# Toyota Prius batteries



## Ky-Jeeper (Sep 5, 2010)

I have a fellow co-worker that is giving me one maybe two sets of Prius NiMH batteries. Other than scraping them out at the recycler what are the chances of using them for solar and wind power storage? 


TIA Ky-Jeeper


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I don't know, but I can tell you from experience that the fuel savings with a Prius are so huge, it may make more sense to put them back in another car. 

My DH bought his first Prius in 2004. He put 288,000 miles on it before he decided to trade it in for a 2010 with more bells and whistles. It still ran fine, battery life was excellent, and the trade-in value was hefty. Not long after, I needed a new car and also got a 2010 Prius (but not with so many bells and whistles). 

We live out in the country. Closest shopping is 20 miles away. DH commutes 60 miles each way to the office. Gas is low now, at 3.54 a gallon. We easily get 50+ miles on the highway, and 75-100mpg in town with our Priuses. No kidding. The savings for us, in covering the distances we do, is huge. The difference makes an electric bill look like nothing.

DH's car now has 120,000 miles on it, and it's been problem free. Needed new tires not long ago and got them nitrogen filled; but that's no biggie. 

Gotta say, I love Love LOVE my Prius.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Odd voltages makes them hard to work with on a solar system. Your charge controller and inverter would have to be custom built to match them. So unless your an electrical engineer they would cost you more than they could save.

Toyota also changed the voltages of the batteries several times so the 2 batteries may not even be the same voltage.

WWW


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## haley1 (Aug 15, 2012)

I have 2 friends that are mechanics at a Toyota dealership. They both said those batteries last a long time one guy has been there over ten years and said he only saw 1 battery replaced and that was because of an accident.


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

wy_white_wolf said:


> Odd voltages makes them hard to work with on a solar system. Your charge controller and inverter would have to be custom built to match them. So unless your an electrical engineer they would cost you more than they could save.
> 
> Toyota also changed the voltages of the batteries several times so the 2 batteries may not even be the same voltage.
> 
> WWW


Hi,
The Prius batteries are made up of a number of individual cells in series, so I suppose one might make up your own series strings of cells with voltages closer to the solar standards.

But, (I think) that the NiMH batteries they use require a special charger to keep the cells healthy, so, probably not a good idea.

From Wikipedia:
"The Second Generation Prius contains a 1.310kWh battery, composed of 28 modules. Each battery module is made of 6 individual 1.2v 6.5Ah Prismatic NiMH cells in series forming a 7.2v 6.5Ah module. Each module contains an integrated charge controller and relay. These modules are connected 28 in series to form a 201.6v 6.5Ah battery (traction battery), also known as the energy storage system. The computer controlled charge controller and battery management computer systems keep this battery between 38% and 82% state of charge, with a tendency to keep the average state of charge around 60%. By shallow cycling the battery only a small portion of its net available energy storage capacity is available for use (approximately 400Wh) by the hybrid drive system, but the shallow computer controlled cycling dramatically improves the cycle life, thermal management control, and net long term calendar life of the battery. Active cooling of this battery is achieved by a blower motor and air ducting, while passive thermal management was accomplished through the metal case design."

1.3 KWH is not exactly a killer amount of storage -- about the same as one good sized deep cycle battery.

There is a market for the used battery packs on ebay, and I believe Toyota has a program to buy old Prius batteries for recycle.

We are on our 2nd Prius and have been very happy with both -- consistently right up near 50 mpg. My daughter got a Chevy Volt and I'm eager to get a chance to drive it.

Gary


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## Ky-Jeeper (Sep 5, 2010)

Guess I'm scrapping or selling them.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

My wife drives a '11 Prius-3. She loves it. It is over 50,000 miles now, and we have not seen any problems with it. Good gas mileage, it hugs the road even on ice.

She got stuck once. We had over a foot of fresh snow, and the Prius high-centered on the snow.

As for the battery, put it on Ebay.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

If you were to keep the batts and try to break them down into more conventional voltages be very careful with that high voltage DC.
High voltage DC is dangerous.........

I have seen 120 VDC inverters . . but have not heard of any that will use 200 VDC.


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## Ky-Jeeper (Sep 5, 2010)

thanks guys

Ky-Jeeper


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