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Just got a P0A80 error

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Jeri Nelz, Dec 4, 2014.

  1. Jeri Nelz

    Jeri Nelz New Member

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    My car has been fine with no changes besides tires last week, its a 2006 Prius and yesterday I got lights on my dash, went to auto zone for a read out and got an HV error code. I was wondering what is the most affordable route for my car to get repaired as I live in Orlando. I don't notice any mpg differences and everything still charges and recharges as if the errors don't exist.
     
  2. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Give these folks a try. Been recommended here on this board before.

    mellor's automotive

    Is your dash lit up like a Christmas Tree?

    Also, is the gas engine running more often than it used to?

    Finally, are you seeing excessive upswings and downswings on the SOC for the traction battery on the MFD? What I am saying is this, are you seeing red on bottom followed by green on top very quickly?

    Best of luck to you,
    Ron (dorunron)
     
  3. Jeri Nelz

    Jeri Nelz New Member

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    Dash lights sometimes show up sometimes they don't, they change every time I start up, I called that place from looking on the forums and it would cost me 2.5k for a new battery since he no longer swaps cells. But I don't see any excessive swings and the gas engine actually doesn't run any different. It did yesterday but that was due to parking in the sun it has usually ran a bit more for awhile until it cools down but other than the lights its running normal.
     
  4. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Check the 12 volt battery before going any further. There are links in my signature below which details how to test the battery. You can use the onboard method, but do so only when the car has set overnight. Your best bet to test the 12 volt is with a digital volt meter. Measure the voltage at the jump post or at the battery directly. You will find the battery under the floor boards in the back end on the passenger side. Raise the hatch and remove the covers to expose the 12 volt. Be aware that reversing polarity on the 12 volt can cause expensive damage to the Prius. So use common sense here and check the voltage.

    Report back what you read when you run the test.

    A weak or dying 12 volt can also cause the P0A80 error. Normally the error is produced by a failing traction battery (big battery).

    Let us know what you find.

    Ron
     
  5. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    $2500 is a reasonable price for a traction battery swap. If you have to swap, go that route. If you can't swing that amount, and still have to swap, try to find a wrecked Prius with low miles in your area and have the big battery swapped. But make sure you check the 12 volt first before going any further.
     
  6. Jeri Nelz

    Jeri Nelz New Member

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    I couldn't find a way to jump my mother in laws car the week before and did it directly from the 12volt along with forgetting to turn my car off yesterday for half an hour. Could that have caused any of this?
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yes. if you're lucky, you blew the 100 amp fuse, if not, you may have fries the inverter. i would look around salvage yards for a battery pack from a low mile prius.
     
  8. Jeri Nelz

    Jeri Nelz New Member

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    Should I go to Toyota and see if I have warranty and replaced or anyway I can check myself.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you either have 8 years, 100,000 miles, or 10/150, depending on your state.
     
  10. Jeri Nelz

    Jeri Nelz New Member

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    I'm in Florida and car has 81k miles on it.
     
  11. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Hi Jeri. First up, I believe that the car wouldn't run at all if you had blown the 100 Amp fuse as mentioned above. So I think you are safe as far as the jump start is concerned.

    Regarding the battery warranty. I think that it's 8yr/100k miles in Florida, so your 2006 model might be over the limit on miles.

    You say that you've had some unusual behaviour after parking in the hot sun, so it's possible that there could be an issue with the battery cooling fan. Do you ever hear the fan in the back seat sounding louder than normal. This is often a sign of either a bad HV battery or of a problem with the cooling.

    Check out my pictures of what the cooling fan (marked "blower" in my pictures) looks like when it's clogged. Living in a hot state you should take a look at this, it's a pretty easy job. Pictures here: Fur and dirt causing major battery problems | Page 2 | PriusChat
     
  12. Jeri Nelz

    Jeri Nelz New Member

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    I did hear the fan being loud a few times and we recently had a very shedding dog in the car and we had to vacuum the hair out the back seats, could that be the issue? If so I'll follow your link and have feed back later today when I get off work.
     
  13. Jeri Nelz

    Jeri Nelz New Member

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    Also my car is under 100k miles
     
  14. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Jeri,
    Definitely get that 12v checked out.
    The fact that you see different behavior at different times. Often with a weak 12v it matters how long it has been sitting since it is self discharging.

    I've been seeing a bunch of 2006 and 2007 still with the original 12v batteries in them But they are so weak, they sometimes make the car throw false codes.
     
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  15. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Jeri,

    It is clear that you have multiple issues. Your Prius is not the first like this to be reported here on this board. I would still check the 12 volt first. Measure the voltage as I described earlier. If you read measurements BELOW 12.3 volts, you should change the 12 volt BEFORE doing any thing else. I also recommend that you do the cleaning of the cooling fan for the big battery. There is labor involved as you have to remove panels on the side of the car's interior to access the fan. The animal hair is contributing to your problem and causing the big battery to overheat. AFTER you have cleaned the fan up AND checked the 12 volt if you STILL continue to have problems, the next step would be figuring out if the big battery needs to be attended to. There are alternatives as far as the big battery is concerned.

    Start with the small stuff FIRST, then work you way along slowly and methodically.

    Ron
     
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  16. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    I agree with all the advice given here. follow the steps outlined by dorunron and you'll be well on your way to solving these problems.
     
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  17. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Jeri,

    I did forget to mention this that might help you also.

    Even though you are out of warranty, you might have luck with Toyota. For a while Toyota has been cutting folks a little slack on the replacement cost of the big battery. It is called a "goodwill" thing and is usually done by requesting it through the dealer and also by contacting Toyota corporate. I can not promise you that they will offer it to you, but in the past they have helped others with reduced cost on traction battery replacements. What they have done is to install a new battery and only charge for the battery itself, but not charge the labor. When they did that, folks were reporting here on this board prices around $2K for the goodwill warranty. Without a warranty, replacement with a new OEM traction battery is usually around $3.5K to $4K.

    Don't let those numbers scare you or freak you out. That is only a "new" battery... There are alternatives! A failing traction battery does NOT mean RIP Prius.

    Again, start with the small stuff first. Then go from there. Best of luck to you and also "Welcome To Prius Chat"

    Ron
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    an '06 with 80,000 miles might not be out of warranty. has it been 8 years since you registered?
     
  19. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    +1 Warranty is based on "In Service" date, not the year model. I should have remembered that. The OP's Prius could be 7 years and 8 months old with less than 100K on the odometer. If that is the case, the Prius should still be under "Factory Warranty".

    Due to that, it is possible that Jeri is still under the "hybrid" warranty for the traction battery. The other stuff is pretty much the owner's responsibility.

    Ron
     
  20. Jeri Nelz

    Jeri Nelz New Member

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    Just dropped my car at Toyota dealership he quoted me the wrong warranty time so he's going to diagnosis it for free and see what's going on, also said if its the battery try to get the dealership to pay half the cost for me so I guess that's the goodwill thing. But he also noted that my girlfriend's brothers dog might have clogged the fan since my mpg hasn't changed and the fan was blowing.
     
    #20 Jeri Nelz, Dec 4, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2014