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The Green Bean Experience Thread-I Did It

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by flypriguy, Sep 19, 2020.

  1. capndan77

    capndan77 Junior Member

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  2. flypriguy

    flypriguy Member

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    Well, one year out and only one "issue" to report. The first battery they put it, pictured at the beginning of this thread, failed after a few months. Called them up, sent them the error code, they came right out within a day or two, swapped it out, and it's been fine ever since. At this point, I'm still glad I went this route.
     
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  3. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    @flypriguy Question- Is the replacement battery also lifetime warranted? I mean in perpetuity? (Thank you for the update!!!)
     
  4. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Flypriguy, it makes sense if you have a older prius to get a refurbished battery, because your car older and has seen its day. I get it, your at that point where it is only the battery that needs to be replaced, otherwise, your prius has done well for you. I think new is always better when it comes to electrical components. If you get a new one, its new. It doesn't surprise me that your first battery failed after a few months. Its great that they came and replaced it. The thing is, your battery most likely will go out again, because it is used. When and where is where your costs start to add up. Will it go out on the freeway? Will it go out late at night when tow trucks are busy? Will it go out on the way to the hospital? Will it go out while you are on a vacation? In my personal past, my used/refurbished batteries gave out in the aforementioned scenarios. Each scenario cost me so much, I loss money on my initial savings. Hopefully your experience is different. But for me, new is always better when it comes to electronics.
     
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  5. flypriguy

    flypriguy Member

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    Yes, in "perpetuity". There's only so much time a GenII Prius will last, so I take perpetuity to be what, another 100-200K miles at best.
     
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  6. flypriguy

    flypriguy Member

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    Here's the thing: it's rarely a "suddenly dead" situation. You can tell because it starts to "fill and empty" quick. When you go from 2 bars to full within a mile or two, then back to 2 bars in a few minutes, that's a big, glaring clue. Also, this is my 2nd vehicle meant for driving my dog around on a daily basis to different areas around town for walks, and occasional dump runs.

    That being said, I do have the AAA membership that includes towing up to a few hundred miles (the membership you have to pay about $100 bucks for) to hedge my bets. Like the previous poster mentioned, it's hard to justify new on a 16-17 year old car, especially one for the scope of my usage.

    So, let's see what happens over the next year, but I am very happy with Greenbean and their responsiveness when I needed them.
     
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  7. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Every single person on Planet Earth has different levels of pain tolerance, and in the "big picture" of life,

    this statement is all that matters.
     
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  8. ricksterbusa

    ricksterbusa Junior Member

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    I just purchased a Green Bean reconditioned battery today. My battery was definitely on the way out. Unfortunately, when driving it this afternoon, I noticed it wasn't staying over the halfway mark and when I parked it with the air on, the bars went all the way down to the 2 brown bars at the bottom. I don't recall hearing the engine come on. Any thoughts? I already sent customer service an email.
     
  9. flypriguy

    flypriguy Member

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    That ***sounds normal***, but there's a lot missing... How long was it parking and running with the AC on? I think it takes mine about 10 minutes to get to 2 bars like that, just sitting there on with AC on, not driving. At some point the engine has to turn on while at 2 bars. Mine has never gone below 2 bars. Once I get moving, I think within 2-5 miles I'm up to almost full.
     
  10. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    If parked in ready mode the ICE should come on to charge it. Just like a camping mode. If in ACC mode, no surprise it seems to discharge.
     
  11. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Please don't tell me you had it in N?
     
  12. bchill

    bchill Junior Member

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    According to the shop I took it to for a diagnosis, they said there is also some programming that needs to be done after the battery is replaced.

    Are they snowing me, or is that actually needed, and if so, does Green Bean do that when they replace the battery?
     
  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Yeah, they're full of bs. No programming required. Direct swap and fire the car up and go.

    Now, if you're talking about the 12v battery, if you don't use a saver, you'll need to reprogram the radio channels and the driver window 'auto-up-down' feature...
     
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  14. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    @bchill Green Bean says they have a re-program that decreases the chance of getting another battery failure.

    REVVL V+ 5G ?
     
  15. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    THAT is an even bigger pile of BS.
    :eek:
     
  16. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    Of course you could ask them what the reprogramming is supposed to accomplish.
     
  17. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    This is the wording, not exactly how I remember interpreting it, but results in less ECU failures:

    Upgraded ECU / Green Bean upgraded reconditioned ECU with proprietary upgrades to prevent most ECU Failures.

    REVVL V+ 5G ?
     
  18. koco

    koco Member

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    Greenbean will cycle used battery modules a few times and match them with modules of similar health into refurbished packs. They have a machine that connects to each individual module rather than just the entire pack. It is more effective than bulk charging the entire pack, but would take a few weeks for someone with hobby chargers at home.

    I have seen some SoCal companies with that kind of setup who will sell a refurb pack for $550 with exchange. Customer service and maybe quality control might be the distinguishing factors between these options.

    Any battery can fail at any time no matter how new it is.
     
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  19. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    It is possible they have hardware modifications. Perhaps they replace the socket connection that sometimes gets corroded. ECU failures due to board component failure are relatively very rare. More common is socket/pin failures due to pin corrosion issues. Maayabe they pack a bunch of potting material between the pin leads. Who knows. Anything can be dressed up and have a bit of lipstick thrown on it to make it sound better.
     
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  20. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I don't buy any of it these shops have popped up all over the places and when you start talking to these people some of them should not even open their mouths let alone do they understand the basics of electricity electronics or anything that doesn't have a carburetor and a bunch of barrels and shooting flames out the back please

    SM-A715F ?