I have a 2006 Prius with over 219,000 miles on it. I can’t imagine this is the original hybrid battery. Is there any way to interrogate the manufacture and/or installation date in the battery?
Hello and welcome to PriusChat. IF a Toyota dealer replaced the hybrid battery, then they should have a record of it. Otherwise, someone would have to disassemble things enough to get a visual inspection of the battery modules (there are ID codes that can give production dates). Some battery "refurbishers" paint the battery housing. If you pull the tray out of the luggage area to expose the spare tire, you can just see the edge of the housing. Normally it looks like "silver" (plated steel). There's a code on the housing but that doesn't mean that the modules inside haven't been replaced. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
It may well be hard to believe, but is very possible. My 2006 still has the original battery in it. Every year since 2016 I have wondered if this is the year it will fail, but so far it has just kept on going. I have reconditioned it twice since 2016, and top balanced it maybe 3 or 4 times. I do the conditioning when I notice fuel consumption go up siginifcantly over distance. From mid to late 4's (L/100 km) to early to mid 5's or higher is what I'm looking for. If the car is driven 15,000 to 20,000 mi or more per year then no special maintenance should be required.
