My wife and I are thinking about purchasing a Prius soon. Last night, she encountered flooding on the roadway, and with police directing traffic through it. She wondered what would/could happen to the Prius batterys in the same situation. She was able to successfully navigate through the water in her Acura. If water made contact with the batterys, is there a shut off feature? Could she get electrocuted? Are the batterys watertight? Thank you in advance for your responses!
The battery itself is about the level of the rear passenger seat, so the water would be that deep inside the car if it got to the battery. The wiring under the car floor is sealed, but if water is getting inside the car you are in dangerously deep water -- not from the electrics but from a loss of control, particularly if it's flowing. The battery is equipped with cutoffs to disconnect it in case of a short.
Just to be more specific: The cables carrying the high voltage from the battery to the engine inverter have a metal shield around them. If any water were to cause any electrons to take a shortcut through these metal shields, then a fault detection device disconnects the battery completely. This makes it close to impossible for the battery current to go anywhere other than the engine inverter.
By the time the water reaches the metal cased NiMH traction battery, you will most likely have drowned in the car
