2006 Prius - Hybrid Battery Failure

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The Critic

The Critic

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One of my friends from college owns a 2006 Prius. I have done most maintenance and repairs on this vehicle since 2010. The hybrid battery has bit the dust at just under 140k miles. The usual fault codes and symptoms of rapid state of charge (SOC) cycling are present.

My friend is the second owner of this vehicle. This car spent 4 years in the Phoenix Metro area before it was resold as CPO by a Northern California Toyota dealer. While any hybrid battery over 10 years is probably on borrowed time (to an extent), I personally suspect that the vehicle’s time in the Phoenix high heat environment did not help with the hybrid battery’s longevity.

Furthermore, this vehicle has seen minimal use over the last 12 months. By minimal use, I mean a few thousand miles of short trip, in-town driving. I have been advised by a few industry experts that infrequent use of older hybrid vehicles can be very detrimental to the battery’s lifespan. Perhaps there is some validity to this theory. When I last saw this vehicle in July 2017, the car ran perfectly well and the hybrid battery displayed zero signs of obvious deterioration.

I will keep this thread updated with photos of the repair process. The current plan is to replace the battery with a new one from the dealer. Initially, the owner was considering various 3rd party rebuilt batteries but I strongly urged him to consider a new battery from the dealer for maximum longevity. Toyota has also reduced the list price of the hybrid battery to $1950, which really helped with the decision to go with a new one.
 
Lots of Prius' here in Phoenix, they're used as cabs and Ubers too.

A friend of mine is a mechanic, he just bought a 2010? Prius from a customer that has 379k miles. Was a taxi. Unknown battery history but it currently is supposed to work fine. Starter went out so she gave it to him for $300.
 
Probably just a dead cell or two in the battery.

Less than $50 fix, just replace the cell(s) with low voltage...

Fairly easy fix, only major problem is lifting the battery out, heavy...

Google Prius battery fix....
 
^^^^Cool DIY video, watched it all. As noted by one yt commenter, wouldn't envy someone having to do it, but interesting to watch. And kudos to the yt maker.
 
Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Thanks for the post. Having to put $2,000 into a car at 140,000 miles is not that uncommon, so I’d have to say the battery run was a success.


I agree, seems reasonable. Not much more that a Timing belt on some cars if not DIY.

Makes you wonder how big a market there is for buying these and flipping them.
 
There aren't any laptops or cell phones from 2006 still running on their original battery. It's the same technology.
 
A friend has had two Prius failures with the battery at around 200K with two different cars.
 
If I heard correctly, hybrid vehicles don't fully charge the battery to it's true 100% capacity unlike lithium ion batteries used in consumer electronics like smart phones, laptops, tablets, smart watches... And Hybrid vehicles do not let you run the battery truly flat like you can in consumer electronics. That is why the battery cells in hybrid vehicles last longer.
 
daughter just replaced hers on 2008 with 145,000 miles. Given the mileage and the gas savings it was a good deal to go this hybrid. Mine on the other hand if it goes and half the mileage of hers will have been a loser as the gas savings will not offset the cost of a battery. My cost is estimated at 4-5,000 but hopefully have 2-5 years left in it.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
If I heard correctly, hybrid vehicles don't fully charge the battery to it's true 100% capacity unlike lithium ion batteries used in consumer electronics like smart phones, laptops, tablets, smart watches... And Hybrid vehicles do not let you run the battery truly flat like you can in consumer electronics. That is why the battery cells in hybrid vehicles last longer.


These should be NI-MH not lithium anything.
 
Originally Posted By: Spector
daughter just replaced hers on 2008 with 145,000 miles. Given the mileage and the gas savings it was a good deal to go this hybrid. Mine on the other hand if it goes and half the mileage of hers will have been a loser as the gas savings will not offset the cost of a battery. My cost is estimated at 4-5,000 but hopefully have 2-5 years left in it.



That depends on what vehicle you are comparing it to. There are too many variables to say a battery replacement alone tanks the cost analysis.

70,000 miles at a conservative 40MPG is 1750 gallons of consumption, at $2.50 a gallon is $4,375. If you had say a full size truck that got 14 MPG that's 5,000 gallons of consumption, at $2.50 a gallon that's $12.500. Even with a $2000 battery replacement you're still way ahead on gas alone, not to mention the acquisition cost of the truck was probably higher given an equivalent trim level.

If you're comparing it to the manual shift 2017 Hyundai Elantra SE that my local dealer has on his lot advertised for $11,995 and rated 26/36MPG, you probably would never make up the acquisition cost difference in fuel savings even without a battery replacement. Of course you could also say "I'd never buy a new stick car that had been sitting on the dealer lot for at least a year". YMMV.

That assumes that the pure financial total cost of ownership is the primary argument. I have friends that drive Priuses just because they want to stick it to the oil companies.

et al, ad infinium...
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Lots of Prius' here in Phoenix, they're used as cabs and Ubers too.

A friend of mine is a mechanic, he just bought a 2010? Prius from a customer that has 379k miles. Was a taxi. Unknown battery history but it currently is supposed to work fine. Starter went out so she gave it to him for $300.


Another cost saving on these cars is they have no alternator or starter to fail. No transmission clutches either.
 
Hybrids make sense if 90% of your driving is in the city and if all you're interested is fuel economy. The fuel cost difference drops significantly if you're driving mostly on the hwy. There is also the enjoyment factor, my neighbour had a Prius and a more BORING car I've never driven, but his goal was to see how low a fuel consumption he could get. In he beginning I too was concerned about battery life, but Toyota has done a great job in assuaging this concern
 
Originally Posted By: Pelican
Hybrids make sense if 90% of your driving is in the city and if all you're interested is fuel economy. The fuel cost difference drops significantly if you're driving mostly on the hwy. There is also the enjoyment factor, my neighbour had a Prius and a more BORING car I've never driven, but his goal was to see how low a fuel consumption he could get. In he beginning I too was concerned about battery life, but Toyota has done a great job in assuaging this concern


Sure, but isn't the Prius a 50mpg vehicle? Like in the real world, gets 50mpg on the highway. Lots of cars getting up there but how many are hitting 50mpg?
 
Could you other guys clear out of this thread?
Form your own thread for mileage, comparing a Prius to a truck, etc.
This is covering a battery repair/replacement.
 
The guy fixing his ailing battery by cleaning the connections was awesome! I'd feel smug for at least a month if I pulled off such a fix.
grin2.gif
 
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