I could buy a used one and have the same battery problem happen sooner. I live in southern Idaho. I think I’d prefer to have mine refurbished, but I also understand that it’s important to have that done really well and fully. I don’t have any skills for this project but I’m willing to learn how to do more diagnostic work.

    I was in another state when the red car with the exclamation came on and I drove her 800 miles home on freeways, including hills (which we went 35mph on). I’m kind of in shock that she made it and I’m so grateful. By the time we got here (5,000 ft elevation) the battery on the center console was no longer charging up at all. Besides going very slow on hills and the rear battery fan blowing loudly on and off, she performed fine.

    thank you for any information you provide!
     
    bisco likes this.
  2. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    I’d personally spend the money on the highlighted issues. Get all the bearings replaced and battery refurbed. Sort out the leaks too. Your car is a known entity to you as you have driven 60k in it.
     
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    start by reading the codes with tech stream. might not be the battery
     
  4. liberate88

    liberate88 New Member

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    is there anything I should know about battery refurbishment? I want to avoid spending $2k and having it only last another year or two.
     
  5. liberate88

    liberate88 New Member

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    I’m not sure I was able to write everything down but the list the tech read off looked like this:

    Engine failed to start (it did though)
    P3000 battery control system
    Replace hybrid battery pack
    Low voltage
    Actuator system malfunction
    Battery low
     
  6. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    Get a guarantee.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    that doesn't look like tech stream? the codes and sub codes are the only thing that matters
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there is a tremendous amount to know about battery refurbishment, and there are many threads here concerning it, the good, and the bad.
    1) do you want to diy? if so, you will need strength, time and patience, and a lot of education.

    2) if you want to have someone else do it, be very careful. there are a lot of shysters in the business, so you have to do your due diligence to find someone reputable.

    one thing about refurbishing is that only the bad cells get replaced, but on an old car, they are all marginal. so you can never be sure how long it will last. as paul mentions above, you need a guarantee from a strong company that has been in business awhile, and has a physical shoppe, even though they may have mobile replacement. otherwise, you're at their mercy if it goes bad.

    a new battery starts at $1,600. plus labor.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    here's a helpful article:

    toyota-prius-p3000-check-replacing-your-hv-battery

    his problem was just corrosion
     
  10. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Most mechanics are afraid of hybrid cars and electric cars so soon as a problem comes up with battery pack they won't trouble shoot or diagnose specifically what's wrong they just think they can avoid learning more by charging you a fortune to replace everything without doing more diagnosis. Fairly often a corrosion in the voltage sensors ( a $50 replacement part) can make an otherwise healthy battery pack look bad. Or even a corroded wire to the cooling fan that takes 5 minutes to fix will get these dunces saying you gotta replace everything.

    Fortunately this website will help you out... First step is getting us some screenshots of your battery data using one of these inexpensive devices and a phone app like Dr. Prius app: https://www.ebay.com/itm/265484403768
     
  11. Ancel Bhagwandeen

    Ancel Bhagwandeen Junior Member

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  12. liberate88

    liberate88 New Member

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    its coming on Wednesday, I’ll check back in then. Thank you!!
     
  13. liberate88

    liberate88 New Member

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    This could make a lot of sense for me, my hatch lets water in. I actually didn’t realize until this week that the battery is in the trunk. I just figured if my car was wet or my spare tire well got wet it wasn’t a big deal but perhaps I caused this by not resealing ‍♀️
     
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  14. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    If you just take the cover off of your hybrid battery which is right behind the seat it just snaps off you will see traces if water has been dripping on that outer cover He can't miss it usually water drips in and messes up the fan plug and connection or the big white plug that's hanging right under the gasket of the trunk and the right side of the car rear just realize your battery's about 20 years old if it's never been fooled with and it is passed it's life cycle you can play around with charging discharging sticking new cells at 35 bucks a pop in pulling pushing putting it back in and all of that if your time is worth that or you can go to somebody like the hybrid doctor who has the hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment and get a rack of sales ready to go balance to three Delta for $599 I know the route I'll choose to go but I enjoy doing other things but charging and disconnecting chargers and connecting hobby lights and all this and that back and forth I don't have the time for that but if you do and your time is not worth much then by all means and it's fun for you definitely I bought the dealer thing for 1400 mine was dead 20 years old coding the whole nine knew it was the battery you could see it on the display just looking at the different colors and how fast it went through them so once you change your battery whether you go with a 599 rack of sales balanced or a $1,400 battery from the Toyota dealer you will know right away what's happening everything will be running good might get more than 5 years out of that 599 balance setup who knows who cares The $1,400 one you pretty much know you might make 20 years out of like most of them did The few that got changed over the years early were probably misdiagnosis.
     
  15. alftoy

    alftoy Senior Member

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    Just checked amazon Canada for Panlong $11.99cdn $8.50usd , 45% discount for Prime?
     

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    #15 alftoy, Jun 19, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2022
  16. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Refurbed batteries generally last a few years and should be $5.99 to $799 The $1,400 to $2,000 will be a new battery a new rack of cells and your old ECU. That will probably last closer to the original packs 20 years or 15 or 17 whatever generally these types of batteries shouldn't go bad in two or three years they're usually misdiagnosed and replaced because somebody sold that job
     
  17. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Get a NEW battery (OEM or aftermarket). Once installed the vehicle will perform like a new car again. Everyone is amazed at the transformation. Then, the other repairs will make even more sense/cents. The car will also increase in value should you decide to sell. Put a new inverter pump in as well if you haven't done so in the recent past.
     
  18. liberate88

    liberate88 New Member

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    So I’m not sure I know exactly what I’m doing but here’s some things that came up when I ran dr. Prius

    That one test I couldn’t complete. I tried to do what it said but it never accepted it. Also it’s saying that the battery temperature is fine but every time I start the car now the rear fan for the battery turns on high and stays on the whole time.
     

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  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    have you cleaned the fan and intake grille?
     
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  20. Peter Stricklin

    Peter Stricklin New Member

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    This is what I'm showing for a new oem, probably what I would do in your situation.
     

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