Hybrid Battery Pack Replacement: Insights and Costs Explained

Hybrid battery packs are complex and costly, but Toyota's reliable hybrids rarely need replacement.

### Understanding Hybrid Battery Pack Replacement: Insights from Fred Anderson Toyota
* 🔋 Jeff Teague and Adam from Fred Anderson Toyota discuss the intricacies of hybrid battery pack replacement, highlighting the evolution from **older nickel metal hydride batteries** to **modern lithium-ion packs** in vehicles like the **2023 RAV4 Hybrid**.
* 🚗 The hybrid battery, also known as the **traction battery**, is crucial as it **powers the electric motors**, while traditional 12-volt batteries are located at the rear of the vehicle and use **absorb glass mat technology** to minimize off-gassing.
* 🔧 Battery replacements are uncommon for vehicles manufactured after 2010, with the service center handling around **6,000 repair orders monthly** and seeing only about **one hybrid battery replacement per month**, primarily for second-generation Priuses.
* 💵 The cost of replacing a hybrid battery pack, such as for a 2011 Prius, can reach approximately **$5,000**, which includes labor for the intricate removal and installation process that typically takes about **five hours**.
* 🛠 For newer models like the RAV4 and Camry, pricing remains consistent due to **shared architecture**, but replacing a 2023 Tundra Hybrid battery pack could range between **$7,300 to $7,500** if not covered under warranty.
* 🛡 Toyota offers a robust warranty of **10 years or 150,000 miles** for hybrid battery packs, providing peace of mind for owners, as replacements are **rarely needed for vehicles post-2010**.
* ⚠ Adam emphasizes the **reliability of Toyota hybrids** but warns that anyone attempting DIY repairs should have **specialized training** due to the **inherent risks involved with hybrid systems**.
* 💬 Viewers are encouraged to ask questions about service and repairs, as Fred Anderson Toyota aims to be a **valuable resource for their customers**.

Hi everybody, I'm Jeff Teague with Fred Anderson Toyota. Hi guys, I'm Adam here with Fred Anderson Toyota also, and we're going to talk about hybrid battery pack replacement, what to expect and what is involved. So first of all, we've got us a

Rav4 hybrid here, Rav4 LE hybrid. This is a 2023. There are different kinds of, we'll say generations because you might go all the way back to an old '01 Prius. You could go to an '07 Prius, '07 Camry

Hybrid, those kind of things. So we've kind of got the old hybrid packs to talk about and the new ones. Um, right. What have you seen like what, what's the difference as far as technology, what used to be, what's with the current vehicles, that kind of stuff, right? Um, we

see on these vehicles, the older packs are staying more on the nickel metal hydride, nickel metal hydride battery. No, it's a tongue twister, right? It is. And we're going more to the lithium-ion battery packs for the newer stuff, for the higher power delivery and the, the

better punch that you get out of them. Um, typically on these vehicles, we are seeing the first generations of the hybrid systems just beginning to trickle in with battery replacements. Uh, we see the first gen and the second gen, which would be up to about 2009 for most of

the Camrys and Priuses. Um, outside of that, it is fairly uncommon practice for anything above a 2010 in our store, which does almost 6,000 repair orders a month. Uh, we just don't see them, we don't see very many replacements being required on

The Hybrid battery packs for any of our model lineup from 2010 now we're going to use this Rav 4 Hybrid as a demo. It's a newer one, but what is the difference between a Hybrid battery pack that people want to know how much do those cost and just

a traditional car battery right? So the Hybrid battery pack is what they call the big battery. It's going to be also referenced as the traction battery. It's where all the motive force for the electric motors on this thing is actually coming from. Uh, you got to think

of these in terms of it more like being a gas generator, a battery and an electric motor that are three separate components, and the the big Hybrid battery is going to be located right here near the rear axle of the vehicle under the back passenger seat. Okay, and

what's interesting to me, I like this is you can generally lay, like an SUV like this one, you can lay the seats down flat. They're underneath the seat so it doesn't interfere with cargo space, not at all. It seems to be really really designed well around cargo space to have

that big pack in the house with you as well. Yes, sir. And then where would a traditional 12-volt battery that you would use to start your vehicle, where would that go? So these use absorb glass mat batteries, kind of like the Optima batteries that you may see in a boat.

They're similar technology and they're mounted back here in the very back of the vehicle. Uh, we use absorb glass mat because they don't have the hydrogen gas as much that comes off of a normal car battery that'd be mounted under the hood. They'll actually have a small tube to

allow that off gassing to go outside of the battery that way you never smell battery smells or even know it's in the vehicle with you for sure okay now hybrid replacement the battery pack itself if you were to be able to see that what would a battery pack look like

a hybrid battery pack so our hybrid battery pack the traction battery that's mounted under the back here will be about this wide is obviously going to be narrower than the width of the vehicle about this deep long longitudinally and only about that tall they're really

rather short and they're in a steel case and they'll have a blower fan attached to one end of it for cooling and air circulation so now for the all-important question finance and economics let's say one of these is starting to go bad let's

say you've got an older Prius we'll use that cuz a lot of people think of that one sure you can replace the individual cells or you could just replace the whole hybrid battery pack when would that even make sense to replace individual cells versus the whole thing

right we've kind of seen like a small grassroots movement towards some of the second-gen Prius owners wanting to replace individual cells in the battery or individual battery packs yeah and our experience has been that we've had varying levels of success on that

repair so we haven't offered it here at our center because we can't guarantee the efficacy of the repair but on the newer models some of the packs availabilities aren't as strong as they are on some of the older battery units so we really don't advise getting in

there and trying that at this point yeah that makes sense and then what would let's say somebody came in and they've got a notice that says your hybrid battery is going bad on your 2011 Prius sure what would somebody expect like how many labor hours might that be cuz it's

not just a matter of pulling the battery out you you got a little bit of elbow grease going you have to tear the interior down a good bit because they do tuck the batteries down low in the interior and once you extract the battery you have to safely de-energize

the hybrid system and confirm it is safe for the technician to open it up and then we'll remove the battery pack uh typically in terms of labor hours we usually charge around 5 hours for the process on the third generation and second generation Priuses because

they're less invasive than perhaps an example would be the Highlander where you have more seats in the back that you'll have to remove so around the 5 hour mark would be the labor quote on that usually that's interesting and then let's just say I rolled in with my Prius what would

be a ballpark I know you can't really say for sure cuz every situation's different but what might somebody spend like what does it cost to replace a battery pack including labor cuz people aren't generally going to do that themselves right so on the older Priuses

say Gen 2 I would expect the cost to be in the neighborhood of $5,000 and that's for a full battery pack replacement and again you have to take the battery out and tear the battery down a good bit not as far as replacing cells but the bus

bars have to be exchanged over in the HV control units and all that have to be modded over onto the new battery, um, so there is a little bit of invasive procedures that have to be done there. Um, an interesting thing though, once you get up to the newer models like the RAV and

the Camry, they share Toyota's new Toyota Next Generation architecture, so you're going to see similarities in pricing on some of these units. For example, the RAV and the Camry are almost in lock step in price on both the battery and the labor. Same with the Tundra, the hybrid, the

hybrid Tundra, the Highlander and the new Sequoia, they're all on the same platform now, so they can offer the same pricing and it's more congruent for our guests. That's interesting, and now we really don't need to worry about the prices of

a '23 or a '24 right now because number one, Toyota has an incredible new hybrid warranty. I believe it's 10 years or 150,000 miles for that hybrid battery pack, sir, so that's peace of mind there. Um, but they can't be cheap, right, to replace

something like a Sequoia hybrid battery pack, right? Certainly, and the battery is an expensive component, uh, but not nearly as much as an internal combustion engine for comparison. And also, you know, having been in a volume center for eight years now, it's just not something we're seeing.

We don't see battery replacements on any of our hybrid units. Anything if it's not below a 2010, we're seeing very, very low numbers of replacement. Oh, that's really interesting. So, and you said the service center sees about 6,000 vehicles

per month yes sir and how often might you replace a hybrid battery pack in a high volume Center we may see one a month and that's usually a second gen Prius it's getting to be a more rare occurrence and again anything 2010 and

up we're not seeing the batteries you for example this this particular model line of RAV4 and the newer Camry's we've not even seen them opened up yet except for maybe recall repairs or something warranty related to the replacement but again we're not seeing battery packs

come out of the new cars at all yeah and then just a ballpark here just to throw out a huge number uh what do you think like a Tundra Hybrid battery pack if somebody had to replace a 2023 and of course it's going to be covered under

warranty sure what could that cost incl if for example you were in an accident and your insurance company had to pay out of pocket because it's not a warrantable concern I would expect that cost to be in the neighborhood of $7,300

to $7,500 somewhere in that ballpark okay gotcha all right Adam thanks for giving us the nuts and bolts so to speak and uh it's an electric presentation um appreciate you being here any last words of wisdom yeah I mean I just want to

touch base on the fact that the Toyota is one of the most reliable vehicles on the planet the hybrid system has been an absolute workhorse for us I wouldn't expect you to need to get in here and do a whole lot of tinkering around but if

You are the do-it-yourself type, and you are the type of person that wants to work on your own vehicle. Please be aware that you need to have specialized training to operate on the hybrid system, cuz they are inherently dangerous and there is a risk of personal injury if you

do get involved with that system in the wrong way. Okay, that's great words of wisdom there. And then the other thing is, we're going to leave it open to the viewers. If you guys have any questions about service repair, you're here to help absolutely anytime. Okay, fantastic. So if

you have an idea for, hey, how does this button work? This control service repair, anything like that, maintenance, regularly scheduled service visits, things like that, we'll answer them in future videos. We just want to be a resource to you. Thanks for watching. See ya. Have a good

How Much to Replace Toyota Hybrid Battery? Expert explains costs, life (Toyota Car Care Talk - #11)

Fred Anderson Toyota

Introduction to Hybrid Battery Pack Replacement

Introduction of Jeff Teague and Adam from Fred Anderson Toyota, discussing hybrid battery pack replacement.

Discussion of different hybrid generations and battery types (nickel metal hydride vs. lithium-ion).

Comparison of older and newer hybrid battery technologies and their power delivery.

Older packs utilize nickel metal hydride, while newer ones use lithium-ion for better performance.

First and second-generation hybrid systems (up to 2009) are starting to require battery replacements.

Hybrid Battery Pack Location and Characteristics

Explanation of the hybrid battery pack (traction battery) and its function as the motive force for electric motors.

Comparison of the hybrid battery pack to a gas generator, battery, and electric motor.

Location of the hybrid battery pack: near the rear axle, under the back passenger seat.

Design of the battery pack to not interfere with cargo space.

Description of the 12-volt battery (AGM type) and its location in the vehicle.

Hybrid Battery Pack Replacement: Cost and Procedures

Physical description of the hybrid battery pack: size, shape, and components (steel case, blower fan).

Discussion of replacing individual cells versus the whole hybrid battery pack; varying success rates with individual cell replacement.

Advice against replacing individual cells in newer models due to limited part availability.

Labor hours for battery pack replacement (around 5 hours for 2nd and 3rd gen Priuses).

Estimated cost of battery pack replacement, including labor (around $5000 for older Priuses).

Similar pricing for RAV4, Camry, Tundra, Highlander, and Sequoia due to shared platform.

Toyota's 10-year/150,000-mile hybrid battery pack warranty.

High cost of replacing a hybrid battery pack, but less than an internal combustion engine.

Low frequency of hybrid battery pack replacements in their service center (around one per month, usually for older Priuses).

Estimated cost of replacing a Tundra Hybrid battery pack (around $7300-$7500).

Emphasis on the reliability of Toyota hybrid systems.

Warning about the dangers of working on hybrid systems without specialized training.

Offer to answer viewer questions about service, repair, and maintenance in future videos.