I think it's just 1st gen woes. The 97 Prius used a similar battery and it had problems too. Toyota replaced them all for free as they failed, but that model was only sold in Japan, as it was the shakedown model. Honda could have probably done the same, but I guess having the first, most fuel efficient hybrid in North America was an understandable goal.

Sounds to me like it's also the battery computer that had some flawed software that could only be replaced by replacing the battery and inverter + ECU, so I think the HCH is much less vulnerable to this particular flaw, although you will probably still want to do whatever you can to prolong the battery life.

2001 Prius Photos       2005 Prius Photos
1992 Mitsubishi Delica Diesel-WVO Hybrid Photos