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2001 generation 1 prius battery

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by simsima, Feb 24, 2011.

  1. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    I keep getting directed to this forum when I do my research and the people here are pretty outstanding, so I thought I would give it a try. What I'm looking for is opinion on possible problems that I might want to consider before trying to deal with the battery, and secondly, alternatives to buying a new battery for $3000, IN CANADA, preferably ontario near the GTA (rebuilders/refurbished etc...). The more different opinions the better.

    First of all the error codes:
    P3000
    P3019
    C1213
    C1251
    Lights:
    check engine
    emergency light
    triangle of death
    power steering
    main battery
    hybrid system warning (the car with ! in it)

    Now my symptoms:
    First of all, i love toyota and i love prius. I bought this as is, maybe it was a bad idea, but good price, and my uncle is a pretty good mechanic so i figured it would work out (but he dosent have much experience with hybrids). The first thing i notice is that acceleration is pretty bad, sometimes its normal but usually its bad, it seems like there is no shifting to higher gears (yes i know its CVT, but you know what i mean). Also, if i brake for a while, the engine shuts off and then it runs on battery.... but while my foot is still on the brake the engine cuts back on (kind of roughly), and then back off to battery... all this while idling. Also, the battery meter shows that the battery discharges and recharges in like a minutes (maybe thats why the engine cuts on and off?)

    What I've tried:
    -at first the only that came up was the mass air flow sensor, so i went and replaced that.... but even so the same code came up again... it seems like the system isnt getting enough voltage so it cant even tell me whats wrong.

    Its obviously trash if the transmission AND battery are gone.... but if its just the battery (and my transmission woes are just symptoms of a weak battery), then I'd like to know of real rebuilders/refurbishers in Canada near the GTA (please dont like me to one of those DIY guides online)

    Thanks so much in advance. Any help is appreciate bc i kind of screwed over my dad with this purchase and I really don't want to make him pay for my mistake. thanks
     
  2. UKCLASSICPRIUS

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    your best bet is to find a prius garage to do the faultfinding, & yourself to source the parts...

    you could do the battery whilst your waiting for the other things to happen, to try & cut down on time loss...

    take the time factor into consideration....

    its easier for you as there or much more prius enthusiasts in usa/canada rather then uk where I am at...

    get a scan gauge, or a proper diagnoistic tool from another member via help if your gonna try & sort it out yourself...

    How did you get those codes what did you use? or did those codes come with the car?

    many more upper class technicians then me to view this post so dont dispear...
     
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  3. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Hii Simsima, everything you say suggests that the HV battery is at fault, and it is what we must resolve first. Options beyond Toyota's new battery (fine though it is) have been discussed here before - check the archives or ask again.

    And yet we must make sure that your car's tiny 12 volt battery is not contributing to the problems, so either make sure that it is in good shape or replace it.

    Now I ask a harder question - can you find out (using the car's VIN) if its HV battery has previously been 'resealed'? All of those from the era should have been done, and if not, there is no end date for Toyota's generosity in re. However I don't know how this was handled in the Canadian market.

    We need to know more. Do not presume at this time that the transaxle is damaged, though there are things we ought to discuss about it, and about the inverter and its coolant loop.

    More, please
     
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  4. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    Thanks! your giving me hope :). My uncle is a very good mechanic, but not experienced with prius, especially not in battery rebuilding. BUT, he is willing to learn and try rebuilding this battery bc in the future he can make a lot of money if he figures it out (he'll probably be the only one in a few hundred miles who can do it).

    Those codes come from his scanner, I'll ask him to scan it again for me in case i left any of them out

    Sim
     
  5. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    Thank tochatihu!! I can't believe how quick and helpful you guys are!
    I've called the dealer with the VIN and they said there is nothing outstanding and it was taken in for all of its recalls.

    My uncle (the mechanic) says the 12V battery is fine bc the car STARTS fine... but I'm going to ask him to check how much voltage is running across it during a cold start today.

    Now I've heard of the transaxle problem before, and you seem to be replying to by concern of the transmission with the transaxle, (sorry to expose my ignorance), but is the transaxle the transmission in a CVT?

    You asked for more information, and I don't know much more, but I want all future posters to see this: Although I am not a mechanic, my uncle is very experienced and has his own shop, so I can always test pretty much anything and give you the results, or even ask him to try things out (if you can explain it in a way that I will be able to understand and explain to him)

    Please, tell me anything you want to know and I should have it for you in a few hours :)

    Thanks again guys!
     
  6. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    The other main thing I want to say is that I've seen the non-toyota battery solutions that run from $500-$1700 and I would be willing to pay that much to get it up and running again, but if its the battery and something else big (like the transmission)... I think the cost would just be too much, as I haven't seen any cost savers for the transmission. So before I pay the ~$2000 for the battery, I'm interested in ruling out damage to the transmission or something else that would make it not worth fixing. The odd thing is that NO codes for the transmission come up on the scanner, but if the HV voltage is low than the car probably doesn't have enough juice to tell me whats wrong with it properly!

    (remember I have full access to a mechanic garage!)
     
  7. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Take your car in, pull the battery, and open the case. If it is an obvious problem like a bad module or two, then the band-aid fix is to buy replacement cells and install them. ReInvolt sells old Gen I modules on ebay for cheap, like $10 + shipping. It is best to replace modules in pairs with the replacement pair having matched capacity and state of charge, since the car corrects imbalances at the block pair level, rather than the module level.

    This approach is somewhat controversial, but if your uncle is serious about fixing these, then I can see that your car will be disassembled a few times anyway.

    So, if you could get that battery on the bench, take pictures, measure module voltages, and report back, we can help.

    Edit: Link to ReInvolt ebay page: http://stores.ebay.com/Re-Involt-Technologies?_trksid=p4340.l2563 Don't buy the "Lot of 11" for you purpose, those are either bad or unknown condition cells.
     
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  8. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    Alright I will try to pull the battery and get some pictures today. As for measure voltages, could you post a picture with where I should measure on the modules?
     
  9. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    Also, are there any other things you want me to check out, other than the 12V battery? And are there any ways to rule out the transmission before I pour money into the battery? Is it possible that the transmission revs and dosent shift well if there is an HV battery problem?
     
  10. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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  11. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    That's one reason that I suggested the low rent approach to getting the battery back on its feet. It is the cheapest way for you to get the battery aspect back to working order. Then you can see if the transaxle is working normally.
     
  12. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

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    What makes you think the transaxle/transmission has any problem? The lack of power at times? That would be fully explained by a bad battery, and seems more likely than a bad transaxle. It's not a "shifting" problem, since it doesn't have gears.

    The car can start but still have a bad 12V battery, I would still check the voltage on that, it only takes a minute. (The high-volt traction battery is the one that starts the engine).

    Check this thread (and post 12 in particular) for more on the planetary gear system:
    http://priuschat.com/forums/generation-1-prius-discussion/65470-tranaxle-issue.html#post907000
     
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  13. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    I don't know if you'd call it "less power" but the engine revs really high without the speed changing much... what do you think? (IE: Max rev and barely changing from 30-32mph in 5 seconds... the 5s is an approximation but you get that point :p)
     
  14. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    Update: the 12V battery is perfect.
    The full codes are:
    P3000
    P3006
    P3014
    P3019
    C1215
    C1214
    C1213
    C1259

    Is there any thing else (easier) than taking apart the battery that I can do for today?
     
  15. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    That's typical of an HV battery system malfunction.
     
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  16. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    Seems like it, but is it indicating any other problems? Im mainly worried about the transmission, I think im accepting the fact that it is the battery and i will start (with your help) rebuilding it this weekend, but i dont want to spend to much if theres lots of other problems and i have to throw it out either way.
     
  17. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    I understand that it has the feel of a regular automatic transmission that is slipping. But the problem is that the HV battery has inhibited current flow. I am less familiar with Gen I, but I know from the experience of having this happen in Gen II, the car would barely move forward and would not move in reverse. It is definitely a crap-your-pants feeling, but most likely you have a single point of failure in your battery pack that can be fixed conceivably for as little as $22 US.
     
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  18. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    The thing is that it DOES move in reverse..... what does that mean :S... ive seen many people with this problem saying that the car doesn't reverse so thats kind of odd.

    I'm going to start taking it apart this weekend, does anyone have a link to a nice guide with lots of pictures?
     
  19. simsima

    simsima New Member

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    Would anyone know of a canadian supplier of the modules? otherwise its going to be some time until i cant replace anything
     
  20. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    techinfo.toyota.com is a subscription website that provides official Toyota repair manual info.
     
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