Battery Struggling at only 50k Miles??

have the 12 volt battery load tested for free at most auto parts stores. not driving much can damage it, and that can sometimes cause false codes to present.
what code reader are you using?
9 years and 50k is definitely too early for a bad battery. if it is, i hope toyota takes care of you!
new batteries have been running around 4k, iirc.

 

This is normal when a Prius sits for long periods of time without use. Bascially the Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries naturally lose their charge when sitting for a long time and some of those cells will lose a charge faster than other causing the battery block four to be a lower voltage than other blocks.

The fix is as easy as putting a high voltage trickle charger on your battery pack to fully charge and balance it. Hybrid Automotive makes a charging system. Maxx Volts sells one too. You can also build your own for a much lower price: Build Hybrid Battery Maintenance Gear For Under $100 | PriusChat Maybe you have a friend of family member who's good with cars to help you do this? There's plenty of youtube videos, as well as PriusChat to support you getting this fixed for lowest price possible.

Because this type of problem is a huge money maker if you take this to a Toyota Stealership they'll refuse to do a charge and balance and force you to spend $4K or even more on a brand new battery pack because they're corrupt like that. Many shops will do the same, but some shops that know better sell a charge and balancing service:New Dealer Map - Hybrid Automotive

You could also upgrade to a sodium-ion battery pack, which doesn't have this self-discharge problem.

 

What city are you in, in the southeast?

 

So now, this is a new marketing plan? Sodium Ion batteries do not experience self discharge?
You guys have no shame at all about pushing nexcell batteries onto people.
I'm curious what the story is going to be a few years down the road, because looking back at previous posts, everything you guys are saying right now about the sodium battery, is exactly the same as you were saying when the lithium version initially came out. And....you guys defended the sodium battery tooth and nail against anything anyone said about it.....until the sodium version got released and now it's suddenly the greatest thing to ever hit the planet, and you guys are like, oh yeah, the lithium battery had some problems and practically put jack out of business, but we never experienced it on any battery we owned, so ......you should upgrade and buy a sodium one. What a crazy world we live in................

 

Severely overreacting. The hybrid battery has a life span of 10 years, after that deteriorates and go bad. I’ll let you do the math of the age if you hybrid battery.

 

Get a grip... Self discharge is unique to NiMH chemistry... No other current battery chemistry has that problem because modern battery chemistry isn't stupid like NiMH and Toyota.

And for the record, I didn't even read past the third sentence because your line of reasoning/questioning is so unbelievably pathetic/imbecilic I'm going to hit the "ignore" button on you and never see your comments on PriusChat ever again!

 

Yes, the charging process between roughly 240volts and 245volts is the balancing stage where fully charged cells dissipate the 1/3 amp charge as heat while other cells finish charging. Make sure you have cooling fan(s) running or heat might not escape and battery will get too hot and fail in other ways.

 

When did you buy the car from the dealer? Is the warranty on mileage and the period from the date of purchase of the car still valid?

I would not do anything if there is a warranty and was expecting a new battery from the dealer.

 

You are not overreacting if somebody told you a new gen3 hv battery is $10k. It is not. More like $2500 for new nimh if you shop around. But not by walking into the dealer where they have 100% parts markup and $150-$200 labor times book time.

Only carb states like California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington got 10 year 150k mile warranties on their hybrid batteries in 2015. Everyone else had 8 year or 100k warranties and Toyota hardly ever gives good will repairs unless it's days outside the warranty. It's worth asking. Eight years is not too shabby when well advertised Priuschat aftermarket guys won't honor one year warranties.

Local independents are your best bet - after you have it properly diagnosed. A dealer is as good as any for diagnosis - just don't let your new best friend (the service advisor) talk you into more.

Charging it externally might buy you a month or two as will simply resetting the codes every week or so. But those hacks just mean you punt the ball down the road long enough to actually incur huge tariffs which are not yet in place except as an excuse from struggling companies.

I would not buy anything from Nexpower who by admission of their cheerleader and salesman above is well on their way to out of business. One good lawsuit will have them hiding under their LLC. They no longer honor their pitiful one year warranty and have no respect for their customer once the check has cleared or the 60 day credit card chargeback is no longer an option.

No trusted independents in your area? Call Greentec for new nimh or rebuilt mix and match with a warranty that means something.

 

If the warranty has expired, then you can try recharging the battery. Either a homemade charger or from Prolong.
It is not as expensive as buying a new one.

 

Here's best place to get started: FAQ - Hybrid Automotive

Then for charging and rebalancing check these directions here: Product Guides - Hybrid Automotive These directions apply to all charging systems even if its not one from Hybrid Automotive.

 

Time is harder on these batteries than miles.

It's a little like buying an ice cream cone while you're walking through a park on a hot day: You don't have to enjoy the ice cream, but you can't save it for later.

 

oh, your profile shows south east, nc is east central...
It is possible the weak 12v battery is causing issues.
Charging it up for 8 hours at 5amps or less might help. And disconnecting it for 30 minutes
should clear the codes and allow you to start the car and let it idle for several seconds then
slowly drive off and then drive for while to charge the hybrid battery.
You need a good code ready for the hybrid battery to clean the codes if that doesn't work.

The Dr. Prius app can clear them.