When coming to batteries, Toyota Prius battery is the best in its class due to the best warranty offered by the company as compared to any other hybrid battery. The best part is that the service is offered even after the life of the battery expires, the warranty offers to fix the car battery without any extra cost.
For the citizens of United States, Toyota gives its Prius battery a warranty period of eight years or 100,000 miles whichever is earlier. The company also offers free replacement of battery by the dealer, if you are not satisfied with the performance of the battery during the warranty period.
For the people living in California, they have an advantage to have extended warranty of ten years or 150,000 miles instead of 100,000 miles. This is due to California Standard Emission State law, even though the battery has same US standards, but due to this law people are benefited.
Normally the Prius battery runs trouble free for seven to eight years, but after this period the battery starts giving poor performance and gradually dies off on the road. At this point you have to explore the replacement options as the owner of a Toyota hybrid car. It has been seen that people who are brand loyal walk to the official dealers of Toyota for the replacement.
Since you have no other option except replacing the existing battery, the cost of new battery is around $4,000. This price can be OK with people who are not price conscious, but for others spending huge amount to replace old car with new battery will certainly raise questions in your mind.
There are other options available, you can get used batteries for your car by making online search on the websites e.g. eBay. There are other dealers also who sell used Prius batteries apart from Toyota dealers.
This option can save you quite a large sum of money. You are expected to shell out $1500 to $2500 per battery versus $4000 from Toyota. There is always risk with such batteries as you cannot check exactly for how many miles this battery has been used.
A friend of mine had to face that peculiar problem himself when the life of his Prius battery expired. He wanted a cheaper option and did his research on the web. He found the solution he was looking for at www.hybridbatteryrebuild.com/.
When he explored the site, he found that can rebuild the battery in around $500, using suggestion given in the guide. Since he was quite busy, he found mechanics who agreed to build the battery by following the instruction given in the guide.
He only paid the labor charges and got his Prius battery rebuilt by spending around $700. This is a pretty good option as compared to purchasing a new battery or used battery, don’t you think so?
The guide which my friend downloaded from the internet had step by step instructions, which the mechanics followed and ultimately he was able to save lot of money and got back on the road. Hence, before replacing your Prius with new battery, you should explore cheaper alternative as my friend did so that you do not have to spend huge amount on the battery replacement.