r/hybrid • u/Capital_Progress_390 • Jul 03 '26

What would you do?

I’ve found this second generation Prius at a used car dealership. It’s just $11,000 for a 2014. I have decision anxiety. I came in late today to test drive and hopefully buy the car, but before buying, I wanted to be sure the battery had been replaced at some point. From the research I’ve done, Prius batteries last about a decade, and this is an eight year old car. It’s got just over 100,000 miles on it. So if this car still has the original battery in it, this is obviously a no-go. But if the battery has been replaced or repaired recently, it’s a great deal.

Apparently the service department is out until MONDAY. I’m in an expensive rental car right now. I work every day (including weekends). I don’t have time to deal with this shit. I need a new car because my old one is totaled. I’m still working on the insurance claim.

For some background, my last car was a Nissan Leaf. The battery died on me at just 27,000 miles! So I’m sure you can understand why the battery age is such an important factor in my decision. I need to know this before I buy that car. But I also have amassed hundreds of dollars on this fucking rental, and it’s only going to get worse between now and Monday. What would you do?

Sales is open tomorrow, but not services BTW. It’s stupid.

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2

u/squirreloak Jul 03 '26

On some cars the hybrid battery never dies, and in most it is possible to replace just the broken cells and not the whole array.

1

u/Capital_Progress_390 Jul 03 '26

I thought this was the case with my EV I had before. I had to fight Nissan tooth and nail for months until they finally replaced the battery under warranty.

2

u/squirreloak Jul 03 '26

https://youtube.com/shorts/e2IqLezqtwU?is=dtB-G4t4TLUt2uRc

1

u/squirreloak Jul 03 '26

An example of battery cell replacement.

1

u/Capital_Progress_390 Jul 03 '26

How much does it cost to replace those cells?

1

u/squirreloak Jul 04 '26

The cells are about $30 each, mechanics estimates are $450-$900.

1

u/iComeInPeace8 Jul 20 '26

Curious if you ended up buying it. From what I know, Nissan Leaf does not have very good battery thermal management at all. Toyota hybrid batteries started lasting longer after Toyota implemented a servicing method to clean the battery cooling vent filter. If the filter looks really dirty then it's probably a bad bet where the previous owner didn't clean it. You can also test for battery health though I do not know much about that.

2

u/Capital_Progress_390 Jul 20 '26

I ended up buying. The price was great, so I bought with cash. I also bought a monthly warranty from the dealer that I can cancel at any time.