I have a Prius with just under 188k miles on it. We have kept up with the maintenance and there have been no issues with the car. We just got the warning that the hybrid battery is about to go and before we sink about $3500 into a new one, We were hoping to hear from some other Prius owners about their experiences with the car after they hit that battery replacement and/or reached this high a mileage.
Have you posted this on a Prius site, like priuschat? More chance of finding a high-mile Prius owner there.
Have you looked into shops that repair, rather than replace, your battery pack, or replace it with a refurbished pack? Often it’s a small fraction of the cells causing the problem.
How does the warning circuit work? If it is based on mileage only, I would not replace it. You could have the individual cells checked and replace any that might show their age. You might get recommendations on a shop near you at priuschat, as suggested by @texases.
wow! 188k? I m impressed.
$3500 for a new hybrid battery? Seems reasonable. I thought they were more expensive than that. 188K isn’t that high of miles. I’m no Prius expert, but I’d be inclined to have it replaced and enjoy some more care free miles w/you Prius.
How was the battery determined as the problem? I have a 2005 Prius with 280K and original battery. My inverter has stopped also. It started working after a few days. I found the inverter cooling pump had failed. Different priuses will show different symptoms when this pump fails. My wife’s car kept running, but without A/C.
If they are just throwing parts into the car, the hybrid battery is the last thing I would put in. there are many other parts that could cause the car not to run. Priuschat.com is a good place to start looking.