Traction battery check on test drive?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by andrewclaus, Dec 18, 2015.

  1. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    I'm shopping for a used Prius with fewer miles than my current '07 with 180K miles. I replaced my traction battery a few years ago when I noticed greatly diminished charge capacity on my daily drive, over many years, up a 400' hill. A hill like that has been my standard battery check ever since.

    My problem is I'll be shopping for the new car in a flat city. Do you know of a way to do a quick check of hybrid battery health on a city test drive?

    Thank you in advance, and for all the other great advice on this site.
     
    #1 andrewclaus, Dec 18, 2015
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i don't think so. without extensive draw down testing of the cells, it can be fine one day, and bad the next. the best you can do is check the mpg's, and see if a dealer can do a battery health check. but neither will tell you what tomorrow will bring. that's why warranty is so important if buying a new battery is out of the question.
     
    #2 bisco, Dec 18, 2015
  3. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    What I like to do is go out on 50 MPH road and start seeing 50+ MPG after 10 minutes or so. There may be some load tests that can be done, but not too common.
     
    #3 wjtracy, Dec 18, 2015
  4. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    Thanks for the responses and ideas. I took the test drive and bought a 2007 with 97K miles. I was able to climb and descend enough of a hill to get an idea that the battery was holding a good charge--about 200' vertical and the SOC indicator didn't move more than one bar, at the upper end of blue, climbing or descending (using "B" mode). Drove about 20 miles mixed hwy/city and averaged 51 mpg. The cooling fan never came on.

    In general, it acted quite a bit better than the old Prius, with 180K, about 130K on that battery (salvaged it 60K miles ago, with 70K miles on it).

    My wife drove it home and she got 49 mpg on the 25 mile hwy drive. She usually gets in the lower to mid 40s on the old car.

    I have a Mini VCI and laptop, but haven't rigged up a load bank or bench charger yet. Good info there--thanks again.
     
    #4 andrewclaus, Dec 18, 2015
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    From the mpg you're getting, sounds good!
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Dec 19, 2015
  6. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    OK, thanks for the clarification. I haven't done anything on the battery yet with the MiniVCI. I have been having problems connecting to the battery ECU. I've had the MiniVCI hooked to the car several times for coolant and brake service and checking an EVAP code, but I was only able to communicate with the battery one time (just checking it out of curiosity). The rest of the times I've tried I got an error message. I think it might be a speed problem with my old laptop. I'll try it with the new car, see what happens.
     
    #6 andrewclaus, Dec 19, 2015
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