Battery replacement cost - 2005 Toyota Prius?

There are two batteries in the Prius: A 12V battery used to power on the car and a traction battery used to power the motors. The 12V battery costs about $150-$200 depending upon where you get it. Here is one place: http://www.elearnaid.com/12vo1topraub.html The traction battery costs a bit less than $2000 plus $500 for installation for a new one. However, at 150,000 miles there is still a long way to go before replacement, and should you ever have to replace it there are choices: 1. No Prius battery has ever cost $7K to $8K to replace. Those who say that do not know what they are talking about. Unfortunately, there is a lot of FUD spread around about the Prius. 2. The current price for a new traction battery for a 2005 Prius is $1941.50 http://www.trademotion.com/parts/2005/TOYOTA/PRIUS/?siteid=213747&vehicleid=1431023&section=HYBRID%20COMPONENTS 3. There are companies that rebuild the battery, such as http://www.re-involt.com/ The Prius battery doesn't actually "fail", what happens is that two or three individual cells get out of balance with the rest of the cells in the pack and the Prius reports a problem. Rebuilders test every cell and give you a battery in which the cells are matched again. Note that most of the rebuilding experience is with the older 2001-2003 Prius that has the older style battery. Very few 2004 and later batteries have required replacement. 4. The 2005 Prius can use batteries from any Prius produced between 2004 and 2009 so you can get a battery from a newer wreck for about $500. Bottom line is that the traction battery on the Prius is just not a concern to Prius owners. It lasts a long time (just as Wondering says) and replacement isn't particularly expensive. The Prius has been proven to be a reliable and economical car that's fun to drive. Toyota has replaced many of the mechanical systems with more reliable electronic systems in the Prius. So you won't find any alternators, starter motors, belts (2004-2009 have one belt that runs the engine water pump--this is gone in the 2010), clutches or fluid couplings (the automatic transmission equivalent of a clutch). The automatic transmission, with it's hundreds of parts has been replace by a simple planetary gear system similar to a differential. My 2004 Prius MPG from the logbook. (Complete years only): 2003-2004 -- 50.8 mpg 17,628 miles 2005 -- 52.6 mpg 14,688 miles 2006 -- 56.3 mpg 16,174 miles 2007 -- 57.3 mpg 18,384 miles 2008 -- 59.9 mpg 21,755 miles 2009 -- 61.4 mpg 16,177 miles 2010 -- 65.2 mpg 12,134 miles 2011 -- 66.9 mpg 11,272 miles

The HV battery will run you close to 7-8k with installation at a certified Toyota dealer. You need to buy the battery from a Toyota dealer and have them install it because it is extremely dangerous to do it yourself. They have a ton or cells each with about 6.5 volts each or something like that and in total the have about 25k(I believe, not exactly sure)volts which would fry you on a matter of seconds! They have a certified hybrid tech replace it. As for the AUX(auxiliary) battery(12v) runs you about 150-200 bucks just for the battery. And for the dealer to install they charge 1.0 hr labor which would run u about another 100.

Don't buy an older hybrid vehicle, especially with that high mileage. Typically, hybrid battery replacements are $4,000 or more on hybrid vehicles, which is not worth the cost of the car. Buy a used 4cyl powered vehicle, it will still get great mileage and last a whole lot longer than a hybrid vehicle.

I have a 2005 Toyota Prius, only new car I have ever purchased, and just now after 246,000 miles and spending only about $2000 total for maintenance for the life of the car I finally need to replace the 12V battery. It was run down once due to an internal light being left on. I disconnected the cables and charged the battery using a slow 4 amp trickle charge overnight. That recharge lasted about 1 year. Now it will not hold a charge so I will replace. Find lowest cost battery online. I change the oil every 10000-12000 miles with little discoloration. I use Purolator Pure One filters and Castrol oil. Suggest changing plugs around 75000-100000 - I waited longer. Still getting 40+ mpg....would buy another 2005 Prius in a heartbeat. Most reliable car I have owned.