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Poor A/c ruins hybrid battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by FFgeek, Jul 14, 2014.

  1. FFgeek

    FFgeek Junior Member

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    Hello,

    Sorry if this is a rehash, but I couldn't find it anywhere.

    My A/c has been on the fritz for a while, and I've just been dealing with sweating in the Florida summer until I had the money to get it fixed. Now this morning I start my car after getting gas, and it throws the dreaded P0A80. My fiance's 2004 HV pack just went bad about a month ago, but her's has 236k miles on it. My 2005 is only at 98k. I haven't heard my HV fan kick on in the back seat at all, but it does seem to be having a hard time charging. Is there anyway the dealer is going to try to say that me not getting my A/C fixed is the cause of my faulty HV battery? Is there any way that that is the cause of the pack going bad??

    -newbie
     
    #1 FFgeek, Jul 14, 2014
  2. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    I would say no, the dealer won't have much of a leg to stand on there if that is the only DTC you have. The A/C draws around 1kW of power from the HV electrical system. Moving the car itself can use over 100kW of peak power from the battery. So the power consumption of the A/C is not going to make or break a failed battery.

    However, not using the A/C in a hot climate leads to higher battery temps which can potentially shorten the life of the battery. It seems most of the early battery failures come from hot climates, but parking in the hot sun can be just as deleterious to the battery. Toyota has nothing to say on these matters, so I suspect that if the dealer quibbles, you can ask them to point out in the owner's manual where the information is that tells people in Florida to park in the shade.
     
    #2 nh7o, Jul 14, 2014
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    but in florida, your out of warranty anyway, no?
     
    #3 bisco, Jul 14, 2014
  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Your out of warranty no matter what so who cares what the dealer says caused it. Your still looking at a new Hybrid pack.

    But very rare the hv fan not coming on with a bad pack. Was the P0A80 the only code?
     
    #4 edthefox5, Jul 14, 2014
  5. FFgeek

    FFgeek Junior Member

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    P0A80 was the only code given, no specific block. Yes, I'm out of warranty, but only by time, not milage. Given that we're on our third Prius, and my wife's lasted 130k+ longer than mine did in the same conditions, I've always parked in the shade and only had the air issue for a couple months I'm going to raise holy Hell with corporate until I get some satisfaction. I bought mine on the great experience of my wife's, if mine can't even last half as long I'll gladly buy a Leaf next time around and avoid the hassle of buying gas completely.

    Barring that, what's everyone's experience with long term viability of doing a HV pack recondition/cell replacement?
     
    #5 FFgeek, Jul 15, 2014
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