Since my son had the misadventure of getting sideswiped by a metro bus, the left-rear quarter panel and rear bumper must be replaced. I was surprised to see a labor charge of $668 to remove and reinstall the battery pack, to allow welding on the vehicle. Is this normal practice? This shop seems to see it that way. It is, in fact, the largest single item on the repair estimate, which totals $5351. And call me paranoid if you will, but how do I know the same battery pack finds its way back into the vehicle?
Yes. Not removing it risks destroying it. Besides, if the accident was Metro's fault then they're paying for everything, right? OK, you're paranoid :_> What would they replace the original with, and why would they bother? I would take the car to a Toyota dealer immediately afterwards to check everything out. Body shops have been known to make mistakes.
Well, I **hope** Metro pays for it. That's yet to be seen, and will probably take 3 to 6 months to sort out. The estimator says he gets a lot of business courtesy of their drivers--they tend to drive fast and tailgate a lot. And about my paranoia... There are at least two other Priuses in their shop right now--just thinking that mistakes can happen, and I'd like to be sure my low mileage battery ends up back in my car again.
Write down the serial number of your pack or put a secret mark on it and take a picture. Check when you get your car back.
Uhh... good point. But don't just record the S/N or make a secret mark: sign the case using a permanent marker. Then the shop would know that they have to be certain to re-install yours. Better to prevent a mistake than correct a mistake.
Are they welding near the pack? Otherwise it would seem that pulling the disconnect plug would be adequate protection. Tom
Hi Tom, Rob's original msg says the left rear quarter panel is going to be replaced, so this is within a few feet of the traction battery. It makes sense to me to have the battery removed because of the welding and to protect the battery from the baking caused by heat lamps used after the car is painted. However the quoted price for removing/replacing the battery seems high.
The shop tells me they've experienced problems in the past by not removing a battery, so they always do so on a hybrid before any welding is undertaken. They farm out this operation to a specialist, who shows up as needed. Maybe I should think about this as a second career! I thought it was interesting that a competing estimate did not include anything for removing the battery. They evidently didn't plan to take it out--only unplug it. Maybe I should be happy that since I'm only liable for the deductible, the shop with the most conservative plan is doing the work. I ended up writing the VIN on the battery case--hopefully that will prevent a mistake, and certainly will enable me to verify they reinstalled my battery. Thanks for the suggestions!
there shouldnt be a issue with welding, but for safety i usually pull service plug. if they are doing sheetmetal work around the area, for instance replacing the floor pans, or areas around battery, the battery surely needs to be removed.
Hi Rob, My dad was the first owner of my 2004, and he had the rear quarter panel replaced after his car was hit by another driver. After I bought the car from him, I removed the hatch interior trim while replacing the rear shocks, and noticed the Toyota identification sticker on the interior of the panel that indicated the part was a replacement part (not original with the VIN number). I also noticed that the welded seam which is visible when the hatch is opened was not exactly like the factory welded seam. Also, the metal trim piece above the license plate is held on with four nuts. One of the nuts apparently was dropped into the hatch, so it rattles around and can be heard when the hatch is slammed shut. I haven't yet been able to figure out how to retrieve the nut; I've used a magnetic wand and inserted it into the hatch spaces but haven't been able to catch the nut yet. Other than that, its all good. Good luck with your repair.
If I were replacing a rear quarter panel I would remove the traction battery. $668 seems a bit steep for an R & R of the battery IMO though.
The battery is back in the vehicle, and everything is hooked up again. There's just some cleanup left, and I should be able to pick it up. I found it interesting that another Prius in the shop has the engine/trans out for a frame repair, but the battery is still in the car. The fellow I spoke with speculated they'd left it in the vehicle "because the engine and transmission, and the associated components, are out of the car." I don't follow that logic, but I might understand if they considered the battery too far away to be affected by welding on the front end, or by heat lamps for paint curing. Wonder if the battery actually came out of my vehicle...
I've dropped a nut in the hatch as well. I managed to fish it out by placing a strong neodymium magnet (1.2 T) on the opposite the panel of the nut, and sliding it along to an opening. Only works of course if the nut is not blocked by any sharp bends, and the panel material is nonmagnetic. Of course, the rear hatch is aluminum (or at least some nonmagnetic alloy). Dave M.
Hi Dave M., Thanks so much for your excellent suggestion! To implement it, I went to the kitchen and tore off a piece of plastic wrap, made a double layer of plastic, and wrapped my magnetic wand tip in plastic. Then I used the magnetized tip to find the loose nut (took a few tries) and dragged the nut to an opening where I could retrieve it. Then I reinstalled the nut on the mating stud. No more rattles when I slam the hatch shut, thanks to you!
