2007 Prius. Hybrid battery (original) failing...

True, and true. But I just heard back from the dealership. Apparently all the lights came on and the triangle appeared while he had the car out for the test drive. After 35 miles in the heat. So I may have to pony up for the 12V AND the hybrid batteries to be replaced. Crap, crap, crap. The new 12V has already been installed.

 

Maybe so. But he sent me a text with a photo of some test they ran on the 12V battery, showing it had failed. At the time, the car was not throwing any other codes, and he said that a bad 12V could cause the P3011 code. So at the time, it seemed like the right decision to go ahead with the 12V installation.

I just got off the phone with him, and he said the triangle came on just as they were pulling into the dealership. He said the car is now showing two codes: P0A93 ans C1241. The first code is for the inverter cooling water pump (the thing Hayslayer warned me about), and the second code is for the hybrid battery.

He said that MAYBE if the inverter water pump issue is fixed, that will resolve the apparent issue with the hybrid battery . But he wants to run more testing -- which he said I am not being charged for -- and the tests will all have to wait until Monday morning. He also mentioned something about "before you sink any more money into this" so I didn't get the feeling he's just trying to get as much money as he can from me.

 

Thanks for the advice. I hope this works.

 

Thank you. The guy at the dealership quoted me a price of $850-$900 to replace the inverter pump. Rest assured I will NOT get the job done there, at least not unless he significantly drops the price, which I very much doubt he will do.

Thanks to you and Brian1954 for altering me about the C1241 code, I have been trying to research this and yes, I believe you are probably right that this may be related to the new 12V installation. I will bring this up to the dealership guy when I talk to him Monday.

I have been warned that the dealership will probably offer me $500 to take the Prius off my hands and tell me I'm better off with a new car. I won't be surprised if they do this.

Once again I am getting a little ray of hope that maybe the hybrid battery hasn't gone bad after all.

The dealership guy wants to run more tests on Monday, and he promised I will not be charged for these tests. So at present I figure let's run the tests, see what comes up, and go from there. But unless the dealership offers me some kind of amazing deal on the needed repairs, I am very strongly disinclined to let them do any more work on my car. I've already paid too much for the new 12V.

Thanks again for all of your help and advice.

 

I have absolute faith that you know what you're talking about, but all the information on that image, and everything you just said, is way over my head, lol. It's like I'm watching an episode of Star Trek where they're talking about a resonant frequency field to contain a graviton wave for the photon torpedo guidance system. It's all Greek to me.

At any rate, the deed is done and they've already put in the new 12V battery. But, lesson learned. Unless they give me a great deal on the remaining repairs, which I strongly doubt they will, I will look elsewhere to have the rest of the work done.

 

UPDATE 2:

Just got off the phone with the dealership guy. He told me their technician stayed late on Friday to run the diagnostic tests that were originally slated for this morning. And the new tests show that the ONLY thing wrong with my Prius is the inverter cooling water pump. He told me that if I get the pump replaced, my Prius should be good to go. He quoted me a price of $877 to get a new one installed.

I asked about the C1241 code, and if it could have been caused by the 12V battery swap. I believe it was Hayslayer who mentioned the possibility that the technicians disconnected the brake backup power supply and perhaps forgot to reconnect it. I asked about that specifically, and dealership guy said it was a possibility, and he would look into it, but in general he didn't think the code had anything to do with the 12V. He said he thinks the bad inverter pump is actually causing the C1241 code. Something about the electrical system.

I also asked about the P0A93 code, and if it could have been caused by low coolant or a fan problem. He said no, their tests show the inverter pump is just bad.

Dealership guy thinks the car is drivable for short distances in the early morning. We're in the middle of a heat wave here, and our LOW temps in the early mornings are in the low-mid 80s F. To drive the car home, or to my regular mechanic, would be at least a 30-minute drive on some busy streets, and probably through some heavy traffic. A tow to my regular mechanic would be about $150.

I told dealership guy that I wanted to look at other options for fixing the inverter pump, given that their pricing is not exactly competitive. Dealership guy was not happy, but said he understood. He tried to sweeten the deal a bit by saying they could give me a ride from my house to the dealership (I am outside their normal range for this service) which would save me maybe $30 on an Uber.

My regular mechanic (not the one who told me the 12V was fine) doesn't open for another 30 minutes. I'll see what he has to say about this, what price he quotes me for the work, and if he can even do it soon.

Since the hybrid battery is apparently OK, I am anxious to start driving the car again soon, and get it out of the heat.

Much depends on what my regular mechanic says, but if his price isn't THAT much lower, or if he cannot do the work for a few days, I would consider just getting it done at the dealership. In its current condition, driving the car to the mechanic shop in heavy traffic would be nerve-wracking for me, so I'd probably opt for the $150 tow.

Anyway, thanks again to all of you for all of your help and advice. If anybody has any additional advice or suggestions, I would be grateful.

 

New wrinkle.

I just got off the phone with my regular mechanic. He suggested I go ahead and get the job done at the dealership, because "it's their diagnosis." I got the impression he is worried that if his shop does the job, and the car still has problems, he will have a headache on his hands. He was reluctant to even give me a quote for the inverter pump, and promised to call me back later.

FWIW, I've been going to this mechanic shop for over 20 years, and I've always been happy with their work, and the shop has great reviews in general.

 

Anything is possible, I suppose. It's a big repair shop with several mechanics on duty every time I have gone there. When I called this morning, the shop had just opened and he said he was swamped with waiting customers, and he would call me back after he had dealt with those customers.

I get the impression he is very skittish about doing any work related to the hybrid battery. For example, if the car still has issues after replacing the pump. The shop didn't used to be like this, and there hasn't been a change of ownership. I wonder if they had a bad experience with working on another hybrid car?

 

I am so grateful for all of your help and advice, and I hope you won't be too annoyed with me for saying I'm afraid to drive the car under these circumstances. It is August in the desert, and our low temperatures are in the low-to-mid 80s. By 7 AM, when the dealership opens, it's already almost 90 F. Whether driving home, or to my mechanic's shop, I would need to drive on some busy street and in some heavy traffic, and the drive would be around 30 minutes. I'm an anxious person in general, and I don't want to put myself through this.

Incidentally, my regular mechanic just called me back and quoted me a price of $650 to replace the inverter pump. That includes putting in new coolant. But he still recommends I get the repair done at the dealership, because he doesn't want to be stuck with fixing a hybrid battery situation if the car still has issues after the new pump is put in.

 

I'm sure everything you say is true. I would be immensely better off if I knew more about the inner workings of my car, and how to do some of the repairs myself. It's just not my wheelhouse, so to speak. But now that my car is so old, powered by an 18-year-old hybrid battery, I should make more of an effort to educate myself.

Confession time: I already told the dealership guy to go ahead with installing the new pump. Given that my regular trusted mechanic wasn't that much cheaper, and other factors including the heat and my desire to not let the car keep sitting idle too much longer, I didn't want to spend a lot of time hunting around for other options to save a few hundred dollars. Although you are absolutely correct that a few hundred dollars is not chump change.

The dealership is right off of a major street. There is no way for me drive home, or to the other mechanic's shop, without driving on that street for several miles. I wish there was.

I used to have AAA, but allowed it to lapse last year. I should probably consider re-joining, huh?

Thank you again for all of your advice.