This old workhorse still has a role to play. It is a low cost entry for people who do not know what hybrid vehicles are and who cannot afford a later model to enjoy the financial benefits of great fuel economy and low vehicle maintenance.
At least 14 years old and counting this trusty workhorse is still the beloved vehicle for many happy owners. You don’t throw away a torch just because the batteries are dead. You should not throw this car away just because the batteries are weak.
If you own or just purchased a Prius Generation 1 ( 1997 – 2000 ) chances are that the HEV battery is at the end of it’s service life. The first indication will be the appearance of the turtle every time you want more power. It will flash on and off after the battery gets charged up.
The turtle is not always a sign of HEV Battery Problems
Appearance of the turtle means not enough power for your intended driving condition ie going uphill or accelerating. This could either be from the ICE ( Internal Combustion Engine) or the EV ( Electric Drive or the HEV Battery ). If you get the turtle showing and the battery level goes down to yellow – the battery needs reconditioning.
To eliminate the ICE
1) Check the spark plugs – there should not be any carbon around the points
2) Make sure the coils are working – faulty coil will show up in the spark plugs
3) Make sure the air flow meter is in good condition if in doubt, replace . (this is most important).
4) Check that the 12 volt battery is working correctly. It needs to be able to hold a good charge.
The HEV Battery Will Need To Be Recondition
Any weakness in the ICE will soon manifest itself in the HEV battery. Continued call for more power from the battery will reach a point where the input and output power is more than the battery can handle. At this point the CPU puts up the triangle (C2579) to protect the battery. In this mode the input and output voltage is clamped.
Note: The triangle can also be put up for other reasons. If it is not the battery the triangle can be cleared by resetting the computer. Remove the negative terminal from the 12 volt battery wait 10 seconds then reconnect. Turn the ignition on and if the triangle is gone it is not the HEV battery. However if the problem still exist the triangle will reappear. If it is the battery the triangle will not clear. Trouble code C2579 can only be removed with the S2000 scanner.
Your HEV Battery is like your tyres, they wear down, and sooner or later have to be retreaded or replaced. Since replacing is no longer available, reconditioning is the only option.
How Long Can A Recondition HEV Battery Last?
The reality is that without a good HEV battery your hybrid car is scrap metal! We charge NZ$1800 plus GST to recondition the HEV battery and install the Power Jockey. We offer 6 months return to base warranty for this service. If you already have the Power Jockey installed we charge $300 plus GST to fix the battery with a 3 months warranty.
We started reconditioning the HEV battery since 2007. The first one done 3 years ago is still working in the same car. To date we have reconditioned more than 150 HEV batteries.
Over this period we have learned much and improved our techniques on reconditioning the HEV battery. Our process was finally perfected when we managed to obtain an S2000 scanner from Japan. This enable us to quantify the state of our reconditioned battery from the Delta and State of Charge readings. We can also clear all fault codes and perform cell equalisation.
We test drive the reconditioned battery in a similar vehicle. VB cell voltages must be equalised. No turtles should appear after a 10 KM test drive. It is rested for 2 days and then rechecked for self discharge. Only after passing these exhaustive test will we consider this battery reconditioned.
A couple of know issues will still affect the battery. One is fault codes resident in the car computer. These are in the Hybrid and ECU section of the vehicle system. If not cleared with the S2000 some hurtling may result. Another problem is a high voltage leak. This will appear as a fault code with the triangle displayed initially but will normally clear itself out after one or two days. Without access to the vehicle we depend on the owner to get these problems fixed if they are present.
How To Get Your Battery To The Battery Clinic In Auckland
If you live in Auckland
1) Get your vehicle to our workshop as this will ensure that you get the best service possible. We will test drive the reconditioned battery in your vehicle and ensure that all fault codes are cleared and that your ICE is also working at 100% efficiency.
If you live outside of Auckland
1) You can either get someone to remove the battery or remove it yourself with these instructions. You will need to send the whole pack to us with the battery computer intact as we have to calibrate the computer to the battery pack with our S2000 scanner. Any carrier can be used for sending the battery pack to us and collecting after. The nimh battery are not considered hazardous and so does not require DG declaration.
2) Arrange with us to get a battery pack ready so that you can drive up to our workshop and have it swap over while you wait. This would normally take about 4 hours.
How Long Does It Take?
Organising the shipment over often takes some time and may encounter some delays as the airline may offload the battery until they have space as they may consider the battery hazardous goods. We will complete the job within a week.
To save time we could arrange invoicing and payment early so that it could be sent to you as soon as it is ready.
What If The Battery Fails Under Warranty?
Our warranty is solid, and we will repair free of charge under warranty, but getting the battery to us is at your cost. If you can’t agree to these conditions we do not want to take on the job.
We go through much time and effort in getting your battery running perfectly often diagnosing problems unrelated to the battery. Once we take on the job we are committed to the service. We expect the same commitment from you. We have not come across a battery we can’t get to run perfectly.
If you can’t agree to this commitment we do not want to take on the job.
Longevity Of The Prius Generation 1
On the engine side not much goes wrong with the hybrid vehicle. Even with 200,000 Km on the odometer the engine would have only had as much wear as a standard car doing 50,000 Km. This is because the hybrid engine runs at lower rev, and is shut down at low speeds and when cruising.
You do not have to worry about the starter motor or alternator and you don’t have to send it in for regular tuning and idle setting.
With the Power Jockey and our continuing developments in extending the battery life of these batteries we can assure you that these vehicles will have a service life of more that 20 years.
