Don't Buy A New Toyota Prius Hybrid Battery - Have It Repaired Instead

Toyota's Prius is known to go well past 250,000 miles without battery issues. If you own a Toyota Prius Hybrid you may find that at some point well into its natural life the battery needs a little bit of TLC. If your car is under the hybrid warranty, the place to go is your local Toyota dealer. They will correct the problem and have you back on the road quickly and at no cost to you. However, if your Prius hybrid has a battery issue and it is past its warranty, you don't want to head to the dealer. Rather, you need to more cost-effectively deal with the issue. Toyota's solution is to replace the battery at a very high cost. However, in many or most cases, the battery is repairable, and at a very affordable price. Single hundreds of dollars rather than multiple thousands of dollars.

Toyota Prius Hybrid Battery Failure
If your Prius is giving you a warning that the hybrid battery has failed, you may panic and assume the cost will be more than the value of the car, or that it may be a cost so high you cannot afford to deal with it. This is usually not the case. Also, the car is drivable in most cases. We can't comment on whether the vehicle is safe to drive long distances, or exactly how much performance will be degraded, but you can certainly get home. How do we know? We spoke to a ride-share driver with over 1 million miles logged in multiple 250K+ mile hybrids. He told us that he has driven Prius cars with failed batteries on numerous occasions.

Toyota Prius Battery Failure - What Happens
Inside a hybrid battery from Toyota, there are many individual battery cells all working along together happily. When they fail, it is typically because one or more cells are no longer able to sustain the power that they are required to. In other words, they fail. The good news is that they can be replaced. The bad news is that this is not a job that can be done by every owner. Many owners who are comfortable with electronics and basic car repair do fix the battery themselves with Prius hybrid battery cells they buy online. The cells are usually under $50 each. There are endless Youtube videos from these folks that show you what they did and how you can also repair your Prius Hybrid battery.

How Can You Get A Prius Hybrid Battery Repaired?
If you don't want to pull your own car apart and try your best to repair it yourself, we certainly understand. Many jobs are best left to those with the tools, time, and experience to handle it efficiently and quickly. Luckily, there is a growing network of shops that will do the work. We could list them out for you, but unfortunately, that list would age quickly and be inaccurate. Plus, we don't know the shops or how they are rated.

Instead, we suggest owners try the Prius Owners Group on Facebook. The group has multiple members who have had batteries repaired and there may be one in your area. Like Len Maka's shop in Orange County, California. Or Pleasant Street Auto in Norwood Mass. You can check their Google reviews and maybe ask a FB club member how they made out with the repair on their Prius Hybrid Battery. Another option is to buy a reconditioned battery. For more on that topic, please see our prior story.

If you repair Prius hybrid batteries, or if you have had good luck with a repair done by a shop near you, why not post the name in our comments section below? You may well help a fellow owner out of a jam.

Watch Make A Toyota Prius Hybrid Battery Last Past 350,000 Miles Performing Your Own Replacement and Subscribe to Torque News Youtube Channel for Auto Industry Daily News Analysis.

John Goreham tweets at @johngoreham. Please send him news tips and follow us at @TorqueNewsAuto. See you in the next story titled "Bolt, Leaf, and Tesla Owners Take Note: AAA Temporarily Suspends Emergency Battery Electric Vehicle Charging Program."

Image Notes: Prius Battery Images courtesy of John Caleb Warren's Youtube Video (see link in story) and Len Maka.