Traction battery readout fluctuations with new 12V battery

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Rob Steinhofer, Jul 13, 2026 at 3:18 PM.

  1. Rob Steinhofer

    Rob Steinhofer New Member

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    This is my first post in years.

    My 2010 Prius is throwing a hybrid battery fault code P0A80 about every other time I drive. Simultaneously the NAV display state of charge meter drops instantly from five or six bars to two bars. The car drives chuggy with state of charge display stuck at two bars, with apparently no charging process. I have to "clear battery fault codes" with the Dr Prius app and turn car OFF/ON which restores normal driving and charging operation for the rest of my trip. The fault codes cycle will happen about every other drive, especially after leaving the car overnight.

    Of course I checked the newer 12 volt agm auxiliary battery which load tested good, even replaced it with a brand new borrowed 12 volt battery. Battery voltage and charging check okay with Dr Prius.

    The traction battery is a recently reconditioned unit with about 6 months and 30k miles on it. This problem just started last two weeks. Dr Prius shows battery module Delta V's and internal resistance numbers within normal tolerance. New bus bars were installed in the traction battery.

    The car now has 445,000 miles, running great averaging 45+ mpg with the original inverter/converter. I did the head gasket job myself 150,000 miles ago, I think the was my last inverter coolant replacement.

    Can anyone please suggest what might be the GHOST IN MY MACHINE ? and a check/test procedure to verify that?

    Thank you.
     
  2. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    So you put a used hybrid battery in it? And it lasted 6 months?
    Did you get any warranty with it? Which likely has ended.

    Go back to the people who sold you a used worn out battery.
    Did they just replace the blocks, or put a whole assembly in it?
    Get your money back, and your old battery blocks.

    Then contact Jack and get a NEW Sodium Ion battery pack.

     
  3. Rob Steinhofer

    Rob Steinhofer New Member

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    I appreciate your interest


    Are you assuming the fault code points to the battery cells ?

    Did the battery pack rebuild myself. Reconditioned and tested all original cells and replaced about half with "high capacity" recycled cells, with plenty of background research in the process. Did it for the fun & experience to deal with future issues on this vintage Prius.

    I'll be inspecting the ground wiring and other peripheral connections I did gloss over before and also digging into the battery data stream at the moment the fault is generated. At this point I need more information not time for a new battery pack, yet.

    I am very keen on learning aftermarket sodium ion battery tech, Thanks for that note. I anticipate putting my first sodium ion pack into a old Nissan Leaf with solar charging.
     
  4. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    The freeze frame data for the P0A80 code will give you a lot of information about the hybrid battery block voltages and the current flow when the code was triggered. The P0A80 code is triggered when the voltage difference between the battery blocks becomes too large. Can you please post the freeze frame data so everyone can see it.