Indianapolis area battery repair?

Steve at Autobeyours.com Just south of you

 

First, check codes. It could be so many things, and the battery could be among the cheaper causes.

You need to modify your thinking.

Let's say you took your car with a flat tire to the tire shop, but you put covers over the other three tires that made it impossible to tell anything about them but their size and the amount of pressure in them.

You pay them to replace the flat tire. But you also have an expectation that they provide a warranty on the other three tires without any ability to inspect except check size and pressure.

Does that sound reasonable to you?

The simple act of replacing a single module takes about 2-3 hours if done quickly. What are you willing to pay for that? Are you willing to accept that it's insane to warranty the other 27 with no ability to assess their health other than check voltage (tire pressure)? When the next one fails in short order, are you willing to pay for exactly the same service with no warranty?

If you don't want to buy new, locate a reconditioned pack with warranty. Don't pursue the perceived false economy of having a shop just replace the failed module. Remember, your other 27 modules have 190K and 9 years on them. There are probably 3-4 that haven't failed are likely to fail soon without dedicated efforts to identify, diagnose, test and recondition if possible.

Steve

 

1) Why not call him?
2) Does your car start and drive? Hwy driving (above 42mph) with a faulty battery is actually pretty safe. When you do come to a city area, when taking off from a stop or accelerating, push the pedal enough to start the ICE but not too hard to require much energy from the battery. You should be able to make it doing this.
3) If your car becomes undriveable along the way, this can usually be rectified by pulling over and momentarily disconnecting the 12V battery, then restarting the car.
4) The Prius cannot be towed with all four wheels on the ground. If you opt to tow, you have to get a tow dolly vice a tow bar.

If it were me, I'd drive it but, you're not me and you have to feel comfortable with what you're doing.

 

Search throttle body and MAF sensor cleaning. You need both, and don't use the same chemicals.

Good thing you checked the codes.

 

For anyone looking now, hybrid battery repair service on West 10th in Indy has been open for a couple years. Good reviews.

 

An employee???

Horrible option, esp for a person who can DIY.


Purposefully misleading.

Back in 2016, it was verified that Toyota was offering Remanufactured HV packs: My Toyota dealer is selling refurbished traction batteries | PriusChat

• Remanufactured HV Battery (PN: G9510-47031-84) was limited to West Coast.
  
• Price difference was small: $350
  • $1850 Remanufactured w/ 1yr warranty
  • $2200 NEW OEM (1yr no dealer install, 3yr if Toyota dealer installed).
• Camelback Toyota and San Bearnardino Toyota were the two cheapest local (to Los Angeles) in 2016; they would sell the HV Battery and would price match other online Toyota dealers.
• Unsubstantiated Claim: "Toyota uses the same process we do to refurbish their batteries."
  • Says you. Would Toyota agree with your statement?
  • Definitive proof would be nice.

TODAY (11-18-2018), 100% NEW, OEM HV Battery can be acquired for $1699.70, from Conicelli Toyota (Conshohocken, PA). Possibly $100 lower from Metro Toyota (Cleveland, OH).

If you live near them, you are in luck. Otherwise, you will have to call Toyota dealers near you to see if they will price match, and sell to you, as not all dealers will see the HV Battery OTC (Over The counter), sometimes even to licensed mechanics.
See post #24, HV Battery sale, & NO Sales Tax (out of state billing address). Notice $1699.00 actual cost; $0.99 savings.
​

$895 HybridBatteryRepairService OPTION:

• GOOD: Warranty includes labor: "We warranty any replacement parts and associated labor should those parts fail."
• BAD: $895 will be price of HV battery w/ the shortest warranty. I did not verify this speculation, but all other HV "rebuilders" have tiered warranty pricing (longer the warranty, greater the cost). "UP TO 18-Month Warranty," reinforces my speculation.
  
• BAD: They sell indentured servitude to an unwise owner: "We have several options to keep your hybrid on the road. Just ask about our Ongoing Care package when you give us a call."
• WELL KNOWN that these packs fail for obvious reasons: assembled from best of the worst modules. Many posts of people going this route and their saga plays out as expected: breakdown, additional expenses, regret.

​

SUMMARY:

• $895/$1699 = 52.7% of the cost of a NEW OEM HV Battery. $900 and over halfway to a NEW OEM HV Battery is horrible.
  
• $895 = "used" HV Batt w/ a few months warranty. Unknown how much a used 18month warranty will cost.
• $1699 = 100% NEW, OEM HV Battery. 1yr warranty when NOT installed by Toyota. No known failures of a new pack here reported here on PriusChat. New OEM HV pack will most likely get you another 8-10yrs, just like the original HV pack that came with the car initially. You can always ask Toyota how much they charge for install if you really want the 3 year warranty; you could even probably get the labor discounted some if you ask for any breaks or coupons.
  
• Amortized Cost: $1699/10yrs = 169.90/year = $14.16/month (opportunity cost of 3 Starbuck lattes/month)
  • $169.90/year x 5.267years = $895; Will Frankenstein last 5 years? Unlikely.
    
  • 3-5 additional years left on the new OEM replacement.
• Options w/ the new HV Battery:
  • Can always sell the HV Battery, recovering a fair amount of your cost, if an accident/mechanical repair makes it too cost prohibitve to keep the vehicle.
  • Can move this HV Battery into another Gen2 (2004-2009) with a known bad HV battery.
  • Can move into a Gen3 (2010-2015) w/ a bad HV Battery via module swap (Gen2 modules into Gen3 case).
• Your finances, DIY ability/inability, current condition of vehicle, longer term plans for vehicle are other factors too.

 

They have a 1-year warranty included with the $895 service and +$100 for 18 months (as of a few months ago)

$995 for an 18-month warranty is solid IMO.

Obviously, a brand new battery would be better, but if you've got a lot of miles is it worth it? I can't see a 2007 going for 10 more years! In Indy, dealership quotes are ~$3000 and I was told they were 1 year warranties - maybe they are offering 3 years now? No clue about Pennsylvania - how are they that much lower than Indy?

FYI I submitted your comment and this link to the shop -

 

We will agree to disagree.

$995/$1699 = 58.6% of a new OEM HV Battery.
$995/$1599 = 62.2% of a new OEM HV Battery.

If something were to happen to the current car (accident, cost prohibitive mechanical repair), you could easily sell the battery to recoup a big chunk of your money, or move it into a different Prius with a known bad HV Battery. An OEM battery a few years old is worth far more then a Frankenstein used/rebuilt/reconditioned HV Battery.​

That is an individual judgement call influenced by many factors: money, DIY skill level, current vehicle condition, etc.
What is good for person A, may not be good for person B.

If one is good w/ a wrench, has decent automotive aptitude/ability, the cost of repairs would be VERY LOW. If such a person has access to a pick-up (owns/borrow), long distance towing is cheap. Just rent a vehicle tow dolly/trailer, or maybe the friend w/ the pick-up has this.

A 2007 is currently 11years old. Add 10 years, 21 years old in 2028. Only time will tell for those who keep it that long by choice or don't suffer a vehicle accident.

I see cars from the 80's (30+ years) and 90's (20+ years) still on the road out here. Granted I see far more cars from the 90's than 80's, most likely attributable to mechanical reasons. But, I will speculate, the biggest factor is probably environmental: lack of Winter snow and salt in Southern California.

• Maybe dealers in your area have colluded to be anti-competitive?
• Maybe dealers in your area have not embraced online sales? Lower mark-up/profit, counterbalanced by higher volume sales.
• Maybe someone who has intimate knowledge of dealerships will chime in why there is such a HUGE pricing disparity across the US.

My guess is: volume, shipping, and desired profit margin.

• High volume areas will pay less than low volume areas. Think restaurant chains. McDonalds corporation pays little for their supplies b/c of MEGA volume. Small local restaurant pays a lot more b/c they can't buy at the same level of McDonalds; best they can do is Costco/Smart and Final.
• Shipping to the coasts (East/West) is cheaper than shipping to inland (ie Midwest).
• Profit Margin. Some want more. Some want less. Some are effective at Online sales.

As you can see prices of the HV Battery is all over the place.

$1599.00, Metro Toyota, Cleveland, OH.

***$1817.94, Metro Toyota, Cleveland, OH.*** Same dealership, different website, different pricing! Sneaky.​

$1625.80, Pinehurst Toyota, Southern Pines, NC.
$1625.80, Boch Toyota, Attleboro, MA.
$1625.80, Auto Nation Gulf Freeway Toyota, Houston, TX.
$1670.14, TRDShop.com, Saltillo, MS.
$1699.70, Conicelli Toyota, Conshohocken, PA.
$1699.70, Hammer Toyota, Mission Hills, CA.
$1699.70, Marin Toyota, San Rafael, CA.
$1714.48, West Coast Toyota, Long Beach, CA.
$1758.82, Crown Toyota, Ontario, CA.
$1773.60, Toyota Parts Store, Miami, FL.
$1773.60, Tustin Toyota, Tustin, CA.
$1803.67, Camelback Toyota, Phoenix, AZ.
$1950.00, Stevens Creek Toyota, San Jose, CA.
$2172.66, Carson Toyota, Carson, CA.
$2588.67, Auto Nation Toyota, Austin, TX.
Don't forget to ask your local dealer if they will beat or match whatever online dealer has the cheapest price for the item(s) you are interested in. Doesn't hurt to ask. Worst they can say is NO, which does not worsen your situation. I can't find the thread where a member did do as I said; his local dealer (Ventura or Oxnard area) matched Camelback or San Bernardino online price for the HV Battery. San Bernardino is either no longer selling online or their website is being updated.

Learn to search better. Search "part number", "Toyota OEM part", "Toyota OEM part [your state]", or "Toyota OEM part [your big city, state]" to find Toyota dealers who sell online. Or use whatever key word searches your find to be more effective.​

Its a Free Country, for now. Do what you want, that is legal, unless you are well connected and/or have significant funds for lawyers.

If the entity is reputable, "corporations [/business] are people [too]," they will correct their mistakes. Gotta love Romney and Citizen's United (Supreme Court, 2009) for this.