2006 failed AC / hybrid battery failure-same time!

I'm sorry, I don't think it is possible for a bad traction battery to cause the A/C motor to fail. If you have a bad cell in the battery, that is only 1 cell out of 168. You still have 99.4% of the available potential. The inverter further isolates the A/C from the traction battery. I think it is more likely that something happened inside the service department that would have caused the hv battery failure, though I can't figure out how they would have done that.

Did the dealer perform the inverter cooling pump recall? If the car detects a problem with the pump, then you have no A/C, the hybrid battery is barely used for forward propulsion, and the 12V battery is drained rapidly, which may cause the original trouble codes to be erased.

 

Hmm pretty weird. It does sound like some sort of dealer service dept misadventure doesn't it?

 

I don't see a direct connection with the failures, although the timing casts a suspicious light on the dealer. It could be coincidence, but if not, most likely the AC died and the dealer did something stupid testing it. Since they replaced the battery it's not an issue, although you are still faced with a dead AC.

Tom

 

When there is a problem with the high voltage system, the system main relays pop open. The system main relays are in between the HV battery and the inverter, and are responsible for the clicking that you hear when the car is first turned on. If the main relays are open, every warning light on the dash will be on, and the car will move forward barely, as the engine turns one motor generator (MG) to provide current for the other MG to turn the wheels. And reverse doesn't work.

If the dealer happened to put trouble codes on your invoice, it would be helpful to post those here.

 

I've never heard the above claim before but I'll let others chime in. This adventure is raising red flags about your dealer though.

As for your last statement, from Consumer Reports reliability data, the 06 Prius has much better than average reliability and not a single area out of the 17 w/below average reliability. It also made the list of "best of the best" at Best & worst used cars and "best used vehicles for under $20K" at Best & worst used cars.

Also, FWIW, even though I don't trust JD Powers that much and don't think their VDS is long term enough (only looks at 3 year old cars), notice that in the 09 (looked at 06 cars) and 2011 (looked 08 cars), the Prius got highest ranked in its segment? See http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2009043 and http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/JDPAContent/CorpComm/News/content/Releases/pdf/2011029-vdss.pdf.

 

Yours is the only case that I have ever heard of. A google search turns up this thread and little else. What "Toyota service guys" are you hearing this from? It frankly sounds like B.S. from a service adviser, to make it sound like this happens all the time so that you don't feel like you are getting screwed. Service advisers almost never know the first thing about a Prius, but they are experts at scare tactics.

Did you ever find out what all of the diagnostic codes were regarding the battery and possibly the A/C system?

Compressor problems do happen, and I do feel for you on that. No way could I survive a DFW summer without A/C.

 

You mean some dealer's service guys. They're not Toyota unless you've been dealing directly with Toyota USA.

Time to take it to another dealer for another diagnosis. T of Plano has a decent service department.