Hello, I am new to hybrids and looking to purchase a 2009 Prius Touring with 106,000 miles on it. It's an hour and a half away from me. From what I can tell, it looks like it's in excellent condition. CARFAX looks good. One thing I saw that concerned me, though. The current (2nd) owner has hardly driven the vehicle. It was bought from a Nissan dealership back on September 1, 2018. It's only been driven less than 300 miles since then (8ish months). I asked him why he is selling and he said he bought for his wife, but she is scared to drive so it's no for them having it now. Should I be overly concerned about the hv battery? Is it good as dead after sitting that long? Is it affected at all? Also, is that a fair negotiating piece to talk him down a bit? He is currently asking 6800. Regardless, I would have 1600 budgeted to replace the battery, but it'd be great not to have to touch that money for a while.
welcome! yes you should. a 10 year old sitting hybrid battery is a time bomb. i would deduct $2-3,000. from the purchase price, or come to a reasonable agreement. take it for a test drive and see how it performs. if it won't start, begin with the 12 volt battery. all the best!
I have 2 spare battery packs from 2005 and 2006. Usually I re-condition them every 6-8 months. In average they loose around 10-12 volts in 6 months. So a good battery pack should not get in trouble sitting for 9 months. If it does one or modules have been weak anyhow. I would do a longer test drive. If SOC shown on the main display stays in the "normal" range of 4-6 blue bars it's a good sign.
Well if he’s driven it 300 miles in the past 9 months it hasn’t actually sat the entire time. I would be more concerned about the 12v battery. That’s the one that takes the hit from sitting. You might be well served to get a prolong system and cycle the traction battery.
You could run Dr. Prius battery test on it when you look at it. It may point out bad cells or the fact that the pack is good to go. OBDII Bluetooth dongle is $20 and Dr. Prius is also cheap. Good luck!
I just did a Dr Prius battery test with this exact OBD2: Incidentally the battery scored 58% life expectancy, I'm cool with that.
Someone actually beat me to it. I did buy a 2007, though, with 127,000 miles on it and a new 12v battery
