1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

My HV Battery replacement experience-NY

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Mike from Merrick, Sep 9, 2022.

  1. Mike from Merrick

    Mike from Merrick Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2022
    32
    4
    0
    Location:
    New York
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Just purchased my 2005 Prius, with 155K and in overall clean condition. No idea about how the car works yet, got it for doing some retired guy uber eats gigs. Parked my big block chevy vintage race car which I built, so diy work is right up my alley. Watched all the how to vids on rebuilding my HV battery since the red triangle of death light was brightly lit.
    Long story short, figured first time around would go to a rebuilder installer for these HV batteries. Since NYC taxi fleets use hybrids almost exclusively, my idea was to find the guy who serviced those folks.
    Somehow, I found Alex, a young man who advertised on FB. He asked for some detailed information, which after a learning curve, I was able to provide. Decision made, it needed a new HV battery.
    He made an appointment to replace it the next day, showed up early, and was the real deal. You know, when you see the guy who knows what he's doing, it's real obvious. And he explained everything in detail. He was an engineer from Ukraine, who had come to the USA to finish school, and studied the Hybrid process. He had all the computer programs needed, ie the Toyota TIS and more. He could have done this with his eyes closed.
    He opined on how he worked for the taxi fleets, doing their HV battery replacements. All information I was quite familiar with since I worked for Nissan North America in their Taxi program for years and knew most of the taxi fleet owners well.
    In one hour, he had buttoned up everything, tested it, then offered a road test. Perfect. Now, he was extremely clear on the paperwork, the warranty, and the necessary maintenance program and issues I should handle right away. I could not be happier. Rarely do you come across people like this. I consider myself lucky to have found him.
    BTW, he was so grateful to the USA for all their help supporting the Ukraine people. His mother and family are still there. By choice. He tried to get them out, but they wanted to stay. Love of country.
    He told me was not a social media type. Didn't visit forum sites, and may not know this was written about him. If you think you want to contact him and his business, message me and I'll get you his contact info.
    I'm not promoting him, nor do I have anything to do with his company or his business. I was just so impressed, so there's the only reason for posting this here. Can't wait to start driving this little monster!
     
    Fred_H and nancytheprius like this.
  2. MCCOHENS

    MCCOHENS Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2019
    189
    81
    0
    Location:
    Chalfont, PA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I think I had the same Alex do my cars, but his batteries ended up being less than expected. My kids both had cars with batteries approaching end of life. He did the first car, and then reconditioned that battery for the second. The first car got totaled 9 months later, battery was still ok though. The second car never had the battery work well and had to replace it. Had it replaced by another person, that was 2 years ago and still running fine. Yes it lasted longer than the warranty but the standard warranty was only 3 months. He was a very nice guy but would not buy a reconditioned battery from him.
     
    SFO likes this.
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,686
    48,942
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    It’s all about warranty service when it comes to reconditioned batteries.
    Great write, all the best with your new Prius!
     
    Mike from Merrick likes this.