04 Prius trouble code after replacement of cell

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by romeo20808, Jun 16, 2018.

  1. romeo20808

    romeo20808 New Member

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    I picked up a new to me 04 with 150k miles and a bad cell in the battery for $500. I replaced the cell this past weekend and I matched it to the others before putting it in. After installing the battery I put about 200 miles on it, both highway and non-highway driving. About 5 miles from home yesterday I made a stop at a store and got back in and headed home. After a couple minutes of driving the car flashed a ton of warning lights but was still driving normal. Then it went into limp mode and got me home. When I pulled in I ran the codes and p3016 was the only one. I cleared it and then restarted the car and everything was perfect. I ran Dr hybrid and texhstream on it to check for battery issues and both came back clean. So was it a random fluke, or should I start ordering a few more cells just in case?
     
    #1 romeo20808, Jun 16, 2018
  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Welcome to Prius Chat (y).

    Since your pack is 14 years old, this will be a frequent occurrence :(.

    Some questions:
    • Did you balance the pack or modules when you did your initial replacement?
    • Have you considered after a module replacement to balance the modules or pack?
    • Would you consider replacing the pack?
    • Did Techstream give any other codes?
    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
    #2 Raytheeagle, Jun 16, 2018
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  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    $500 what a bargain!

    There are probably more bad modules in the 04 pack.
     
    #3 JC91006, Jun 16, 2018
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  4. romeo20808

    romeo20808 New Member

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    I load tested each cell before I replaced the bad one. I also matched the voltage on that cell to meet the others. I didn't do a full balance on everything though. The only code I got was the one posted this time. I am loving the car what little I have gotten to drive it. So if I need to do a full battery rebuild or replacement that doesn't scare me too much. Just hoping this was a fluke since it had not been driven much before I got it. I will do some in town driving today to test it some more
     
    #4 romeo20808, Jun 16, 2018
  5. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    An 04 could have modules built in 2003. Being up north, it's lasted a good long time but even that has its limits on preserving battery life. You'll need to decide: do you want to keep playing wack-a-mole or invest in other, more reliable solutions. When my used 06 moved from DIY project to daily driver, I needed it to be reliable and went with a new Toyota pack.

    IIWY, I'd look into junk yard packs out of a gen 3 and swap over all the modules.
     
    #5 fotomoto, Jun 16, 2018
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  6. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Some possibilities
    Bad cell
    Bad wiring
    Improperly tightened nuts on modules
    Improperly tightened nuts on relay

    What torque setting did you use when tightening module and relay nuts?
     
    #6 ericbecky, Jun 16, 2018
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  7. romeo20808

    romeo20808 New Member

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    I found a battery out of a 2012 with 80k miles for $300 Should I pick that up and do a cell swap?
     
    #7 romeo20808, Jun 18, 2018
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  8. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Give it a shot:).

    Just make sure it is a 2012 and not a mixed bag of modules left over from someone else’s project ;).

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
    #8 Raytheeagle, Jun 19, 2018
  9. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Why not just put the entire pack of cells from the 2012 in.

    At least then they would be matched.

    Pur the pack through a series of Charge/discharge cycles.

    This assumes that the junkyard pack is not previously tampered with. All cells with similar serial numbers.
     
    #9 ericbecky, Jun 19, 2018
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