Toyota EV and Hybrid Battery Replacement

Hey guys, this is Jaxx from Greentec Auto here and today I’m answering a question that 100% of Camry hybrid car owners always ask and it is the hybrid battery. So if you’re watching this video right now, maybe you drive a Camry and your battery has gone bad, maybe it’s going bad or you haven’t even bought a Toyota Camry yet because you heard about these crazy battery costs. Today I’m going to tell you the truth and everything you need to know about Camry hybrid battery replacement. So let’s get straight into it.

So, right in front of me, we have a Camry hybrid battery from 2007 all the way to 2011. It’s the exact same battery that’s inside of the car. So, here is what it looks like underneath the case. This is what it looks like with the case on top of this. Like, if you were to kind of open the trunk of your car and look at the battery inside, this is what it’s going to look like. You’re going to see a nice gray silver sheet case over top of the battery, which covers all this, which is everything from the fan, electrical components, the cooling, all the cells inside of the battery.

The biggest thing you need to know before getting your Camry hybrid battery replaced is cell replacement. Okay, you’ll see some people online on YouTube, maybe on Reddit talk about cell replacement, but let me explain what they mean when they say cell replacement. So, as you can tell right now, looking at all these different cells inside of the battery, what they do is they’re like, “Okay, this cell is bad. Let’s just go ahead and replace this cell and everything else is fixed.” Right? No, that’s not true. That’s a short-term band-aid fix and is not a long-term solution. We’ve had clients that have done the short-term band-aid fix three, four, or five times until they finally decide to get the full battery replaced. And I’ll tell you why. Because once you replace one cell, if one of the cells is bad, the rest of them are on the verge of going bad as well. And on top of that, everything is now unbalanced.

So, what we’re doing is it actually takes us 90 days, yes, 90 days, to make one Camry battery because we’re taking all of these cells outside the battery pack. Then it goes through our first test. If it doesn’t pass our first test, it instantly goes straight to Greentec recycling. If it does pass the first test, it’ll be put through our internal resistance and cycle testing to balance out all the cells inside the battery. Then we take it through further resting periods and stuff like this to ensure it’s going to be a long-term solution because we have warranties from 12 all the way to 48 months. We’re not just giving you a problem. We want this to be a fix that will last for years and years. We have customers that have had a battery from us 9 years ago and their car is still working fine.

And if your Camry is stranded on the road or in your garage and you see the check engine light on the dashboard and you don’t even want to touch it, don’t worry because we also offer a mobile installation service. So we have 34 locations across the United States where we can come out to you to get the battery installed. So our technician puts the battery in the car, boom, drives to your house, gets the battery installed within an hour. It’s a pretty easy installation. Pop the battery out, put the new one in, scan it, make sure everything’s running perfectly fine.

And also a good thing to know is if your battery hasn’t gone bad yet or if it has and you haven’t got a diagnostic from a dealership or anything yet, don’t do it because we actually offer free diagnostic service. We’re not going to charge you $100 or $150 — absolutely for free. You can either come in our shop or when we come out to you, we want a complimentary diagnostic to make sure the battery is actually the thing that needs to be replaced.

Now, some signs that your Camry battery is heading on its last legs and will need to be replaced is the following. So, pay attention. Number one is a drop in MPG. Your MPG could go from 40 all the way to 30 and lower and lower and that’s a sign that it’s not using as much power from the hybrid battery. Number two on this point, the engine is running more frequently. Okay, if the engine is running more frequently, and this is not something you have to guess, this is a lot of times something you can hear. You can tell that the hybrid battery is not performing as good as it could. The next one is the cooling fan running more frequently than normal. So, in the back of the car is where the cooling fan actually is. So, it sucks air from inside your car to cool down the battery. And if you hear that fan going on a lot and a lot and a lot, you could tell, okay, the battery is overheating. And batteries fail in the heat. So, if you drive somewhere hot like California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, anywhere hot, your battery is going to fail years before living somewhere like Alaska, for example.

While we’re talking about the fan, the next thing to watch out for is actually the fan. Because if you have pets in the back seat of your car — and I’ll tell a story for example. So this guy came to get his Prius battery replaced and we actually made a YouTube video about this. I think a month or two ago if you check our channel it was a Prius but Camry has the same kind of system and he had two Huskies in the back seat of his Prius and the hair gets inside of that fan and once it comes inside of the fan, it goes inside the fan and then boom.

The next thing I want to bring to your attention is something that you’ll never hear about anywhere on any other YouTube video. Although we did make a video about it I think a month or so ago. It’s very, very crucial and very, very important. And what is it you may ask? It is pet hair. Yes, pet hair. So, if you don’t own a pet, maybe you can skip 10 seconds for it. But for those who do, and for those who are interested, if you have a pet, having it in the backseat of your car is very, very dangerous. Why? Well, as I previously said, that fan in the back seat, it should be on the back right hand side of the seat, is sucking in air right from the car to cool down the battery. Now, if you have a pet in the back seat and it kind of likes to sit in the corner, it is taking its hair and the fan is sucking it inside. And when it does that, it can clog the fan. And if it clogs the fan, the fan can’t cool down the battery. And as I previously said as well, batteries fail in the heat, right? And overheating itself can easily make the battery fail. So, make sure if you have a pet, you probably don’t even want to bring them in the car because that is one of the biggest common problems we see with bad hybrid batteries.

Now for the actual cost of the battery itself. For installation, we have two sold-offs. We have in-shop installation and then mobile installation. And to find out which battery is most beneficial for you, we have a remanufactured battery with a 24-month warranty. And we also have a new cell option with a 48-month warranty. So if you’re like, okay, well, which one’s best for me? I would probably go with the new cell option if you’re trying to have the most longevity with the car. So a lot of people that come to us, battery’s bad, but the car is fine, right? If the car is in good condition, buying a new cell battery is great for the car because it makes the whole hybrid system run better and you’re going to have the most longevity you can with the car. If you’re looking for a more affordable remanufactured battery, it’s still going to last a long time, don’t get me wrong, but this is more for people like, okay, you know, I don’t want to keep the car forever, there’s a few other things wrong with the car and I’m just trying to get it replaced. Or if you’re just looking for a more affordable option, want to keep the car for another 4, 6, 8 years, the remanufactured option is still great for you.

Now, I’m going to pop the prices of the batteries on the screen right now so you can see the comparison from the new cell and the remanufactured and see how much the price difference is. And if you have any other questions, either drop a comment or click on our website at greentecauto.com. And if you stay till the end, I’m about to give you a $200 discount code for not if, but when your Camry battery needs to be replaced. So, here it is. G T A I. I’ll say that one more time. G T A I. So whether you’re ordering on our website or you’re ordering online and you’re giving us a call, just make sure you mention that discount code and we’ll take that off the price, no problem. And we’re not just selling you a battery, we’re selling you peace of mind. Hope you guys enjoy.

Toyota Prius batteries last around anywhere between 100 to 200,000 miles. It just depends on what climate you live in. There’s a lot of factors that play into how long the battery lasts and when it fails and when it doesn’t fail. So for example, the Prius packs don’t do great in warmer weather, so when you live in a warmer climate it can fail sooner than if you live in more of a cooler climate. So I would say anywhere between 100, 150, 200,000 miles — anywhere within those ranges is a good chance that you’re probably going to need to get your battery replaced.

In our experience, I’d say 100 to 150,000 miles, that’s probably the sweet spot where a lot of people call us and have a battery issue and want us to do a battery swap or something like that. But I’ve seen cars that go 200,000 miles, and I’ve seen some people that have to get them replaced at 75 to 80,000 miles.

When you maintain your vehicle, when you keep everything running smooth — spark plugs, oil change, your tire pressures are all good — and the car has everything working together as a team, yeah, you’re going to get more life out of your battery if you do the regular maintenance and stuff. If you don’t take care of it and you drive crazy, then it could fail sooner than others.

The Toyota Prius is a hybrid so it has a gas motor but also has a battery with it as well, so they work together as a team. That’s why you get that good gas mileage because the motor shuts off sometimes and runs on all electric when you’re under a certain speed, and it gets better gas mileage because the battery is helping out the motor and assisting it, instead of a traditional gas vehicle where it doesn’t have that assisting and is just running all on gas.

Some of the signs for a dying Toyota Prius battery are: your miles per gallon could start to decrease, maybe when you’re getting on the on-ramp on a highway you could see a little bit of drooping in acceleration power when you’re going a little bit sluggish. And then a telltale sign is normally when the red triangle light comes on and you get a bunch of lights on your dash — a lot of people call it lighting up like a Christmas tree. Once that happens, typically the best thing to do is to come into one of our locations and get it scanned, and most of the time when that happens it’s a bad battery and we can get it swapped.

Hey everybody, welcome to the channel. Today we’re back with another battery replacement video. Specifically, we’re talking about Prius battery replacement. So if you own a Prius, this video is a must-watch for you. We’re going to be breaking down everything you need to know about Prius battery replacement, from cost to signs that your battery has gone bad or maybe going bad, all the way to debunking industry myths about battery replacement.

Owning a Toyota Prius comes with great perks such as amazing gas mileage, reduced emissions, and long-term savings. But like all vehicles, its key components wear out over time, such as its hybrid batteries. Well, hybrid batteries can last anywhere from eight all the way to ten years, which equals up to around 150 to 200,000 miles. They do go bad, and how do you know when they go bad? Well, let’s find out.

Code P0A80, meaning “Replace Hybrid Battery Power Pack.” What it means for your battery: your battery is failing and it needs immediate replacement. Code P0A7F, “Hybrid Battery Pack Degradation.” What it means for your battery: your battery’s efficiency has dropped significantly. Code P3011 to P3024, “Battery Block Weakness.” What it means for your battery: specific battery blocks are weak and need attention. P3000 — when this code appears, it can trigger multiple warning lights all at once. You’ll likely see alerts from, number one, the Engine Control Module, meaning your check engine light could turn on; number two, the Transmission Control Module, affecting how the car shifts; number three, the ABS system, so your brake warning lights might flash; and number four, the HVAC system, which could impact your climate control. The next code is C1259, which comes from the ABS system. It’s basically saying, “Hey, there’s a problem with the hybrid battery and I need to adjust how the regenerative braking works.” Another one is C1310, which comes from the traction control system. It’s doing the same thing — recognizing that the hybrid battery has an issue and adjusting the way the power is managed.

Now for what all of you have been waiting for — what are some myths about Prius battery replacement? Number one, the biggest myth is that you have to go to your dealer. While you may have bought your car from your dealer, you don’t have to buy your battery there. Dealerships charge anywhere from 30 all the way to 50% more than Greentec Auto does. And why do they do that? Well, dealerships specialize in selling cars, not batteries. Another fact is dealerships all across the country buy batteries off us.

Another myth, and this is one I see all over the internet nowadays, is module replacement. Now you may ask, what is module replacement? For example, in a 2015 Toyota Prius there are 28 of these modules inside of the battery pack. Now some may say you just need to replace the bad module or the ones that are bad. The problem with that is if one of these are bad, the rest of the battery pack is on the verge of going bad as well, and on top of that you’ll be playing whack-a-mole for months or even years on end until you finally decide to replace the whole battery pack.

I’ll provide another example for you. This is my TV remote. Now two days ago the batteries went bad inside of it and I couldn’t use the remote. So when I went to go look around my house for some new batteries, I only had one brand new one to replace it. So I took one of the two bad batteries out and put a new one inside, and I will say the TV remote was back to normal and did work, but only for a few hours until the TV remote went bad again. This is exactly the same as battery replacement.

And for those of you who are wondering, our warranties start at 12 months and go all the way up to 48 months, and we service the Prius Prime, the Prius Plug-In, the Prius C, and the Prius V, as well as your standard Priuses.

If you’re seeing warning signs or error codes on your Prius battery, don’t worry. Greentec Auto has 13 years of experience in Prius battery replacement and 32 locations across the United States — more than likely one of them is near you. So if your hybrid battery has gone bad and you’re looking for an affordable, reliable, and accessible solution, Greentec Auto has you covered. Make sure you subscribe, hit the notification bell, and stay tuned for more videos like this.

The cost of a Toyota Prius battery ranges — they start from about $1,000 all the way up to $2,500 depending on which one you want to go with. We offer a couple of different options. We offer brand new cells with a 48-month warranty, and then we offer remanufactured ones with a 12-month warranty. The differences of those are the cells obviously, and the warranty — that’s the main difference. But it depends on what you want to do with your car. You know, if you baby your car and you plan on taking care of it and keeping it for a long time, then you would want to spend more towards the $2,500 range, which comes with a 48-month warranty. That’s a brand new battery — just like when you bought your car brand new, well the battery has brand new cells. So you’re going to get better miles per gallon, you’re going to get more back to how your car was originally, and that’s what you’re going to get back to with that battery.

Versus the lower-end option, which is just a remanufactured that comes with a 12-month warranty. We use those batteries from other batteries that we have, we test them, make sure that they’re all the same — there’s a bunch of procedures that we follow to make sure that it’s a good battery.

The main difference between the remanufactured and the new cell is mainly price and the warranty. So the price of the new cell is obviously a little bit higher because it’s brand new. The price of the remanufactured is lower obviously because it’s a reman, and it’s just two different customers that want that battery or two different applications.

So the main difference between our remanufactured cells and our new cells is obviously the new cells are new — they’re brand new, we purchased those and that’s what makes them new. The remanufactured cells, we get various cores in through all of our locations that we have, because we have 28 of them and people are constantly dropping off batteries and we’re constantly buying them. So the remanufactured cells are maybe four or five Prius batteries that we break down — we have our testing procedures that we put those cells and modules through so that way we can put them in a battery pack later, and that’s where the remanufactured battery comes from.