1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

2001 Prius, Code P3009 on a used battery

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by oldnoah, Aug 21, 2010.

  1. oldnoah

    oldnoah Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2010
    187
    53
    0
    Location:
    New York
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    My 2001 prius has 152K on it. Earlier this summer we got an hybrid system code light, and took it to Toyota. After someone came out from Toyota (Toyota mechanics aren't trained to work on Prius?) they said some of the cells weren't charging properly (uneven charge) and we needed a new battery. They wanted $4000.

    I looked around online and found Xvipers.com, which had a battery from a similar car, with only 47k on it (I'm not sure mileage makes a difference, since batteries decay with age) for $1500 with a 90 day warrantee. He shipped it to Toyota, they installed it for $500.

    About a month and a half later, it showed another code, this time P3009, which Toyota says means the battery is leaking.

    The guy at Xvipers says that this probably means that the car was just hot (it was a very hot day the first two times) and the battery is venting as it's supposed to do. He says when a prius gets to this mileage, it's going to start showing codes, and I should get used to ignoring them, rather than running to Toyota every time, because they'll just keep doing expensive repairs. Sounds like he doesn't want to honor his warrantee. The cars behaves fine, but the code has come and gone three times in the last two weeks.
     
    #1 oldnoah, Aug 21, 2010
  2. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2004
    8,995
    3,507
    0
    Location:
    Kunming Yunnan China
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    I hate to diss XVipers, never having any direct experience with them. However...

    P3009 is indeed 'leak detected'. It is not definitive to within the HV battery case becasue the HV can leak by way of wiring elsewhere in the car. But based on your information, it is most likely electrolyte from one or more NiMH cells, bussbar corrosion, as we have learned is not completely uncommon for the NHW11 prosmatic cells. If you had told me that the car had been repeatedly driven through deep water, we would have reason to look somewhere else.

    In particular, these cells are not designed to vent. They are designed to 'hold it in'. Other aspects of battery electrical and thermal control are intended to hold down temperature, and thus the possibility of leakage. But if you are leaking electrolyte, the bussbar is going to be damaged. Over time it will get worse.

    In short, I would call the warranty in this case. I would certainly consider exchanging with another from this source, especially if they would (or could) check for eletrolyte leakage beforehand.

    However the mindset that some degree of electrolyte leakage is normal operations is incorrect, and certainly not helpful to your side in any further negotiations.

    Good luck and post more information later please.

    PS: $500 of R&R of the HV battery sounds excessive. Have you any alternatives there?
     
    #2 tochatihu, Aug 21, 2010
  3. oldnoah

    oldnoah Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2010
    187
    53
    0
    Location:
    New York
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I tried calling other Toyota dealerships to ask if they would R&R the battery, and they declined, saying they would only replace parts that they supplied themselves. I have no idea how hard it would be to do it myself, but I've heard a number of people say they wouldn't work on a prius at all for fear of electrocution. Without a pretty good set of instructions, I'm a little hesitant.

    Also, is it normal for the code to disappear, once it shows on the display? The first time it happened, toyota couldn't pull a code out of the car. And also, is there a way for me to pull codes without going to Toyota?
     
    #3 oldnoah, Aug 21, 2010
  4. oldnoah

    oldnoah Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2010
    187
    53
    0
    Location:
    New York
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Looking around through the forum, I found a post that says that "DTC P3009 means a high voltage ground fault." In other words, it's an electrical leak, not necessarily an electrolyte leak.

    Is there a way to check to see what kind of leakage we are talking about? Measure milliAmps from the battery terminals to the chassis? If this is the case, could I isolate the battery, and check it again, to determine if it's in the battery or in the car wiring?
     
    #4 oldnoah, Aug 22, 2010
  5. hybriddriveguy

    hybriddriveguy Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2009
    98
    63
    0
    Location:
    Sanford NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    There is a simple method to determine if the battery is at fault for the p3009 if you have a scan tool available for clearing codes.

    The first step would be to clear all codes and then turn the ignition switch to the on position (not ready) and wait a few minutes to see if the code resets in this position. If it does not set in this position, the problem is not the battery.
    Next switch the key to the ready position and immediately shift the transaxle to neutral position. Stay in this mode for a few minutes and if the code sets, the problem is in either the hv cables or the inverter.
    Last shift the transaxle into drive and if the codes reset in this position, the trouble is with the transaxle.
    This procedure is basically controlling where the high voltage is allowed to travel. The 1st position keeps all HV in the battery case, the 2nd allows it to travel to the inverter, but not the transaxle and the 3rd allows it to get to the transaxle itself.
     
    #5 hybriddriveguy, Aug 23, 2010
    SFO likes this.
  6. oldnoah

    oldnoah Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2010
    187
    53
    0
    Location:
    New York
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Where can I get the scan tool? And is this the same tool that allows me to read hybrid system codes, rather than more traditional "check engine" codes?

    Is there a preffered model of scan tool (and/or supplier) here at priuschat?
     
    #6 oldnoah, Aug 23, 2010
  7. hybriddriveguy

    hybriddriveguy Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2009
    98
    63
    0
    Location:
    Sanford NC
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    The preferred scan tool is the Techstream from Toyota. There are probably others that work, but we use the factory tool.
     
    #7 hybriddriveguy, Aug 25, 2010
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)