2005, 217K miles, Dr. Prius app says around 60% capacity. At around $1,700 at the Toyota dealers around here, I can toss one in and be done with it. Even though it's my rainy day errand/dog car, I want to keep this Prius as long as possible. I usually go by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy, but with all that's going on, who knows what prices, or even availability, will be like a few years down the road. If I do, it will be done with, and will likely outlast the car
Im starting to see and remember that the app always seems to say the battery is that percentage. Save the money and wait until you get a check engine light and hybrid warning, then check the codes.
I want to see battery gurus @TMR-JWAP snd @2k1Toaster weigh in. @ericbecky has done a lot of battery work too.
Your battery as not failed and is still healthy... But Nickel based battery maintenance requires periodic reconditioning to restore capacity: How to Restore Nickel-based Batteries - Battery University Prius packs are designed to work without warning lights down to 50% capacity and three successively deeper discharges and recharges will restore that capacity from 50% back up to 96% and when I did mine the reconditioning work lasted for 18 months... And not only is reconditioning equipment less than 1/2 the price of a new battery, when it is finally time to replace the battery years from now, your next battery will last way longer because you have that equipment. Prolong Battery Systems | Hybrid Automotive California, USA is the most popular seller of this equipment, but there are others like RB chargers and Maxx volts chargers.
Your battery is has not failed and is still healthy... But basic Nickel based battery maintenance requires period reconditioning to restore capacity: BU-807: How to Restore Nickel-based Batteries – Battery University Prius packs are designed to work without warning lights down to 50% capacity and three successively deeper discharges and recharges will restore that capacity from 50% back up to 96% and when I did mine the reconditioning work lasted for 18 months... And not only is reconditioning equipment less than 1/2 the price of a new battery, when it is finally time to replace the battery years from now, your next battery will last way longer because you have that equipment. Prolong Battery Systems | Hybrid Automotive California, USA is the most popular seller of this equipment, but there are others like RB chargers and Maxx volts chargers.
Funny you mention that, I have been kicking it around... I just need to learn more about how it works. So far, from what I understand, it takes like a day or two to pull off.
1600 for my oem Toyota battery from the dealer. It took me a total of three hours to install taking my time to make sure I had everything right and right. I wouldn’t go aftermarket too much of a gamble and half the time when one goes out they replace it, resell it, then another one goes out. Just get all brand new and never worry about it for the next 10 years lol. iPhone ?
It's a very slow process because the Prolong charger can only pump out a maximum one amp, so it can take several days... Alternatively you can speed this process up by pulling out the pack and working on each individual 8v module by using a 50W 12V light bulb to discharge and a hobby charger like this one iMAX B6 V2 Changer to charge up each module, but there are 28 modules so this takes a while unless you buy lots of chargers and lightbulbs. The nice thing about pulling the pack is you can replace or clean all the corroded hardware and inspect everything thoroughly... I prefer to use both the prolong system, as well as the individual module method... SO I have a Prolong charger and discharger as well as a rack of gear that can discharge 7 different modules and recharge 7 different modules at the same time, which makes things go fairly fast, but still takes a while.
I was thinking about this today and it occurred to me: I wonder if it would be more worthwhile to replace the ICE instead? There are plenty of sub 100K engines out there for well less than a 1K...
Why, when the car is giving you no DTCs, are you trying to make your life so difficult? I have a 2006 in my driveway with 341k miles on it. It's had a battery replacement and a combo meter replacement, and is a beast.
You do realize your engine has much less than 200K actual miles on it? Many of the miles on the car are from EV usage, some resulting from regenerative braking.
You’re probably right, just thinking out loud. Here’s the thing though, this is our 3rd Gen 2. I drove one for 7 years, and my wife hers for 9. We like this generation the best and as time goes on, the currently vast availability of parts is going to decrease. It’s getting harder and harder to find salvaged g2’s under 100K miles for example. At the end of the day, it’s not a huge deal, but if, for example, I could have a replacement ICE sitting in the garage for a couple hundred bucks, why not?
You don't have anything wrong with your engine? And because it's a hybrid it's only using the engine 1/2 as often as a regular car in many driving conditions... So unless you're only using the car exclusively for road trips, you only have 100K miles of real-life wear on the engine.
