Just had to replace the Main Battery in my 2001 Prius
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From: Bill on 18 Oct 2006 16:41 "Allen" <allen.massey(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:1161200346.863575.300500(a)m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com... > > Bill wrote: >> "Allen" <allen.massey(a)gmail.com> wrote in message >> news:1161198745.452791.189680(a)m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com... >> > >> > Bill wrote: >> >> "Allen" <allen.massey(a)gmail.com> wrote in message >> >> news:1161192471.152662.150360(a)e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com... >> >> > Driving to work this morning the Red Triangle appeared on the video >> >> > display with a picture of the battery and the word "Main" under it. >> >> > The car run begins to act very strange with the IC engine RPM going >> >> > very high. I pull over and turn off the car, when I try to restart >> >> > it >> >> > is completely dead. >> >> > >> >> > I get it towed to my local Toyota Dealer and after a few hours they >> >> > call to tell me the main battery must be replaced. The good news is >> >> > that the entire replacement cost is covered by the warranty. >> >> > >> >> > I purchased the Prius in Oct of 2000 and it has about 75K miles. >> >> > Other >> >> > than the recalls, this is the first trouble it has given. >> >> > >> >> > Has anyone else replaced the main battery yet? >> >> > >> >> > Does this mean the new battery will last 5 more years? >> >> > >> >> I haven't replaced mine. The new battery pack will last until it >> >> fails. >> >> >> >> I'd like to hear from the Prius Techs as to whether or not one should >> >> pull >> >> over under these circumstances or keep driving to a more convenient >> >> stopping >> >> point such as a gas station with a towing service. >> > >> > In my case there was no option of driving to a more convenient place. >> > The IC engine sounded like it was running 8,000 RPM and was producing >> > very little power. I was just able to move accross the three lanes on >> > I75 to the shoulder before it lost all power. >> > >> Sounds pretty grim. Eventually, every battery will fail, just like every >> hard disk drive. I was hoping it would fall back to an ICE only >> condition. >> I suppose the main battery is running stuff necessary to ICE operation. >> I >> realize Toyota expects the battery to "last the life of the car" but >> practically speaking about half of all cars are going to last longer than >> the average of all cars. > > I have read many accounts of people running out of gas and the electric > motor allowing them to limp to a gas station. But evidently the ICE is > not very functional as a standalone power plant. > > It would have been nice if the Prius had provided a little more warning > when the battery condition was nearing its end of life since the > battery failure will immobilize the car. > I would appreciate your taking your case to Toyota and asking them to engineer a fall-back to the ICE for future models. I'd do it myself, but having evidence of a failed battery and having endured the consequence of it's failure to fall-back gives you more credibility.
From: Allen on 18 Oct 2006 16:50 Bill wrote: > "Allen" <allen.massey(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > news:1161200346.863575.300500(a)m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com... > > > > Bill wrote: > >> "Allen" <allen.massey(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > >> news:1161198745.452791.189680(a)m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com... > >> > > >> > Bill wrote: > >> >> "Allen" <allen.massey(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > >> >> news:1161192471.152662.150360(a)e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com... > >> >> > Driving to work this morning the Red Triangle appeared on the video > >> >> > display with a picture of the battery and the word "Main" under it. > >> >> > The car run begins to act very strange with the IC engine RPM going > >> >> > very high. I pull over and turn off the car, when I try to restart > >> >> > it > >> >> > is completely dead. > >> >> > > >> >> > I get it towed to my local Toyota Dealer and after a few hours they > >> >> > call to tell me the main battery must be replaced. The good news is > >> >> > that the entire replacement cost is covered by the warranty. > >> >> > > >> >> > I purchased the Prius in Oct of 2000 and it has about 75K miles. > >> >> > Other > >> >> > than the recalls, this is the first trouble it has given. > >> >> > > >> >> > Has anyone else replaced the main battery yet? > >> >> > > >> >> > Does this mean the new battery will last 5 more years? > >> >> > > >> >> I haven't replaced mine. The new battery pack will last until it > >> >> fails. > >> >> > >> >> I'd like to hear from the Prius Techs as to whether or not one should > >> >> pull > >> >> over under these circumstances or keep driving to a more convenient > >> >> stopping > >> >> point such as a gas station with a towing service. > >> > > >> > In my case there was no option of driving to a more convenient place. > >> > The IC engine sounded like it was running 8,000 RPM and was producing > >> > very little power. I was just able to move accross the three lanes on > >> > I75 to the shoulder before it lost all power. > >> > > >> Sounds pretty grim. Eventually, every battery will fail, just like every > >> hard disk drive. I was hoping it would fall back to an ICE only > >> condition. > >> I suppose the main battery is running stuff necessary to ICE operation. > >> I > >> realize Toyota expects the battery to "last the life of the car" but > >> practically speaking about half of all cars are going to last longer than > >> the average of all cars. > > > > I have read many accounts of people running out of gas and the electric > > motor allowing them to limp to a gas station. But evidently the ICE is > > not very functional as a standalone power plant. > > > > It would have been nice if the Prius had provided a little more warning > > when the battery condition was nearing its end of life since the > > battery failure will immobilize the car. > > > I would appreciate your taking your case to Toyota and asking them to > engineer a fall-back to the ICE for future models. I'd do it myself, but > having evidence of a failed battery and having endured the consequence of > it's failure to fall-back gives you more credibility. I really doubt they would do anything for the 2001 version of the Prius, they may of already addressed the problem in the new model.
From: mrv@kluge.net on 18 Oct 2006 20:19 out of curiousity, have you had the SSC 40G hybrid battery resealant campaign done (or whatever campaign # it is in your home country)?
From: Allen on 18 Oct 2006 20:42 mrv(a)kluge.net wrote: > out of curiousity, have you had the SSC 40G hybrid battery resealant > campaign done (or whatever campaign # it is in your home country)? My car was not subject to that recall. I have only had the steering rack and computer recall's
From: mrv@kluge.net on 19 Oct 2006 12:12
Allen wrote: > mrv(a)kluge.net wrote: > > out of curiousity, have you had the SSC 40G hybrid battery resealant > > campaign done (or whatever campaign # it is in your home country)? > > My car was not subject to that recall. > > I have only had the steering rack and computer recall's odd, as nearly nearly every NHW11 (except for some late 2003s) were subject to the battery resealing campaign, along with the early Estima hybrids (same battery pack). It's about a 4hr (half-day) procedure, thanks to the curing time. You probably were asked to clean out your trunk for it, so that they could work on the hybrid battery (access is through the trunk). Info from the dealer's notification letter for the SSC 40G: VIN Range Year, VDS, Ranges 2001, BK12U, 0002009 - 0038684 2001, BK18U, 0002001 - 0038005 2002, BK12U, 0038687 - 0070195 2002, BK18U, 0038685 - 0070196 2003, BK12U, 0070198 - 0082299 2003, BK18U, 0069295 - 0082310 With the note to check the Dealer TIS to be sure that the vehicle in that VIN range actually is involved... Since you say that your 2001 was part of the power steering recall, and that only affected 2001s in the VIN range 0002009 - 0007793, May 9, 2000 - July 21, 2000 production, then you probably should've also received a letter for the SSC 40G. (Unless you're talking about the steering shudders, which wasn't a recall but a warranty extension...) The only "recall" of a NHW11 computer that I know of is LSC 30D for some early 2001s. (Mine, produced in Dec. 2000, was too new for the campaign...) That was for a new PS ECU. You may have had the ECM replaced under a TSB (as I have), but that's not a recall - no letter is sent out to you, the replacement is only if you come in reporting certain symptoms (which includes certain error codes). |