My 2013 Avalon may hit 200,000 miles within the next year. According to the Car Care Nut, these batteries seem to be dying around that mileage pretty consistently. I'm just wondering what I should be saving for if that happens, or if it would be worth it to replace it with an OEM battery. I'm not all that interested in third party. I want something reliable that'll do another 200,000 miles. It looks like it might be around $3,000 for just the OEM battery with some googling. I'm not sure if that's correct.
Looks like roughly $2750 according to https://toyota.oempartsonline.com/v-2013-toyota-avalon--hybrid-limited--2-5l-l4-electric-gas/electrical--battery
Typically the batteries don't just drop dead. Rather, they no longer provide as much buffer so that the engine runs more - thus reducing mileage.
According to my intuition, it's doing just that. When going down a mountain pass the battery meter never reaches the top bar. It also seems to run out much more quickly. And fuel mileage isn't what it used to be when I first got the car. I used to get 41 or 42 mpg average. Now I'm doing more around 36 mpg.
Ever opened up the battery to take a look at the module connections? Corrosion on the bus bars have lead to dying battery symptoms in other Toyota hybrids, and ends up being a much cheaper repair.
Camry/Avalon HV batteries are notorious for getting ragged out and the modules are usually equally degraded. Camrys and Avalons are tough on the battery. Are you a DIYer? If so, there are very good options available for "relatively new" and "new" modules. If not, the dealership or third party offering new modules is your best path.
Those are the symptoms of a dying traction battery pack. My old civic HB pack also recharged and discharged more rapidly than normal, before it started throwing traction battery codes. I'd bet if you start driving it like you stole it, it would start throwing traction battery codes.
PriusCamper just posted a link in another thread may come in handy if your battery is dying, and if they service your area. Green Bean Battery Mobile Installation Team Spotlight » Transit Tomorrow
I haven't opened up this one. I'll take a look. Maybe swapping the end modules to the middle might give it more life. Last time I took apart a Prius HV battery the middle modules were the ones that were dying. Yes, I would rebuild the battery if it makes financial sense. I do have a Prius that needs to be towed. Maybe I can take the working modules and start whack-a-mole on the Avalon when a module fails. I have a 6-cell NiMH charger and a battery capacity tester that can test the capacity of 6-cell NiMH modules.
That's a good business model. With Toyota, the question would be, how do I get it to the Toyota service center? There's one that's 60 miles away, but I'm not sure that they work on hybrids, and even if they did they tend to charge a lot more than other service centers. The one I trust is about 200 miles away.
