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hybrid battery water damage

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by jaegerd, Jul 6, 2011.

  1. jaegerd

    jaegerd Junior Member

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    New to the board. Sorry for the ignorance and trust me, I'm trying to learn. Car is dead, towed to dealer. Dealer says water damage to the hybrid battery. Need new battery, and perhaps further damage will be found to other components. Hauled a few plants from Home Depot that day with plastic under the plants. Dealer says water probably got on the battery from this????? So $4500 with perhaps further outlay once battery is up and going. Is this crazy?? I use this car in a normal manner, I haul groceries, kids, etc. There was NO water in the back of my car when I pulled out the plastic under the plants. This makes absolutely no sense to me and the fact that they are telling me it's not covered infuriates me beyond belief. This car is less than 2 years old. Any thoughts?? Thanks!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my thought is, go to another dealer. battery should be sealed from water. if you do need a new one, warranty should cover it. finally, if you do need a new battery and toyota won't pay. you can get a used one or a rebuilt from reinvolt. have it towed to another dealer asap. or a private prius repair shoppe. what lights came on when she died? did the dealer give you the list of trouble codes?
     
  3. jaegerd

    jaegerd Junior Member

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    Thanks for the advice. The "check hybrid system" message came on, along with just about every icon on the display. No, they did not give me the list of trouble codes. Dealer said he had "never seen this before."
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    stay tuned, i'm sure you'll get better advice from the more technology minded members very soon. all the best!
     
  5. jaegerd

    jaegerd Junior Member

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    Thank you! I forgot, he said the inverter might be bad but he wouldn't know until he put a new battery in. I asked how much that would run, he said about the same as the battery. Argh....
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what was his reasoning for no warranty coverage?
     
  7. jaegerd

    jaegerd Junior Member

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    water damage - apparently it HAD to be my fault
     
  8. wrexed03

    wrexed03 New Member

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    Sounds like he has no idea. Get it to another dealer before this guy drains your funds.
    At least get the codes and post here as mentioned previously.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if it actually is water damage, perhaps it got in through a DEFECTIVE protective casing. i'm yelling at the dealer, not you. could be rain/puddles?

    you also can bypass the dealer and contact toyota regional directly. see the back of your owners manual/warranty booklet.
     
  10. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Yes, go to another dealer and don't mention a thing about the plants.... sheezzz, that couldn't have had anything to do with. I suspect a faulty inverter and they just want to blame it on you.
     
  11. jaegerd

    jaegerd Junior Member

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    Okay, so I was wondering why in the world the battery wouldn't be protected, but you say it is, Bisco? Of note, my ex said he thought the car sounded "funny" when he was standing out by it the morning of the demise. Makes me think something was amiss then. I will call around and see about getting a second opinion. And yes, I did contact regional directly and am waiting for corporate to call me back tomorrow or Friday at the latest. I will post their reply.
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well done. i don't know the specifics of the waterproofing, but unless you had a leaking 55 gallon drum back there, i would think it would be well protected.
     
  13. jaegerd

    jaegerd Junior Member

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    FYI - from Prius FB page: The dealer is charging me $4,900, Said 1/2 day's work. That's quite a markup, no? Also on that FB page: Prius hybrid battery is placed in an extremely strong protective case.

    . How long should a hybrid battery last and what is the cost of replacing one?
    The life expectancy of a Prius battery is the life of the vehicle. This is unchanged from the previous generation Prius. The cost of replacing a new Prius battery is the same as the previous generation Prius, approximately $2,300 MSRP (labor not included). The original cost of a generation one battery was over $5,000 but the prices have come down over the years and it’s currently less than $2,300.
     
  14. drash

    drash Senior Member

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    What a crock! Its a wonder he didn't tell you it was because of you driving through a big puddle. Plants?!?! You'd have more worries from normal grocery spills like leaking milk and juice containers and coolers of beer than plants. Jeez I've been hauling plants for all 6+ years in mine.

    Umm not for nothing but you didn't buy this car used? Might have been a "flood" recovery car.
     
  15. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    For the sake of argument, let us assume that the dealer is on the up and up and the OP has been hauling leaking 55 gallon drums of water around with plants floating in the water.

    The Prius will generate codes (usually 5 digits, alpha, number, number, number, number) which show what the car thinks is wrong, this can greatly illuminate why the dealer is making his estimates. We need those codes.

    www.reinvolt.com and others sell rebuilt HV Battery packs for under $2000, installed. I also seem to recall venders in New Mexico and Colorado who frequent PriusChat who do HV Battery work. I hope they chime in.

    Used inverters on ebay are not uncommon. You would still need an Automotive Electrician in Austin.

    prius 2010 inverter -wire | eBay
     
  16. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    This whole situation smells fishy. Find another dealer.

    Tom
     
  17. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    I can't speak to waterproofing of the HV battery pack but I can tell you the Altima Hybrid's manual (uses technology licensed from Toyota plus an unknown # of parts sourced from Toyota) has a warning about water inside the car:
    The whole thing sounds fishy and we REALLY need the codes to have more to go on. Without codes, we're just taking shots in the dark. We have a number of repair experts here on Priuschat who can guide the OP further, once we have the codes.

    Besides, the Prius FB page, the battery pack prices are also at http://pressroom.toyota.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=2727.
     
  18. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

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    NEVER admit anything that will in any way infer that this could have contributed to the problem. It would not be factual, as you see the dealer used your own statement against you. But, the dealer did not know it was factual! Compris? :(
     
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  19. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    She was hauling plants not fish. ;) lol
     
  20. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    This is the only thing I could find on internet that fit that the above facts. This guy says if the gasoline motor (ICE) is messed up, it could take out hybrid battery. I do not even know if he is discussing a Prius. But I found nothing saying moisture could damage NiMH batteries, except what CWERDNA found in the Altima manual.

    ICE common cause for hybrid battery failure

    ICE common cause for hybrid battery failure

    January 20, 2011
    Poor performance of the Internal combustion engine is a major contributor to hybrid battery failure. When more power is required then the ICE can provide the electric engine kicks in drawing on the battery. If the battery does not get the opportunity to get charge up before it is called upon for a discharge the capacity drops even further. If this continues then the point may be reached where the weakest cell in the series fails under load.
    Causes for poor performance in the ICE are varied but the usual culprits are
    a) MAF sensor
    b) Spark plugs
    c) ignition plug in coils
    d) throttle body
    e) air filter
    f) oxygen sensor
    g) engine oil and coolant
    h) Clogged catalytic converters