Quite often, Toyota Prius owner gets stranded on the road or are held up at home because the car would not start. When the car does not start, most people normally conclude that the problem is with the dead Prius hybrid battery and proceed to repair the main battery.

However, many times the main battery may not at all be the problem, but the 12 volt battery in the Prius which is the culprit. If the 12 volt accessory battery is dead, the car would not start. It is as simple as that. Luckily, it is much easier to repair a 12 volt battery than work on the hybrid cells.

The following guidelines may be helpful to repair the 12 volt battery:

As a first step, the Prius battery’s cover should be opened. This can be done by pulling the handle situated right at the bottom left of the steering wheel.

After that the plastic protector to the battery located on the right-hand side of the engine should be opened and next, the small red plastic lid covering the positive port of the battery should be opened.

There is a positive cable, which has a white line painted on the rubber. This positive cable should be clipped to the positive port of the car providing the electric current from the Prius hybrid battery.

The negative cable (black in color) should be clipped to the negative port of the car giving electric current, while doing this; it should be ensured that the other end does not touch any other metal before connecting to the Prius main cells as electric current may already be flowing through the cables.

Next step is to start the car to provide the charge and press the accelerator a little so that sufficient current flows to spark the 12 volts battery in the Prius.

After charging the battery, you should start your car and drive for at least 20 minutes without switching off the engine. This will recharge the battery sufficiently and ensure that it will not become dead, when the engine is turned off. Those using a battery charger should start the Prius and leave it charging overnight.

With all the steps, if your Prius battery still does not work, it means that there is a more serious problem with the hybrid cells. It costs around $5000 to buy hybrid cells without warranty from Toyota.

As this option is quite costly, it is much cheaper to repair the dead Prius cells via a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach thereby saving around $4000. The dead Prius battery cells can be replaced with the help of DIY replacement guide.

The repair guide is prepared by experienced mechanics that specialize in reconstructing HB packs. The guide gives step by step instructions with detailed pictures.

Alternatively, those not keen in buying new battery cells from Toyota spending $5000; they can buy rebuilt the battery pack by spending half of that money. However, this still works out costly.

Considering all available options, it is highly recommended to take the help of Prius Hybrid guide and repair it by the user himself.

Toyota Prius Battery Replacement Guide

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Every oil dependent country dreams that a time will come when their oil import bill will come down and they themselves will be able to cater to their citizens’ needs, indigenously. However, such a dream looks utopian without the advent of alternative energy and this is happening due to the continued low oil prices.

The oil prices are going to remain low, until and unless the world’s economy revive from the ongoing financial crisis. In the United States; we have the maximum number of trucks, SUVs and other large vehicles than any other country, plying on the roads that consume enormous amount of gasoline.

However, though the recent fall in gasoline prices augurs well for consumers in the upcoming festive season; it is definitely disheartening for the advocates for green energy, fuel economy cars and alternative energy, since the low gasoline prices are going to hinder concerted effort in pursuing fuel efficient technology.

The oil prices are bound to increase as and when the world’s economy recovers and demand for oil increases. This is not only going to harm the environment but the higher energy price will hamper economic growth, too, thus paving the way for the advent of alternative and environmental friendly energy solution.

Once we know the secret of striking a balance between these two; alternate energy is going to be the driving force that can propel forward the world’s economy. The development of green cars like Toyota Prius can successfully lead the energy efficient engineering process.

Other companies, too, are following suit; in fact, back in May 2003 Daimler-Benz, parent company of Mercedes, had developed fuel cell technology on trial basis and had experimented it under the hood of various types of vehicles in USA, Europe, Japan and China.

Till today, these fuel cell cars are running successfully; however, if these cars are to have a bright future and extensive use, then refueling facility with hydrogen has to be made readily available in most, if not all, gasoline pumps.

Daimler-Benz is going to continue with the fuel cell technology, but to make these cars an interesting proposition; multiple easy and cheap refueling facilities have to be built across the country. The Volt from General Motors is a plug-in hybrid vehicle so also the Prius version from Toyota.

Though with the current technology a plug-in electric vehicle can travel only between short distances; however, GM’s Volt uses a plug-in for charging and recharging of the on-board Lithium ion batteries and when these gets exhausted, the car automatically switches to the internal gasoline engine, which not only runs the car but also re-charges the batteries.

The current technology is still not up to the mark to cater to plug-in cars, though these are the best for the environment with zero emission; however, the high demand for electricity acts as a deterrent. The electricity infrastructure grid has to be overhauled to cater to plug-in cars, as and when their usage becomes widespread, over and above catering to industrial and household needs.

Unless the technology is upgraded, the use of fossil fuels cannot be completely eliminated. Still then, this alternative fuel technology can be a good proposition for short distances, as long as sufficient plug-in points for electricity are there across the country.

The current hybrid technology used by Toyota Prius is head and shoulder above its competitors; it covers long distances as well as enhances fuel efficiency by using the internal combustion engine as well as electricity stored in the rechargeable batteries.

Since the initial high cost of such vehicles, due to the high entry cost of the new technology and the lack of economic support system, is a dampener; it is best to stick to the existing hybrid cars available in the market.

Introduced in the American as well as the European markets in the year 2000, after this was commissioned in the year 1997; the Toyota Prius variant has sold over 1.5 million units and has remained, till date, the world’s first mass produced hybrid technology car.

The Toyota Prius battery is an excellent power source and has several distinct advantages as compared to many other popular batteries available in the market. Nevertheless, on many occasions certain major problems are also encountered with this type of battery.

Some of the troubles normally faced in majority of the cases include:

- The battery needs charging once in every two weeks for optimum performance and in order to ensure that it does not get discharged if the vehicle remains unused for more than two weeks.

- A few car owners have complained that even in spite of several attempts, sometimes the vehicle would not start; the reason being the battery had broken down suddenly without any reason.

- Service is below par and the service mechanics are not receptive to offer help in sorting out the problem.

- Although the Prius batteries are very powerful, still surprisingly, they get totally drained out without any prior indication.

These are some of the problems faced quite frequently by the Toyota users regarding their batteries. If any difficulties are encountered by the battery users within the warranty period, the Toyota Company will replace the defective set with a new one. However, after the expiry of warranty period, the user has to bear the cost of replacement battery or expenses connected with its repairs. This will be very expensive for the user.

There are several options to repair or change the battery in case it breaks down after the warranty period. Most of such options will cost around $1500 for a used battery and $3800 if one has to buy a new one.

The battery that creates all sorts of troubles can either be disposed off and a new battery purchased or the existing old battery can be used again by reconstructing it into a fresh one.

However, the best course of action, which would save a lot of money, is to buy a guide for reconstructing or reconditioning the existing battery. The most useful aspect of the guide is that it presents one of the finest methods for salvaging user’s old battery instead of spending a lot of money on a new one.

Is it advisable to invest a huge amount on a new battery for an old car, when there are excellent possibilities to make use of the old battery itself in a most cost-effective manner? In fact, there is no need to spend a large amount of money on a Toyota Prius hybrid battery.

As a Prius owner, you should also remember that you need not reconstruct the battery on your own if you do not have either enough time for this or you do not like to take up this type of work. Various local mechanics will be able to reconstruct the old battery for you with the help of this guide…with a fee of course.

Although entrusting the job of reconstructing to a mechanic will cost a little more than undertaking it as a ‘do-it-yourself’ project, the additional cost to put the Toyota Prius battery back in a perfect condition will be only around $500. If required, you can carry out a little research before getting your old battery reconditioned.

You can also consult a few people who have rebuilt their old batteries for only a few hundred dollars and have been getting good results from the reconditioned batteries.

Toyota Prius DIY Battery Replacement Guide

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