In my recent purchase of a 2013 Prius v, I scored a free traction battery! Not your typical free accessory, I know, but this is what happens when the bargaining process gets a little strange. The seller had this sitting in his garage, with many other parts from the cannibalized vehicle that got my new ride on the road with a rebuilt title. (2000 miles in, still no problems at all) There has to be some value here... I have considered the following options, some of which are probably far fetched. 1) Save battery for ~10 years until the current battery (maybe) needs replacement. Would need to maintain charge.... too much work to be worth it? I'm pretty good at saving things... 2) Somehow test and verify quality, sell to someone else at a fair price. I dont know if there is even a demand for these. 3) Somehow fit this battery into the trunk area and wire in paralell with the current one for double capacity! 4) Take apart into 12-volt units and use for other projects. (not as much capacity as Li-ion or even deep cycle Lead acid, from what i understand) What do you think?
Perhaps @ericbecky would be interested if it is in decent condition. He is one of our trusted hybrid experts.
Absolutely do not wire it in parallel. Even if it were possible, there would be no benefit. With one pack, 100% of the energy comes from gasoline. With two packs, 100% of the energy comes from gasoline, but you're carrying more weight. That's a net loss. Don't try to maintain it for 10 years. It will still degrade despite your diligent effort. You didn't mention the mileage but what you may want to do is verify the health of your current pack in case you are in need of replacements yourself. Assuming your pack is good, selling the spare may be your best option. You can just sell it as is in unknown condition or you can go to the trouble to swap it into your car and verify that's in good working order and sell it as working and get a better price. There should definitely be demand. There are tons of yellow v's in NYC and despite the consistent myths that the packs last forever in taxis, the taxi fleets are constantly replacing these batteries. And of course there are traction battery failures in grocery getters too.
While things maybe running well now, you don’t know how long that will last. Since this is a rebuilt title vehicle, you’re SOL for any warranty, so keep the battery. Not sure how to best store it, but there was a user on here several years back who “found” a 2005 with 100 miles or lower on it. So it can be done. Good luck with your rebuilt Prius .
@Mat_prii3 , Give me a call and let's talk. I don't generally buy used packs, but I may be interested this time.
