I just ordered a new battery for my 2004 Prius. Was that a stupid move?

Welcome to PriusChat!!

How many miles on the 04 now ?

You should be fine with the recent purchase, and the neighbors generous help.

Many use CL to dispose of stuff, but there are plenty of other options now. You could list it here in the Private Sales/classifieds section.

Many still have an active interest in purchasing used examples in just about any condition.

Please post back here after you receive the NPB shipment and do the install.

 

welcome!

not at all. new prius batteries will give you many years of reliable service. 2004 is built like a tank, i think you made the right move. did you tell your neighbor? it involves cell swap inside the battery case, vs removing one battery and replacing with another.

 

Maybe. What was the price ?
And how many miles does this vehicle have on it ........and how much oil does it use ??

Then....are you saying that you have THREE vehicles, a pickup and TWO Prii ??
If that is the case, you can sell the old one on the open market or to a salvage yard......but will get close to nothing for it either way.

I hope the reports come in good for the company you are dealing with.
I don't remember.

 

$1,600.

they have an excellent reputation here

 

Hopefully everything else is in excellent shape.

I would agree that $1600 for a do it yourself battery kit and $100 for the install is quite a deal. Hopefully your mechanic understands its a kit that requires major disassembly to the individual cells and their replacement rather than the more common complete assembly swap.

I would think the job could take four to eight hours especially for a first timer doing this “component” level repair. The idea of new cells versus used (refurbished) is a good one. I think the NPB websites spins the cost difference between a complete new Toyota battery and their version, first with higher prices for the competition than many have found and second by showing a chart with labor for the competition and no labor for theirs.

Nevertheless, if you get the new cells retrofitted in your hv assembly as expected, you have a deal and have certainly added more than that in value to your 2004, which otherwise is worth maybe $500 In a salvage yard, partially due to the valuable catalytic converter.

 

One more thing. When a Toyota hybrid battery fails, one or more modules have gone bad but most of them, while old and near the end of life, still work. So, it is good to replace them all, such as with the kit you ordered, in order to have a reliable vehicle.

You get to keep the old modules which you can then sell on Ebay for a couple of hundred bucks.

If you had bought a new battery directly from Toyota it would have cost more and you would have to turn in the old modules. So the kit saves you even more money.

 

I'm in the minority thinking it is a bad idea to buy a new battery for a 2004 Prius. The car is worth $3000 or less. The car is 16 years old and with many expensive parts to replace, paint condition will be poor, interior bits will start to look old, and so on.... Once you've invested such a large amount to the battery, you'll be hesitant to sell or dump the car when it needs another major repair.

Some will argue you can sell the new battery if other parts of the car fails. But that would require more work in selling the battery, but it is doable.

 

I strongly believe your neighbor would normally do it and for that price it would be a normal hybrid battery swap not this stuff from that site. Sorry bad idea hopefully you can cancel order or return it and look at green bean battery they install it and give a lifetime warranty that is transferable once you sell it. Warranty also covers reinstalltion and they always come to you. About $1500

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There is a HUGE difference between a "new battery" and a kit of new cells.
HUGE.
I bet the neighbor isn't willing to do a complete cell replacement for $100.

And I was asking the OP what the price is......not someone else who is guessing.

And it would be nice to know exactly what they are getting for that price.

It sounds to me like they are making an assumption about what a "battery" IS and likely will be in for a shock.

SO......if this company really sells only kits of replacement cells......then this is a VERY bad idea.......because you will end up putting more into it than it will be worth on the open market......IF you can even find anybody to do the install for you.

 

To the original poster (if you come back and actually read what people have posted): As you can see, there are many different and strongly held opinions about battery replacement options for a Prius.

My opinion is that the kit from newpriusbatteries.com, which is what you seem to be talking about, and which includes everything needed for install, should be fine for you as long as you show your neighbor the site and he understands and accepts the process. If he says that is more than he is comfortable with, then you should cancel and look at other low cost options.

 

The OPs choice of new cells is certainly superior than a new set of used cells.

 

ONLY if you can find someone to install them.
It is a bit more complicated than "plug and play".

 

OP hasn't been back since making that post.
I just don't understand why people do that.

 

Its because new members don’t get default email replies to their posts. Admin might want to think about this. Pic of my default options.

 

Please ignore the gallery, there isn't a 'New' option that is "plug and play" (or even close).. they all require effort to install.

If you can wait for NPB to deliver, you will be fine. The install isn't anything crazy beyond the new OEM option.

If waiting isn't possible, find the best price at http://parts.toyota.com/ and call around to price match within travelling distance.

$1700+ "tax and core charge" is a good number to shoot for, some dealers will be less, and others more.