Replacing the Toyota Prius Batteries?

The lifespan of the Prius battery isn't actually known because not enough Prius have gone 300,000 to 500,000 miles yet. Battery replacements from 2004+ models (which have the new style battery) have been very few. For Prius owners like myself, the battery is a non-issue similar to how an automatic transmission is a non-issue for old fashioned car owners.

Should the battery require replacing, you can purchase a new one for under $2000 plus $500 installation. http://www.trademotion.com/parts/2009/TOYOTA/PRIUS...

You can also purchase a rebuilt one from companies such as http://www.re-involt.com/ for less. Or you can purchase one out of a wreck for about $500. This is similar to replacing an automatic transmission in other cars. But really it's a non-issue.

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/hybrids-prove-very-reliable-1...

I have both a 2004 Prius and a 2001 Prius. Both have been trouble-free, fun to drive, and extremely reliable over the 140,000 and 100,000 miles I've driven them so far. The high owner satisfaction rating that the Prius receives indicates that my good experiences are not unique. This year the Prius is the number three best selling car behind Corolla and Focus.

2004 Prius MPG from the logbook. (Complete years only):

2003-2004 -- 50.8 mpg 17,628 miles

2005 -- 52.6 mpg 14,688 miles

2006 -- 56.3 mpg 16,174 miles

2007 -- 57.3 mpg 18,384 miles

2008 -- 59.9 mpg 21,755 miles

2009 -- 61.4 mpg 16,177 miles

2010 -- 65.2 mpg 12,134 miles

2011 -- 66.9 mpg 11,272 miles

For the answers to your questions about the cells, join the Yahoo Prius technical group and search the archives. There are folks who have replaced the individual cells in the 2001-2003 Prius.

As far as diesels go, I had one of the new TDI diesels:

A. It cost a fortune to maintain. 22 cents per mile for dealer maintenance alone over the 95,000 miles I kept it. This compares to 12 cents per mile for dealer maintenance, tires, and fuel combined on the 2004 Prius. (My wife doesn't keep a logbook so I don't know the exact numbers for the 2001, but it seems similar.)

B. Diesels can't even come close to the Prius' mpg unless they are sub-compacts. The Prius is a mid-sized car.

C. Diesel fuel is 10% to 20% more expensive than the regular gas the Prius uses, so you have to subtract that amount from the diesel's mpg to get the equivalent regular gas mpg.

D. Every fill with a diesel is a smelly mess. Gets all over your hands and they stink for hours.

E. You can't keep a diesel car in the garage because every time you start it, it stinks up the garage badly.

I understand you concerns re diesel, but to be quite honest you have to look beyond actual fuel consumption... The prius is a very complex car, it has been reliable, but its fuel consumption isnt really that great when compared to a small diesel or even a very new petrol. They are expensive to make and because of all the complexity their manufacture carbon footprint is probably awful - a large proportion of the emissions caused by a car over its lifetime are actually caused by making it. So just go for the most economical petrol model that will do what you need.

Do not mess around trying to replace individual elements of a battery pack - once cells start to fail then replacing them will leave you with an unbalanced pack which will just need continual attention - thats assuming you can actually replace these cells easily, suspect not. Your local garage will run away on this one and the Toyota agent won't mess around - bad battery pack = new battery pack.

A hybrid is not the answer unless you live somewhere like London where they think they cause less pollution.

The original Japan-only NHW10 ~1997-2000 Prius used 240 individual "D" cells in the traction pack, the NHW11 2001-2003, NHW20 2004-2009, and ZVW30 all use prismatic modules of 6 cells each. 38 modules (228 cells, 273.6 volts nominal) for NHW11, and 28 modules (168 cells, 201.6V) for NHW20 and ZVW30.

The Prius-C/Yaris hybrid is 20 modules (120 cells, 144V)

1

Yeah! Now a days everyone in the US wants to have a hybrid in their garage and I am sure many new people are looking towards it. You can easily find your required batteries at SBT Japan.

Hybryd battery 20years accesory battery 8 or 9 years like anyother car battery..they have 2 batteries would be helpful to know whitch one you are talking about..

Cheap batteries aren't good, and good batteries aren't cheap. Don't bother with a second hand Prius, the economy was never anywhere near as good as claimed, and with worn batteries they're worse than most similar sized cars with a small engine. You'd get much more difference in mpg from changing driving style than a poncey Prius would ever give you!

You do realise there is no Hybrid yet that can match the MPG of a good diesel? Then as you already know before you buy one you have the ongoing cost of fuel and replacing the "expensive" batteries.

They are not and never will be the way forward and only purchased by people who are trying to make a statement but instead screams "I am an idiot".

Not the battery or the Prius you need to worry about but the "Toyota" badge at the front!

They have the highest recall rate for potential fatal faults of any manufacturer (brakes, throttle, steering rack - you know! the important stuff) - I wouldn't touch one with a 20ft pole!!

You're looking at ££thousands to replace Prius batteries. Don't even consider one either new or used.

they're AWFUL cars, and far less economical than a Golf/Focus/Megane/Civic Diesel.