Saturday, September 10, 2011

How to get the Toyota hybrid Prius battery changed and how much does it cost?

The main battery of my Prius 2001 is gone and I don't trust Toyota's answer for this issue.|||Are you having problems, If so it is the first one I have seen or heard of.


I have worked on Prius with over 150,000 miles that have had no problem with the batt.


If you do need to replace the Batt you will need to go to a Dealer, The aftermarket shops will have to get the batt from the dealer and mark it up anyway if they know how to do it without killing themselves, there is enough power in a new Batt to kill you.|||I also have not seen any of these batterys fail but the average cost i have seen is around 4 to 6 thsnd. and dont attempt aftermarket batteries etc. this is not a normal 12 volt battery u pick up down at walmart or autozone. And I would trust what my Toyota dealership is telling you. They are the professionals there vehicles prove . I wouldnt expect a dishonest answer from Toyota maybe from Chevrolet , ford etc. But Toyota has built a strong reputation they dont want to fall behind.|||at the dealer but try online, just Google what ya want, average is gonna be 4000-5000|||Take it to a VW dealer and trade for a diesal. I get 51 MPG Highway and the battery will cost 50-60 dollars after 5 years.|||do a lot of research. I saw a show that said they could cost 3000 to 5000$. On the other hand, the technology has caught on in the last few yrs and Im sure you can get a warranty with whatever they give you|||拢5245.59 if you take my word for it.


Personally, I'd seek a professional garage for a sensible answer.|||Hi,





what answer did you get from Toyota, exactly? More details are needed to give a complete answer.





You mention the main battery, so I understand you don't mean the smaller, lead acid battery that would be due for replacement after 7 years, just as any standard car with a lead acid battery would be due to be replaced.





The hybrid drive battery is a nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery. A totally new NiMH stack costs $2985.13, plus installation of 3-4 hours at the eletrical service rate of $96 an hour, according to a local dealer in the Chicago region.





Call your local Toyota dealership and ask for the parts and service department.





As someone else has mentioned, if you have a NiMH that has failed, and you had to pay for it, it would be the first one ever. Please email me the details of that replacement at professorprius@yahoo.com because I'd like to have that information for my hybrid classes.





There have been NiMH batteries replaced due to accidents, and there have been people who have paid to replace their NiMH because they damaged or abused them themselves (drilling a screw into the NiMH while installing a big stereo subwoofer, for example).





But there has yet to be a person who has paid for the NiMH because of failure or defect.





Now, it may be possible you have had a single cell of the 36 NiMH cells fail in the stack and that may need to be replaced. But once again, no one has ever had to pay from failure or defect.





Now, with your Prius being a 2001, it would still be under the 8 year part of the 8 year or 100,000 mile warranty. Have you gone over 100,000 miles and you don't live in one of the states that have the extended 150,000 mile warranty?





Many Prius are well over 100,000 miles, into 150,000-250,000 miles with no issues from the NiMH stack or





I'm not doubting you, but as I said, more details are needed to give you a complete answer. Please provide them.|||it s free go to toyota dealer you should be covered for 10 yrs 1500000 miles don t be such a skeptic , ford owners have to sell there kids to get a hybrid cell repaired|||There are 2 batteries in a Toyota Prius. There's the 12v accessory or auxiliary battery, and the high-voltage hybrid (driving) battery.





The lead-acid (Pb-A) 12v accessory batteries in hybrids tend to be smaller than those found in every traditional gasoline vehicle. The local Toyota parts clerk told me that Toyota has a bulletin for the 2001 to 2003 Prius instructing dealers to upgrade (at customers expense of course) this battery to a larger size one with more storage as they had many complaints from stranded customers. Based on other owners testimonies, if you regularly park the car for a week or more it drain and discharges. Deep discharges can cause premature battery failure. This battery does not take to jump starting too well. My experience, is that after few jumps it will loose its ability to retain a charge. However, on my car I noticed a harness on the negative (black) cable that offers a quick disconnect. It is also hard to find a third party replacement for this battery. It was $135.00 from the dealer plus $50.00 for an upgrade hold down kit. Some people are suggesting using the Mazda Miata 12v battery if you DIY http://www.elearnaid.com/12vobaforpr2.html.





If you are sure that the HV Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery is broken, your cheapest bet would be to purchase a used battery pack from a junked/scrapped vehicle (accident wreck), through an auto dismantler or a bid site such as eBay. I was able to locate 2 used HV battery pack from salvaged yards. One was for $450 shipped and the other for $600 plus shipping. Both had 90 days warranty. I haven't been able to locate a 3rd party manufactured These batteries are made by Panasonic EV. http://www.peve.jp/e/shouhin.html... But I don鈥檛 know if they have a direct outlet. Many claim that Toyota gives $200 recycling bounty Toyota should you decide to swap out the entire old pack. However, I read a comment recently from an owner who replaced his HV battery where the dealer gave him the cold shoulder when he inquired about the $200.00 rebate. If get the same treatment, thses 2 sites claim that the NiMH batteries are not toxic:


http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live...


http://www.hybridcars.com/battery-toxici...





As it relates to the dealer, I had a bad experience with my local Toyota dealer. I was greeted by a green young service man and found out later, from a friend who takes his Prius to the dealer for all routine maintenance work, that the mechanic they assigned to my car had no experience with prius. That mechanic was the only one on duty that Saturday. Needless to say, I got very disgusted, shared some choice words, insisted on getting my car鈥檚 key and refused to pay the diagnostic fees. After 4 hours of waiting on the diagnosis, and another hour to contact the service manager, they decided to wave the charge as a good well, Ha.


My personal suggestion is trust your gut feeling. Not all dealers are the same, not all mechanics a the dealership are equal. If you feel you鈥檝e been railroaded walk away with you dignity. Even if the next dealer or mechanic is 50 miles away. The comment earlier that Toyota is a superior brand to Chevrolet is false. Brand name does not curry as much weight as it did in the 70s and 80s. I am a high milage driver using a Taurus, a Chrysler minivan and a Prius. All have over 100K miles. Cost wise, when taking into account the premium I paid for the Prius, the other 2 cars are a steel. When one of the other 2 breaks, a trip to the local Auto parts store and 2-6 hours later I am done. In comparison , I have spent hours searching for parts, reading and learning every time I have a to do a repair.





If you wish to diagnose your battery you may want to buy an OBD-II scanner or a more Prius-specific scan tool for the NHW11 Prius you need to buy the MiniScanner: http://www.ecrostech.com/products/minisc... Also, many auto parts shops will do the scan for free, then you can look up the codes at: http://www.ecrostech.com/prius/geninfo/d...





If you are interested in dry technical readings:


Get a subscription to:


1. http://techinfo.toyota.com/ (US and maybe Canada)


http://techdoc.toyota-europe.com/... (Europe/UK and maybe Australia)





2. Download the repair manuals, electrical wiring diagrams, etc. as much as you want within your subscription window.





Read through the Toyota technician training courses for the Prius at:


http://www.autoshop101.com/autoshop15.ht...


http://www.autoshop101.com/autoshop15.ht...


Subscribe to:


http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toyo...


http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/priu...


http://www.priuschat.com/


http://web-cache.stream.ne.jp/www09/toyo...


http://www.toyota.com/html/dyncon/2007/s...

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