So, I have installed a refurbished battery, inverter cooling pump, cleaned the hybrid battery fan, and changed the oil. I have no fault codes. when driving everything is great for about 15 minutes getting to the highway. Once I am on the highway the battery will when it’s above 90 begin to discharge down to 1 bar. The engine will run and the car begins to shudder. I am assuming due to reduced hybrid battery power. I am at a dead end in regards to what’s wrong. looking for suggestions. The cabin temp is 72 degrees and I confirmed the hybrid battery fan is running normally. Ideas?
Your refurbished battery wasn't refurbished well. A refurbished battery is just an old battery that had weak/failed modules changed out. Some people doing the work are much better than others so the quality varies
Get the Dr Prius phone app then buy the Clarista blue tooth OBD adapter on Amazon. With both you can scan that hybrid battery for health of modules and search for hybrid codes and do a health check on the hybrid battery. Not sure what you mean about the hybrid battery fan you would never know its running normal because at normal speed 1 you cant even hear it. If you hear it running in the back the hybrid battery has failed and you will get the red triangle of death. But like JC says its a refurbished battery which means the failed modules have been replaced with modules the same age that have just not failed yet. We call it whack a mole repair. And it has all the original rotten inter connect. Big waste of time and money because your right back at it again or will be eventually. Hope it wasn't a Craig's List $400 special with taillight warranty. Mileage?
I will certainly get that app and adapter. It was through a business locally with a 20,000 mile 1 year warranty. They are coming to give it a look. I tested the power to and at the fan. I can hear it if I shut the car off, and then press the run button twice (once I put my ear by it). I haven’t gotten the triangle of death. car has 141,000 miles.
Shuddering might be more of an ICE fault rather than a HV battery fault. How does it function at lower speeds? Dr Prius or Hybrid Assistant app (with a compatible OB2 Bluetooth adapter) would give you more data about what the battery is doing. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
My OB2 Bluetooth scanner is coming tomorrow and hopefully that gives me a better picture. The shuddering only occurs when the battery gets down to the last bar. I have replaced the spark plugs on all four cylinders and ignition coil on cylinder one. I am going to see what comes up on the next scan with Dr. Prius app. I haven’t driven since the last issue and start it daily to keep battery levels adequate. We shall see what comes up with the
I can only relate to my experience when my hybrid battery started to fail The engine takes over as the sole power provider because the h battery is basicly mia which is a problem as the bulk of power comes from that battery. Engine started rough and shut off rough and was not happy at all as the sole family provider.
I am leaning that way as well. I had a “refurbished battery” installed. I imagine it has been half assed but tomorrow I will know for sure (hopefully). If indeed they screwed me over, I will be filing a dispute with my card provider and ordering a new new battery. I plan on installing a new timing chain, and all that comes with the kit, I just need to sort this out first.
Well the battery drained far enough down that the engine kicked on during the life expectancy test so the results were skewed. So I shall try again tomorrow, but when the engine kicked in it settled at 61.3% which is pretty terrible….
If you scanned it with Dr Prius, what did the battery cell voltages and internal resistances look like?
Yeah just do the basic test, the one that doesn't require driving, or the other requiring you to idle with AC and various loads. The display will look like this: (Just scooped off the internet, as an example)
