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Replace hybrid battery in Sacramento area

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by Foothillprius, Jan 16, 2019.

  1. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    If getting a new battery from Toyota I would always recommend paying the core fee and taking the new pack home with you.

    Then you can have all the time you need to figure out all the parts that need to be moved over.
    It is very easy to miss small things like the metal end plate, or the plastic end plate clip.
    Or even more important parts like the vent tubes or black cap near the computer end of things.
    And if the core gets sent back with your needed parts on it, you likely will not get them back and instead have to buy them new.
     
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  2. ShahGAutos

    ShahGAutos Junior Member

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    I was in the same boat with the Green Bean Batteries until I started reading about them on this forum. If I could get a new OEM battery pack like @Foothillprius I would go that route. The only part I'm worried about is what to transfer over once you have the new pack and how to do it. I live in Sacramento too and my prius is good for now, but I'd like to be prepared once it goes out or gets close. If you need a hand thou let me know...it'll give me practice when I tackle mine one day lol
     
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  3. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    $1950 is a more typical price for a one-time consumer purchase at the counter.

    Once you have the new pack at home you will figure it out. Go slow. Take lots of pictures.
    I work on hybrids and EVs for a living and have done hundreds of batteries.
    Off the top of my head...
    Metal end plate
    Clearish plastic piece that holds endplates on
    Black plastic piece on top of pack near computer end
    Rubber flexible vent tubes on top of battery
    White plastic piece that connects on end tubes
    Computer assembly

    New pack comes with parts. Be sure to use them all and not reuse old parts. Nuts, positive lead, negative lead, 2 nuts with captured washers, 4 solid nuts, foam for each side of pack, fuse holder, black cap for fuse holder leads, etc.
     
  4. ShahGAutos

    ShahGAutos Junior Member

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    Wow!! That’s super helpful! Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me.
     
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  5. Brian in Tucson

    Brian in Tucson Active Member

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    The warranty on OEM batteries is pretty pro forma. The chances of a factory battery failing is somewhere between none and 0. The cost difference between the 2K1Toaster battery and OEM is fairly significant tho. I don't think the jury is out on his batteries reliability, tho.
     
  6. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    There have been some OEM batteries have a premature death. As far as I know none of @2k1Toaster kits have had issues.
     
  7. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    So far so good. :)
     
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  8. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Glad Ito hear things are going well.

    I put in new cylindrical batteries into Honda hybrids almost 5 years ago. Just had the first one fail. Although I have certainly seen other new cylindrical cells fail at 3 years.

    Only time and experience in the real world will confirm how things go for the latest round of cylindricals being put into Prius.

    Even before the toaster kit we had been testing simar cylindricals for Toyota and had good results.
     
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  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    You also have one of these kits you tested. Is it still functioning well?
     
  10. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    I bought one way back at the beginning mainly because everyone was so leery about trying it. Lots of talk but no takers.

    I kept it long enough to prove to myself that it wasn't complete garbage (like some other cylindricals). If it had been garbage I would have very loudly warned everyone to steer clear of it.

    Realistically I didn't really need it and so I sold it at a discount to another forum member.

    I have lots of packs around the shop.
    Plus Toyota dropped their wholesale price enough to make it competitive and a lot less work/liability than the kit. (From a business perspective).

    If the initial few months were any indication, it worked fine enough. And that has been borne out from others experience so far.
     
  11. Donna Glover

    Donna Glover New Member

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    Hello folks I am also in the Roseville area and thinking of buying a used Prius and Im reading all this information on Prius battery failure. I was wondering if you all could give me some input about whats the possibility of them needing to be replaced. I tend to keep my car a long time and I hope to do that again this time around. My current Honda has 245,000 miles on it and it still goes great. So I hope a Prius will do that also but this battery issue is kind of making me wonder. What are the odds that a battery will need to be replaced on 2015 or newer hybrid. Thanks! And what would be the cost now in Roseville/Sacramento area?
     
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  12. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Welcome to Prius Chat (y).

    The battery will go out over time as everything has a lifecycle;).

    But the battery will last you a good while, depending on mileage and year. Here in CA, there is a 10 year / 150 k miles warranty to ease your mind:).

    Good luck with your search and keep us posted (y).
     
  13. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Welcome.
    The big mistake people make after having a failure is trying to do a cheap replacement. The only new packs are directly from a Toyota dealer.
    A user here is selling a kit of new cells which make a good lower cost solution for someone who does their own repairs. Although the modules are not physically the same, they are electrically the same as 2 old modules. Heat is an enemy of the pack and the new design has better air circulation.
     
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  14. Donna Glover

    Donna Glover New Member

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