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new vs. used hv battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by lauejp, Apr 20, 2007.

  1. lauejp

    lauejp New Member

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    I appreciate those who commented about my dilema regarding the dead hv battery on my 2002 Prius with 119,000 miles on it. I've decided to replace the battery and keep the car, but now have an important decision to make:
    Buy the new battery from my dealer for $3900 installed minus a $1500 rebate from Toyota, or buy a used hv battery from a local salvage yard (18,000 miles on it, supposedly) for $1400 installed. The warranty on the new bgattery from the dealer is one year, 12,00 miles, and from the salvage yard used, it's 30 days. I've checked with another dealer who's outsourced the installation of hv batteries to this particular slvage yard, and they gave them glowing recomendations.

    The bottom line is that it would cost about $1,000 less to buy the used battery--I'm leaning in this direction, because of the cost saving and the fact that my Prius already has 119,000 miles on it, but I'm also concerned about the condition of the used battery, etc. I'm looking for advise/suggestions/similar experiences, etc.
    Please replay ASAP_here or send to my email: [email protected] Thanks
     
    #1 lauejp, Apr 20, 2007
  2. clintd555

    clintd555 New Member

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    How much longer do you plan to keep the car? Since it's only $1000 more to get a new battery, I would go for the new one. You don't how old the used battery will be.
     
    #2 clintd555, Apr 20, 2007
  3. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Considering the miles on your car, and the glowing recommendations on the salvage yard, I'd suggest the used battery. With so few miles on it, it should be in great shape if there's no physical damage.

    If Galaxee does jump in on this thread in the next day or so, you might PM her. Her DH is a Prius mechanic.
     
    #3 daniel, Apr 20, 2007
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    #4 efusco, Apr 20, 2007
  5. ekpolk

    ekpolk What could possibly...

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    Is there any practical way to check to ensure whether or not the used battery is damaged or deteriorated before making the purchase? If not, I'd go for the new one, but that's just me. The age-of-car issue certainly is something not to ignore either
     
    #5 ekpolk, Apr 21, 2007
  6. c4

    c4 Active Member

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    The easiest way would be to get a voltmeter and measure each cell in the pack.. I don't think you'd even have to open the pack up as the ECU connector should have taps for each block of cells. If you could verify that all the cells are still holding a nominal charge and are all within a volt of each other, that would be a pretty good indication that the battery pack is still viable..
     
    #6 c4, Apr 21, 2007
  7. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    It may not be quite that easy to get to the module voltages, unsure. But certainly one could by opening the case and working safely with high voltage gloves.

    The classic Prius miniscanner (a Graham Davies product), does let you compare maximum and minimum module voltages. I have looked at them on the road, and find the extremes to be with 0.15 volts of each other. If you find that you are with some confidence looking at an OK battery assembly.
     
    #7 tochatihu, Apr 22, 2007
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