Pondering of shopping for a Toyota Prius? A Prius not solely saves you appreciable fuel cash, however it additionally delivers in relation to type, consolation, and efficiency. Higher but, it’s at all times good to know you’re doing all your half to save lots of the setting. What’s to not love?
However there’s one burning query that’s stopping you from shopping for one.
How lengthy will a hybrid battery final?
Extra to the purpose, does it include a Prius battery guarantee that provides sufficient protection to make the acquisition value it in the long term?
When you’re performed studying this text, you’ll know what to anticipate from a Prius battery when it comes to its lifespan, guarantee protection, and what your finest choices are in case your hybrid battery fails after the guarantee interval.
In different phrases, you get all of the solutions it is advisable to maximize your Toyota Prius possession expertise and to navigate higher your funds should you turn out to be a Prius proprietor.
Prepared? Let’s get the ball rolling.
How lengthy will a Prius battery final?
Many potential Prius homeowners ask this query on a regular basis.
If we had been to present you a default reply it’d be, “so long as a typical automotive would final.”
Desire a extra particular reply? The final consensus amongst Prius homeowners is {that a} Prius battery would final round 8 to 10 years and between 120,000 to 160,000 miles.
Not dangerous, proper?
However like all issues in life, it relies upon.
On the finish of the day, a hybrid battery’s longevity relies on many elements, such because the proprietor’s driving habits, the automotive’s age, utilization price, driving circumstances, and extra.
Should you’re, say, a full-time Uber driver who drives over 1,000 miles per week, then chances are high you’re going to chop your Prius battery’s life expectancy in half.
Then again, conserving your Prius battery well-maintained and sustaining good driving habits may also go a good distance into extending your Prius battery’s lifespan.
No matter which spectrum you fall as a Prius proprietor, one factor’s for sure: you need to prolong the shelf-life of your Prius hybrid battery for so long as potential.
With that mentioned, as a shopper, you deserve some type of assure from the automotive producer (Toyota) that the hybrid battery that comes together with your Prius will work as meant, and that they’ll present the required repairs and replacements ought to the hybrid battery fail earlier than its time.
Which brings us to…
Toyota Prius Battery Guarantee: Protection
Shopping for a Toyota Prius, or any automotive for that matter, is an enormous funding. And to guard that funding, it is advisable to guarantee that what you’re shopping for comes with a beneficiant guarantee protection.
Fortunately, Toyota delivers on that finish.
For Toyota Prius fashions launched earlier than 2020, you get a guaranty battery protection of 10 years or 150,000 miles in states which have adopted California emission legal guidelines, and eight years or 100,000 miles in states that observe federal requirements.
Additionally, Toyota has just lately provided an prolonged guarantee. Beginning with 2020-year-models, Toyota has elevated the protection for all hybrid automobiles from 8 years or 100,000 miles, to 10 years from the date of first use, or 150,000 miles whichever comes first.
In case your hybrid battery dies on you earlier than the guarantee expires, all it is advisable to do is take your car to a Toyota dealership and so they’ll offer you a battery substitute and even set up it for you without cost! Can’t get any extra simple than that.
For extra details about your Toyota Prius’s battery guarantee protection, please confer with your Guarantee and Upkeep Information or give your Toyota dealership a name.
Your Prius Battery guarantee has expired—what now?
As soon as your guarantee has expired, all repairs will probably be your monetary duty.
Yep, scary thought. However what you are able to do is decelerate the degradation of your hybrid battery by way of good driving habits and common upkeep. Taking off slowly, stopping slowly, conserving the battery energy degree to underneath 80% however no decrease than 35%—all these preventive measures can go a good distance into prolonging the lifespan of your Prius battery. Extra importantly, it is advisable to be at all times looking out for indicators of battery failure and deal with them rapidly.
Listed below are telltale indicators of a failing hybrid battery to look out for:
- Unusual engine noises. When the battery is underperforming, the ICE (inner combustion engine) tends to select up the slack, which causes the weird noises.
- Decreased MPG. If there’s a sudden drop in MPG, that would imply your hybrid battery will not be charging to full capability.
- Fluctuations in state of cost. Giant swings in your state of cost might point out points together with your battery.
- Dramatic drops in battery bars. A sudden drop in battery bars might be an indication that your battery is shedding its capability.
In case your hybrid battery is experiencing any of the above signs, it’s time that you’ve got it checked.
Restore or substitute, that’s the query
When you have your Prius battery checked, it’s time so that you can resolve whether or not to have it repaired or changed.
Hybrid battery repairs
Just a few broken cells account for many early hybrid battery failures. Bear in mind, a hybrid battery contains many cells. When just a few cells are broken, it doesn’t make monetary sense to interchange your complete hybrid battery cell. So why not simply substitute those which have been broken? Nevertheless, It gained’t do to solely substitute the broken cells, you additionally must steadiness the battery pack to make sure the battery’s longevity.
If the broken cells are greater than a handful, changing all of them will not be the very best plan of action, both. You would possibly as nicely substitute your complete battery cell proper? Nevertheless, should you don’t have the finances to purchase a brand new hybrid battery, the subsequent finest (or cheaper) choice is to do a hybrid battery reconditioning/rejuvenation, which is finished by charging and balancing the battery’s cells. In a manner, it’s like respiration new life into your hybrid battery.
However thoughts you, a reconditioned battery will not be the identical as a brand new battery. It’s extremely unlikely {that a} reconditioned battery will final so long as a brand new battery. Consider battery reconditioning as a manner so that you can prolong the lifespan of your battery (it can provide you an estimated 60,000 extra miles). The largest draw of battery reconditioning is that it means that you can prolong the shelf-life of your Prius battery by paying solely a fraction of the worth of a brand new hybrid battery.
Hybrid battery substitute: prices and issues
Generally, the higher choice is to simply substitute the hybrid battery altogether, particularly in case your Prius battery is over 10 years previous. As a result of on the finish of the day, a brand new hybrid battery will at all times be higher than a repaired one.
That does beg the query:
How a lot would it not price you to purchase a brand new hybrid battery?
To reply that, you need to ask the next questions:
- What’s the make and mannequin of your hybrid automotive?
- The place are you shopping for it from?
What’s the make and mannequin of your Prius automotive?
When shopping for a Prius battery from a Toyota dealership, anticipate to spend between $3k and $4—labor or set up expenses not included.
To present you an concept, right here’s a listing of varied hybrid Toyota fashions since 2001 (these are dealership costs):
2001-2003 Toyota Prius (1st era) – $3,649
2004-2009 Toyota Prius (2nd era) – $3,939
2010-2011 Toyota Prius (third era) – $4,080
2012-2015 Toyota Prius Liftback – $3,939
2012-2016 Toyota Prius V – $3,939
2012-2016 Toyota Prius C – $3,807
As you possibly can see, dealership costs aren’t precisely low cost. Toyota dealerships are infamous for charging excessive costs. Which isn’t shocking contemplating massive firms like Toyota have tight margins and excessive overhead prices.
Nevertheless, you continue to need to give your Toyota seller a name to see what choices they’ve on supply. In addition to, shopping for from a Toyota dealership feels extra “official,” which can provide you some peace of thoughts. Should you don’t thoughts the fee, shopping for a substitute hybrid battery from a Toyota dealership will not be a foul name.
Shopping for from a personal vendor
If spending not less than $3k for a substitute hybrid battery is out of the query, fret not! You should purchase one for half the worth from a personal vendor or a hybrid specialty store. In fact, you don’t simply go for the most cost effective battery obtainable. You need to rating one from a vendor you possibly can belief, and who has a good observe file for promoting dependable hybrid battery items. And for apparent causes, it’s at all times a good suggestion to search out an unbiased store that has a extremely educated and skilled hybrid mechanic.
Extra importantly, you need to guarantee that the vendor you’re shopping for from presents a beneficiant Prius battery guarantee. Why? As a result of a Prius battery guarantee is a seal of belief between you and the vendor. It’s proof that they stand behind their product, that the hybrid battery they’re promoting you has been manufactured with the utmost care and with the very best requirements in thoughts.
Remaining Phrase
Toyota Prius automobiles are recognized for his or her reliability, security, and efficiency, and shopping for one is likely one of the nice investments you can also make as a automotive proprietor.
A Prius battery guarantee serves as an excellent basis for maximizing that funding. In any case, you need to ensure you’re lined ought to your hybrid automotive have points and defects through the preliminary possession interval. And in case your hybrid battery goes out of guarantee and begins to fail? It’s good to know there are a lot of obtainable choices on the market which are extra financially prudent and sustainable than what you’ll get from Toyota dealerships.
Want a refurbished or a brand new Prius hybrid battery? Be sure to take a look at our choices. Purchase one in every of our new hybrid batteries and revel in our unique 4-year guarantee!
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