How long does the battery last in a Hybrid Priyus. How much would it cost to change the battery?

Answer 1

I assume you're talking about the high-voltage traction battery pack.

I have never heard of a shop having to replace a Prius battery pack, and many cars have over 200,000 miles on them.

If there is a battery failure, it's usually not a problem with the entire pack--just 1 or 2 cells. The cells can be diagnosed and replaced seperately, which is much less expensive than replacing then entire pack.

The replacement cost for the entire pack is still coming down, but your odds of having to replace the pack is very slim. It is designed to last the life of the car. Should it need replacing, (very rare) it is recyclable.

The 12-v battery in the Prius. probably lasts about as long as the 12-v battery in other cars...maybe longer since it's not exposed to high loads. I believe there's a motorcycle battery that can be used as a replacement to avoid high dealership prices.

Eric

Answer 2

How much would it cost to replace an engine or transmission on any other car? Many cars have transmissions that are known to fail such as the Chrysler A604/41TE. Here is a comparison using car-part.com: Traction/Hybrid battery=$250-$1512.50. Dodge A604 from 2000 caravan=$100-$1352. As you can see the battery does cost slightly more from salvage yards but the labor required to change the battery is way less so in the end they both cost about the same. The only difference being that the transmission is much more likely to fail.

Answer 3

Toyota has a 7 year 150,000 mile warranty of the Hybrid Synergy Drive Battery Pack. However, most dealerships, will replace the individual cells, as this is the most common problem. Average cost for this procedure should be no more than 1.5 shop hrs. Or about $180 - $200 including parts.

Answer 4

I work with Toyota and I am a certified Prius Diagnostic Technician.
If you are talking about the HV battery of the prius, it's life span is as long as the life expectancy of the car. Provided, you DO NOT fully drain the HV battery, thou, it automatically recharges itself. Now, the question is, how will you be able to discharge the HV battery???
Answer: That is IF you drive the vehicle with an empty fuel tank in which Toyota does NOT recommend at all.
Now, for the cost of it. I am not sure. Gotta check it with the spare parts dept.

Answer 5

I work for Toyota and a am Hybrid master, I have never seen a High Volt batt go bad on one yet.
People who keep saying they only last 80k is wrong. I have cust who have over 150k on there Prius and still running strong.
The Batt can be opened and replace one cell at a time if needed but as I said before I have not seen one need it yet.

Answer 6

Take a look at the link I provided. This guy has gone over 320,000 miles now on his 2002 Prius and still has the original battery. Apparently, he still gets up to 70 mpg on average. Also, some states require a 10 yr, 150,000 mile warranty on the battery. My state (MA) is one of them.

Answer 7

im not sure but i have heard stories from my mechanics on it. one of them he said came in at around 80,000 miles and the battery costs around 3700 to replace. that was when they first came out, but now toyotas got the warranty till 100,000 on the batteries. so i take it the newer ones are better, but still going to be a spendy repair

Answer 8

http://www.toyota.com/about/environment/technology/2004/hybrid.html
and
http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_library/display_release.html?id=20040623
http://pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/View?id=TYT2004062345528

Toyota USA press release from 06/22/2004:

How long does the Prius battery last and what is the replacement cost?

The Prius battery (and the battery-power management system) has been designed to maximize battery life. In part this is done by keeping the battery at an optimum charge level - never fully draining it and never fully recharging it. As a result, the Prius battery leads a pretty easy life. We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle. We also expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003 and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear.

Is there a recycling plan in place for nickel-metal hydride batteries?
Toyota has a comprehensive battery recycling program in place and has been recycling nickel-metal hydride batteries since the RAV4 Electric Vehicle was introduced in 1998. Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled. To ensure that batteries come back to Toyota, each battery has a phone number on it to call for recycling information and dealers are paid a $200 "bounty" for each battery.



and also:
http://www.toyota.com/html/hybridsynergyview/2006/fall/battery.html


Questions for the hybrid battery expert
A big part of the "magic" that makes hybrid vehicles work involves high-voltage battery technology. So, it's natural that many of the questions Toyota and its dealers receive are about hybrid batteries. Hybrid Synergy View put questions about batteries to Gary E. Smith, national service technology manager at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

....

Q: How long do the high-voltage batteries last?

GS: We designed them to last for the life of the vehicle. We're aware of owners who have racked up a quarter-million miles without replacing the batteries.

Q: What would it cost to replace a complete battery pack?

GS: Less than $3000, plus labor.

....

Q: Are hybrid batteries recyclable?

GS: Absolutely. In fact, Toyota pays a bounty to dealers who recover them from damaged vehicles. Additionally, our engineers are studying the possibility of remanufacturing these batteries.



In the US, the hybrid battery is covered under the hybrid vehicle system warranty for 8 years or 100,000 miles. If in a CA emissions state and an AT-PZEV Prius (2004 or newer model year), the hybrid battery is further covered under the CA emissions warranty for 10 years/150,000 miles. That's a full warranty - NOT pro-rated. Hybrid battery replacements are VERY rare - check actual owner's lists, and not the naysayers here. Often Toyota will cover/split some/all of the costs with you even if out of warranty, if you ask nicely...

And just because a warranty is over, doesn't mean that the item covered by the warranty is going to expire as well! The bumpers do not fall off when the bumper-to-bumper new car warranty expires at 3 years/36,000 miles, nor does the engine fall out after the powertrain warranty expires at 5 years/60,000 miles...

See also the recent threads asking the same/similar question:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/2007_Prius/message/14684
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Prius-2G/message/65558

As for cost out of warranty for a hybrid battery replacement, are you going to buy new from the dealer, or a used pack from an accident-wreck? Just the individual bad cells, or the entire pack, or the entire pack w/ECU and casing and wiring harness? What's your dealer's going labor rates? Are you including the $200 bounty reimbursement for recycling the old pack with Toyota in your pricing? The pack itself is around US$3000 new from the dealer (while used packs can be found in wrecking yards and on eBay for

Then there's the other battery... The 12v accessory battery's life will depend on how you treat it - don't leave a map or head light on overnight, or not start your car for several weeks, and you should be fine (just like on any other vehicle - not Prius specific). However, since the 12v battery is smaller in the Prius than found on other cars (because it is not needed to start the car), a suitable replacement can be difficult to find or pricey. Expect about US$150-$300 depending if aftermarket or through the dealer.


(Meanwhile, the only exception for the hybrid battery lasting is on the old/original hybrid battery design found on the 1998-2000 NHW10 Prius that was originally only sold in Japan, but is now being sold grey market in some other countries (like Australia, New Zealand, UK, Cyprus, Russia, etc.). In Japan, Toyota will do an even swap for your old poorly performing NHW10 hybrid battery with a newly refurbished one (even on this now 10 year old car!). However, outside of Japan the parts (and even the testing tools which may do the equalization charge without needing a battery swap) are hard to come by/difficult to find and are prohibitively expensive to ship. However, the newer battery design found on the 2001-2003 NHW11 or 2004-current NHW20 Prius sold internationally (which is what most people will see or are likely to buy) is very sound and resilient with little/no problems.)

Answer 9

i heard from the dealer last month when i went to test drive dem it should last 10yrs u can bring it back..it should be under the warranty...also the dealer said it could cost mayb around $700....but to make sure u might wanna call the toyota dealer u bought it from

Answer 10

It has 8 year, 100,0000 mile warranty. the cost is around 300.00