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seeking advice regarding red triangle on 2006 Prius with 179K

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by SR13, Apr 4, 2016.

  1. SR13

    SR13 Junior Member

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    Today I got the dreaded red triangle with P3014, P3015 and P0A80 on my 2006 prius with 179K. As the title says, seeking advice on which direction should I lean now. I know it depends on a lot of factors and wanted to get your inputs a bit to make sure I am being reasonable.
    1. Get a new hybrid battery approximately $3500
    2. Replace with a used battery, less than $3500 most likely $1500-2000
    3. Sell the car and get a new one
    (1) will let me drive this care at-least few more years and hopefully no more big expenses on this car.
    (2) is just a matter of time and may run into issues again.
    (3) not sure what will I get if I sell this car (may be couple of grand?) and buying a new car is always going to be expensive than the car you already own without any payments.

    Bought this car 4 years and needed only regular maintenance. Had to change the tires + HID lights + front brakes recently and now this situation with the battery. Am hoping this is the last of the big expenses on this car. I drive around 2000 miles a month (just commute to work) and am hoping to get another 3 years (another 80-90K mileage) from this car with reasonable maintenance without any big expenses. Is that reasonable?

    What would you do in this situation?
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I would buy another NEW battery

    SM-N900P ?
     
  3. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would try to find a new battery for a little over 2k and someone who will install for a few hundred.
     
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The warranty that many refurbished batteries come with are not really FREE. When a battery fails again, you have down time (lost work? towing?). Need to remove the battery to send back. Pay for shipping, possibly both ways. Then wait for an available replacement (days or weeks?). Then reinstall. Rinse and repeat again when the warranty battery fails again. A single failure again can cost you thousands in the Free warranty.

    If you're lucky enough to have the installer live close by, they will charge you a labor charge and possibly mileage charge to get to you with another warranty replacement.

    SM-N900P ?
     
    #5 JC91006, Apr 5, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2016
  6. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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  7. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Agreed but maybe you didn't notice this batt has NEW cells not used. It's still labeled remanufactured due to the external components.
     
  8. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    I didn't see anywhere where they say the battery has new cells. I did see "... rebuilt with 2nd Generation Remanufactured Cells ...", whatever that really means.
     
  9. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    No, actually it says "new generation cells" in the title but now I see in the description it does say remanufactured cells. My bad. So I guess "new generation" means the higher spec Gen3 cells? Either way it comes with a 3 yr warranty.

    I agree the more expensive Toyota bat will be the most trustworthy but it will only come with 1 yr warranty. The OP wants to soldier on for 3 more years so which way do you roll the dice?
     
  10. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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  11. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    That price is something else - US $3,435.15! Even minus the core refund of $750. A new one from Toyota is considerably cheaper.
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i have read that you can't buy new toyota cells.
     
  13. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Probly Chinese knock offs if they're really are using new cells.
     
  14. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Greentec is notorious in playing with the wording of their batteries. When they say "new generation cells", it does not mean NEW. With the new Generation 4 out, that wording actually is false now.
     
  15. SR13

    SR13 Junior Member

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    Thanks guys for the replies.

    @bisco I usually get work done at LG and they quote $3226 including tax. Gen 2 Prius HV Battery Replacement P0A80 - Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists

    Is it possible to get new HV original battery below the $2588 price?

    @fotomoto greentecauto sounds interesting but as others suggested language is a bit dubious. 3 years warranty is good and heard Toyota also bumped their warranty to 3 years/36K miles for replacement batteries.

    Toyota Increases Warranty on Replacement Prius Hybrid Battery. Now 3 years, 36,000 miles | EV Powers
     
    fotomoto likes this.
  16. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Boom! No brainer now. That's they way I'll go then with my 06 when it comes time.

    When looking at Toyota batt prices online, some include the core charge, some don't so beware.
     
  17. waynedubjay

    waynedubjay Junior Member

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  18. tvpierce

    tvpierce Senior Member

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    I believe I read that the 3 year warranty is valid only if installed by the Toyota dealership. So if you plan to install yourself or take it to an indie shop, you're back to a 1 year warranty. Just worth noting, because it can have a significant impact on the price.
     
  19. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Yes. There was a similar battery thread going on then (last week) where that infor was posted/confirmed. If you or an independent garage install, then it's only 1yr/12k.

    That thread had a scanned PDF from a dealer as proof. Although I certainly don't doubt the sincerity of the member who posted that picture, I want to, like the saying goes, trust but verify with an actual link to Toyota. :) The current webpage for parts warranty is a blanket 1yr/12k statement for all parts. <edit> That Toyota USA webpage is currently down so maybe (hopefully) they are updating it with the new warranty info.
     
  20. stockdaddy

    stockdaddy Member

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    Oh i thought when they painted the HV Battery case that fixed all those possible problems?

    Newer car is less maintenance though you get hit with higher depreciation. Brand new you'll looking at $3000+ deprecation per year which would likely exceed maintenance costs of used vehicle.