Does the gen 3 have a traction batttery air filter?

nope, but you can get one from the dealer /

 

elearnaid.com

i think toyota started adding them in the refresh. why not sooner? no idea, toyota is inscrutable

 

negative, my refresh didn't have a filter. filter would obstruct intake efficiency so that's why a code will be thrown to clean.

 

Yeah I think the later 3rd gen years added a filter.

Still, I would not count on it; have a look for yourself, clean everything, including the fan, so you've got some idea how fast the dust/lint builds up.

FWIW I put a piece of window screen mesh on the back side of the inlet grill, and made a point to check it everything, a couple of times so far. With our very low miles, and the near-pristine appearance of that screen so far, not sure if I'll bother doing a full clean for a long time now.

But it's good get a "baseline", so you know.

 

Nice technique. My diy filter is from a mosquito repair kit. Has Velcro snap to secure the net around the intake lip.

 

@NutzAboutBolts is a member here and has tons of great video walkthroughs for most prius maintenance.

 

Yeah good video. One comment: you can avoid pulling off the rear seat. There's just one bolt you need to access behind the seat, in vicinity of the air inlet grill. If you push apart the seat back and bottom, you can reach through with a 12 mm socket on a 6"~ extension. Be careful not to drop the bolt.

 

There’s no filter because it isn’t necessary unless you often drive with pets in your car.

The engine has a filter because dirt is very bad inside the crankcase. The cabin has one as a comfort feature to make fresh cabin air a little cleaner — cars had no such filters for decades.

The fan which cools the battery pack is pretty big and dirt won’t effect it, only lots of hair.