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2007 needs new hybrid battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Thomas Althoff, Sep 3, 2015.

  1. Thomas Althoff

    Thomas Althoff New Member

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    I just found out today that my used Prius needs a new battery. It is a 2007 that just crossed 100,000 miles. I have seen a few things about welding endangering the battery. About 2 months ago I hit a deer and had it fixed at the "guaranteed" shop that Allstate recommended. The damage was mostly cosmetic and contained almost entirely in the front quarter panel. I do not know if welding was done to fix the damage on the front quarter panel. So here are my questions

    1) How long would it take for improper repairs to lead to battery failure?
    2) Is there a way to know if this battery malfunction is due to improper repairs?
    3) Is there a danger to a new battery if this is the case?
     
  2. greasemonkey007

    greasemonkey007 Active Member

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    1.) What codes does the car have and how did you find out that it needs a new battery?
    2.) If you drove it 2 months with no problems, I'd be very inclined to say it was not anything the body shop did to cause it.

    The battery failed in our 1st Prius (06 model with 138,000 miles) just about a week after a front bumper cover replacement and wiring harness repair at a body shop. I immediately called him and told him about the lights that came on. He said to bring it in and he would check the codes. His scanner didn't have the required Toyota software to read all the codes, so he couldn't find any. I took it to the dealership and found that I had a weak block (pair) in my pack. I quickly declined to spend $4900 to fix the car. After I replaced the weak modules, my car was running great. That's been over 2 years ago and it's still running great.

    I would say have the codes checked by either a dealership or a qualified repair shop that has the NECESSARY Toyota software if you have not done so already. Or buy a mini VCI for less than $50 and check the codes yourself. If you already have the codes, then post them on here. Someone will gladly confirm if you have a bad battery. Then make the required repairs and sleep well at night. Don't be mad at the man at the body shop, he probably did his job without causing the car any damage.
     
  3. Thomas Althoff

    Thomas Althoff New Member

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    Codes that were pulled at a local service shop.
    P300, P0A80, P0317

    After this shop pulled the codes they said they would not work on it so I had it towed to the local Toyota dealership. They confirmed that it was a battery that needed replacing but did not tell me what codes they got.
     
  4. greasemonkey007

    greasemonkey007 Active Member

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    Could that have been P0300 or P3000, and P3017? I know the p0a80 is replace the HV battery pack. Alldata diy.com doesn't list a P300 or a P0317. P0300 is random misfire detected and P3000 relates to the HV system or the battery ecu. P3017 says that block 7 in the battery pack is weak. The 3017 would correlate with the P0A80 as would the P3000.

    If the dealer said the battery was bad, I'd say fix if you want to keep the car. You don't have to pay them $5000 to do it. You can buy a reman from Dorman with a 3 yr warranty and have a qualified shop put it in for way less. Or if you're mechanically inclined, there's tons of info on here to help you rebuild it yourself. But be VERY careful if you go that route because the high DC voltage can be hazzardous to your health, if not deadly.
    If spending money on it is not in your plans, you can sell it like it is. However it will bring considerably less money with a bad battery. Hope this helps.
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would contact toyota directly and ask them that question, you may have a case against the body shoppe.
     
  6. Dwight Schrute

    Dwight Schrute New Member

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    This makes me nervous! I am buying a prius tomorrow with 137k miles on it. its a 2008, but still! I cannot figure out how to start a post on a forum. Im new here.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you should be nervous, a little bit anyway. go to forums, and select the forum you want to start a thread in. then, click on 'post new thread.' in the upper right hand corner.
     
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  8. Dwight Schrute

    Dwight Schrute New Member

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    Thank you! Really? Ugh. Well I haven't bought it yet... hopefully this isn't a mistake
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's a crapshoot. the good news is, a very small number of btteries fail early.
     
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  10. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Hi Vinton sorry I just saw your post.
    You might try this approach:
    HV Battery Goodwill Warranty Listing - Toyota Prius USA | PriusChat

    I am thinking your battery just failed, and although we are not in CARB state w/ 150k mile 10-yr warranty, it's young enough that Toyota might give you some consideration. In this case you have the accident complication not sure that helps matters.
     
  11. Digitalblonde

    Digitalblonde New Member

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    Hello Everyone- I have a 2007 Prius with 145K on it. I'm the original owner and have had all the maintenance except for a few oil changes done at the dealership as well as all recall updates. There are 2 things now that I have left the dealership to handle myself. The first was the replacement of the high Intensity head lights. The dealer wanted $175 each. I ordered Phillips replacement bulbs online, watched a video on how to replace them, then asked my son-in law to watch the video and do it for me.. ;) He did a great job and they have been working wonderfully now for about 25K miles.
    The first big thing - the hybrid battery. I was startled by the sudden appearance of the triangle of death and several other warning lights in yellow on the dashboard. The manual said to head straight for the dealership, which I did. They performed a diagnostic and gave me the quote for a new hybrid battery pack, $3300.00. I'm not in a CARB state and therefore the battery is not under warranty.They also warned me that I probably shouldn't drive it because it could completely die at any time. They offered me a $500 trade in towards a new 2015 Prius. I paid the $105 diagnostic fee and let it set there for 2 days while I did some online research - GOOD thing!
    Through others in this forum, I found Steve Woodruff owner of autobeyours in Scottsburg Indiana. It's located right off Interstate 65 in Southern Indiana. One call and they were able to get me in the next day. They assured me the car would be fine to drive there. For me that was about 110 miles. They replaced the battery bank with a reconditioned battery pack with a 12 month warranty: 6 month unconditional/ 6 month prorated for $849.00. (Toyota only warrants the new batteries for 1 year). It was ready to go in about an hour and a half. They also replaced the fan and filter assembly that cools the battery.The drive home was wonderful! Thanks Steve.
     
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  12. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    You're lucky to live close to Steve. He is awesome and you can rest assured, he will honor the warranty. I have dealt with him personally and found him to be above par.