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2005 Prius - Getting Triangle with !, CEL, VCS and the circle with !

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by manolommad, Feb 5, 2012.

  1. northwichita

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    That sounds good , that the dealership checks out your car before the work is done.

    Beyond that, its hard for me to say without seeing and testing out the car in person to know for sure.

    Plus I've never actually had to change a HV battery, just thought about it.
     
  2. manolommad

    manolommad New Member

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    How often do these hv batteries die? Based on the mileage (270K) on my prius, does that sound ok for the hv battery to go out?

    Is the $650 to replace the battery to re-involt reasonable?
     
  3. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    You need to add the cost of the reinvolt battery. I think it should be about a 2 hour job, so its sounds 2x what it should cost. It is actually fairly easy to replace, you don't need any special tools to do it. You should be able to find a used battery from a lower mileage car for $500 or less.

    I know there are some posts with some pictures covering this, but the search function does not seem to be working at the moment. Maybe you can locate them.
    Basically, once you remove the safety interlock on the left side of the battery, it is fairly safe to open the battery by removing the cover on the top left side, disconnect the two orange wires that leave from the drivers side, and the two (?) harnesses that plug into the computer. Then just remove the bolts dicosnnect the fan shroud and pull it out. Replace in reverse, but remove the interlock first from the new battery, and install it last.

    I have an extra battery lying around, but I don't think it makes sense to ship it from NY.
     
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  4. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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  5. manolommad

    manolommad New Member

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    Thanks for the reply. If its that simple I maybe able to do it. It would be good with visual instructions. I will try to find if there is one on pc. Also, do I need to clear the error codes prior to taking/putting the hv battery?

    If you have an extra hv battery that is in working condition, I would love to buy it from you and pay for the shipping. Then I can donate my current hv battery to whoever wants it.

    Thank you
     
  6. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    The Prius Dismantling Guide is a great source that has all the precautions and steps needed to remove the battery. Installation is the reverse of removal. You do not need to remove the entire back seat, just the seatbacks, and you do not need to remove the trim pieces around the side doors, just unclip them from the top and fold forward a few inches. A good trim tool is very helpful, I like the OEM/Upholstery clip tool (25313) | Upholstery Clip Removal Tool | AutoZone.com

    Disconnecting the 12V battery will clear all codes. That is step 1 of the removal process.

    http://www.eaa-phev.org/images/d/df/Priusdisman.pdf
     
  7. manolommad

    manolommad New Member

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    Thanks for your reply. Is the removal and installation of hv battery easy enough to work on? I've read the instructions you provided and it doesn't seemed that hard. I'm just worried about stuff happening after putting the new battery. Like error codes, car not going to Drive/Reverse mode. I've read a few threads with that issues after installing a new hv battery.
     
  8. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    The HV batteries in a Gen2 Prius are good for 200k-300k miles on average (a little shorter life in hot climates). Mine died at 195k miles.
    NO! The labor to install a new HV battery takes more time than installing a ReInVolt (the ReInVolt comes with it's ECU; The new battery does not and they reuse the ECU from your old HV battery). My dealer in CT charged me $400 for a ReInVolt installation.

    JeffD
     
  9. manolommad

    manolommad New Member

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    Thank you for your reply. Do I need to let the dealer know about the ECU on the re-involt hv battery when they put it on? I have an appt with the Toyota dealership today to diagnose the car. I'm still hoping it won't be the hv battery.
     
  10. manolommad

    manolommad New Member

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    I went to Toyota of Richardson to diagnose what the problem with the car. They said that the hv battery will need to be replaced. I didnt ask for the diagnostic copy cause they did not charge me for the diagnostics.

    The volts on block 7 and block 8 is less than 17 volts thats why error codes are showing. They advised me to replace the hv battery and they are ok if I purchase the battery from re-involt and the installation cost will be $650.

    Is it possible to open the battery pack and just change the block 7 and 8 module or that may not work?

    Thank you
     
  11. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    It is possible, but I think your battery is toast. A battery that has overheated too many times will have the worst modules in the middle. Of the four modules in your bad blocks 7 and 8, each may have less an 1 amp-hour of capacity, compared to 6.5 amp-hours when they left the factory. The remaining modules will be maybe 1 amp-hours to 4 amp-hours.

    If you only had one bad block, and it was 1-4 or 11-14, then I'd say it would be worth a shot, but in your case, I think you would be wasting time and money.
     
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  12. manolommad

    manolommad New Member

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    Thanks for all the replies and help.

    I purchase a battery from '05 prius battery from autobeyours.com. Steve (I assume the owner of the store) said that he got the prius car which had a rollover accident this monday and tested the battery.

    Is it better to have toyota dealership install the battery pack or find someone else. Toyota will charge me $650 to install it. They said they will have to test everything on the battery for installing it.

    Thanks
     
  13. manolommad

    manolommad New Member

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    Hello,

    This is the update on my hv battery. I bought a used toyota hv battery from Autobeyours.com (the car was on a rollover accident). Took it to toyota of richardson here in Texas. They installed it and charged me $600. Picked up the car last night and everything seems working. I hope it'll work for a good 2 years.

    Thank y'all for the help and advice.
     
  14. ElmoBob

    ElmoBob Junior Member

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    my mother is the owner of a 2005 prius 109k, I try to borrow it as much as possible because of its great gas mileage, yesterday I get in the car, drive it for about 20 minutes, I notice the traction battery is charging and discharging quickly and then I get the same thing triangle, circle with ! and vcs, I also hear the battery fan for the first time turn on (it was about 30 degrees fahrenheit. I got the ODBII and indeed got codes P0A80 and P3012, I want to fix this before my mother finds out, I'm willing to buy a re-manufactured battery. I like this car so much I couldn't sleep last night thinking of how to fix this, I want to return it to my mother without her noticing anything went wrong with it, she's on vacation and will be back in 3 weeks. Please need some urgent advice..
     
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    You mean something other than having a dealer diagnose the problem and fix it? Re-Involt are the go-to people for rebuilt HV batteries, and they may be able to advise on a shop near you for installation.
     
  16. manolommad

    manolommad New Member

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    Check autobeyours.com if you need to replace the hv battery. Steve is very helpful. I got one from him and had a toyota dealership install it. Everything works now, my prius is like brand new. The battery doesn't lose charge and stays 8 blue bars even when the car is parked for 10 mins. My old battery would lose charge really quick.
     
  17. ElmoBob

    ElmoBob Junior Member

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    update - thanks for the advice, I was a bit intimidated after reading about the 200+volts on the packs so I decided to get the battery replaced by re-involt, I shipped the car to Sanford NC from NY, they refurbished the battery and reinstalled for $2000, then I took the bus down there to pickup the car, total with shipping of the car, battery replacement and bus ride to NC, $2,580. I did notice on the way back that the battery level fluctuates allot less, I saw it go down to one bar below green in nyc after allot of ev stop n go in traffic, so far so good averaging 45mpg, hopefully it's good for another 100k+ miles. Much cheaper than the almost $4k the toyota dealer wanted.
     
  18. jm2774

    jm2774 New Member

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    I just paid toyota to replace my huge battery in my prius a grand total of $5K because it was only 9K out of warranty which I think is horrible customer service. Now they are telling me that I need to Coolant Fan replaced?!?!!! for $500?!?!?!?!?!?

    Is this too much?

    Is there any way I can get Toyota to cover this because its still only 9K out of warranty?

    Is there any way that the coolant fan just needs to be cleaned and they are trying to upsell me?

    My car is maybe worth $5,000 and I have already forked over the money for the huge battery in my prius, is it even worth keeping this car if huge problems like this are just going to keep happening? Because the repairs on the inside of the car are costing more than its worth

    Could this problem have anything to do with the new battery they just installed?

    If someone has a link they can share or any replys/comments/went through the same situation please message me or reply to this post.

    Thanks
     
  19. dbarcan

    dbarcan Junior Member

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    I never heard of the main battery replacement costing $5,000. I think the price, in New Jersey, is around half that. Complain to Toyota and tell them you were "hosed". Sounds like the dealer is way off base. As far as cooling fan, I doubt it was caused by the main battery replacement. $500 for that seems also very high. Find another dealer.
     
  20. jm2774

    jm2774 New Member

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    Is it possible that when they installed the new HV battery in my car they didn't check the cooling fan for that high voltage battery and it would be their fault? Also I only have one Toyota dealer within an hour of where I live, do you suggest driving with this problem, or do you mean for me to find an independant dealer or specialist?