My wife loves her Prius, but it looks like the "big battery" has given up the ghost. All of the dash lights came on while she was driving it and the electric motor would not kick in. After leaving it sit in the yard for a couple of weeks it won't even start now. Kings Auto in Raleigh can put a reconditioned battery in with a 24 months warranty for around $1400, but I'd really like to avoid the $130.00+ tow to get it over there. Kings said that the 12V battery is probably dead also and it could possibly be jumped to start and drive the car to downtown Raleigh. I'm wondering if anyone else has ran across this problem and if so, were you able to jump the 12V to get the Prius running again? Maybe someone has had the electric battery replaced from a local place? Thanks for the help!
Just an FYI, I've yet to meet someone who got a reconditioned battery for their Prius that was happy with it. Including my dad, who just had to get a new one. Find out from the place you're getting it if they'll let you upgrade to a new one at no additional cost if you choose to do so within a certain amount of time.
Thanks for the advice. Frankly, the reason I'm going with a reconditioned battery is that we need to get the car back on the road and the dealers charge roughly $4,000, whereas this will cost me roughly $1400 and comes with a two year full warranty. May I ask if your Dad got the work done locally, and if so, where? I appreciate the help.
Actually they do. The the trick is to take some of the money you save on gas every month and put it aside for a new battery. You know how that goes though, easier said than done. The car is a 2006 and up until now has been an excellent worry-free car. The only thing we've had to do is regular maintenance. The good thing is that King's Auto in Raleigh does the reconditioning right on the spot and they have an excellent reputation.
I dont know man, don't think I'm sold. Battery lasted 8 years. Dealer charges $4,000 for new battery. 4000/8 = 500 / year or $41.66/month (approx 11 gallons of gas). As I recall, sticker price on those things is a little higher than a regular car. If the reconditioned battery works out, that would definitely be in your favor.
I'm with you on that, and for the price of a new Prius, you can get plenty of non-hybrid cars that get similar mileage. A Prius gets 48 mpg on the highway and costs a little over $24k. A Golf TDI gets 45 mpg on the highway and costs about $22k. I guess if you do mostly city driving though, the Prius would win. But on the highway, the VW TDIs are underrated. One guy got over 77 mpg crossing the country last year - http://www.autoblog.com/2013/06/24/vw-passat-tdi-sets-77-9-mpg-fuel-economy-record-through-lower-48/
Can't help about the battery, but as far as the tow, join AAA if you're not a member. Get the Plus membership ($79),and you can be towed up to 100 miles for free.
They have lithium batteries now. Go with one of those. My dad says he noticed a better drive right away, especially when it gets cold (they're up north). The price was less than $500 more and they last much longer.
