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Hybrid Battery Replacement???

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Gregory Baird, May 8, 2019.

  1. Gregory Baird

    Gregory Baird New Member

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    Hello. My 2010 Prius 206k miles is giving me the replace hybrid battery code. I bought some replacement cells and pulled the hybrid pack out. The fan was complete clogged with lint so I cleaned that up really well. When I tested the individual cells they all read between 8.0v and 8.3v. My battery had been running hot according to Dr. Prius, so I assumed maybe that was my only problem after the cell check. I also checked the 12v battery and it tested at 12.4v. I put the battery back in and threw the codes a couple of more times but never since, but I have been watching it closely with Dr. Prius app. It seems to me the battery drains quickly under the heavy load of stop and go traffic with the ac on out here in the hot mojave desert. My gas mileage has been steadily decreasing over the past few years and I am lucky to get 38 mpg. Thanks and sorry if this post is redundant. I did try searching but I am at my wits end. I have been working on this thing for almost 2 mos. and rely on it for my income.
     
  2. kc5dlo

    kc5dlo Active Member

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    12.4 volts seems low to me. Not sure if that would have any effect on fuel mileage though.
     
  3. Gregory Baird

    Gregory Baird New Member

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    What voltage should the 12v battery read?
     
  4. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Depends if it’s 12.4v over night or right when car was turned completely off and not limited to those 2 instances.

    There was one person here that resolved a similar issue just by replacing the 12v with a great working one but that was the only success that I know of here.
     
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  5. kc5dlo

    kc5dlo Active Member

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    12.7 to 13.2 volts for a fully charged battery. 12.4 volts is at about 75%.
     
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  6. Gregory Baird

    Gregory Baird New Member

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    I just checked again after driving all day and got a 12.91v reading. The last time I checked it was in the morning after she was sitting parked overnight.
    I’ve been watching the hybrid battery. Turns out when I go through the car wash in neutral the ICE won’t kick in and I get the low traction battery warning when the ac is running. I sat in there today and watched the hybrid battery drain down to 20%. I noticed some cells in the middle dropped really low then when I was out of the car wash and able to put her in drive those same cells started charging at a much higher rate than the others. I think those may be my bad cells. What do you think? Thanks.
     
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  7. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Use a different type of car wash. The Prius does not charge the traction battery when in neutral.
     
  8. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Those cells voltage maybe out of balance with the rest of the pack, and hope that their ability to hold charge with the rest is the case after the battery pack is serviced with a grid charger. It's been fully discussed in here to avoid putting a prius gear in neutral because the HV doesn't get charged, some car washes that requires car to be in neutral will even post a sign to not allow prius to enter car wash. Prodigyplace is right, avoid car washes that requires your car to be in neutral. Some prius owners are able to get away with it by going into those car wash with a fully charge HV battery but once summer rolls around, they'll turn on the AC and evenutally run into check hybrid battery CELs.
     
    #8 Grit, May 11, 2019
    Last edited: May 11, 2019
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  9. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Your pack is dying a slow and somewhat natural death. My guess is the heat stress from the low flow of air due to the dirty fan put a few more nails in the coffin than most 2010 packs.

    You should look into grid chargers vs getting new modules vs how long you intend to keep the car, etc.

    GOOD LUCK!
     
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  10. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Remeasure, but waiting after overnight and measure at engine bay designated recharging points keeping correct polarity w/no load. Readings higher than 12.7v is best.

    Dr prius app is my favorite app with the prius HV battery. A .3v difference isn't bad, there's a section on the app that show voltage difference between the lowest voltage charging pack vs highest in real time. While driving, my voltage difference stays relatively within .2v and spikes to .3v once in a while so your in good shape. Another great feature is the fan override, once the ambient intake temp is cooler than the battery pack temp (both on the app display), turn up the HV cooling fan (in the settings section) to pull the colder air in the cabin into the battery pack.
     
    #10 Grit, May 11, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 2, 2019
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  11. ALS

    ALS Active Member

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    You're at the end of the expected life of the battery. It's not about the mileage it all about the age of the battery. It seems about 9-11 years is the average, some sooner, some later.

    With your mileage which is over 200K I would go with a rebuild kit and do it yourself. One of our members sells a quality kit for a very reasonable cost.

    Mine started to do the same thing, discharging and recharging quicker and quicker. The code you got is just telling you that the battery is dying and replacement is near.

    The code that said my HV battery was deteriorating started to pop up randomly. I got another nine months out of it before I got the dreaded you battery is terminal code.
     
  12. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    The rebuild kit of new cells from @2k1Toaster here is $1600 delivered. The link is in my signature. People here have had good, like new results from this kit. It has a 2 year warranty. If you buy a Toyota OEM battery and install it yourself, it only has a 1 year warranty.
     
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  13. Gregory Baird

    Gregory Baird New Member

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    Sorry for the late update. I've been busy... Since the last update I have replaced the Hybrid battery with an all new cell lithium battery from Green Tech Auto. I have replace the fuel pump, water pump, spark plugs, fuel injectors, EGR cooler and valve and the PVC valve. I am still throwing misfire codes left and right. It seems to happen more when I have a car load of people and when I am going up hill. It also happens when she first starts. I feel like it could be a problem with the catalytic convertor but at the same time she's not throwing those codes. Any suggestions?
     
  14. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    It will be interesting to see how well this holds up. Other than @2k1Toaster kit the only other non-Toyota new option we knew of did not test up to their stated specifications.
     
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  15. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    o_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_Oo_O
     
  16. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    You replaced the hv battery that was NiMH with lithium components :whistle:?

    Have you cleaned the egr circuit stem to stern?

    I’d go after that next;).

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
  17. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    ... and reprogrammed all the battery -- management software accordingly?
     
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  18. Gregory Baird

    Gregory Baird New Member

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    Yeah I did. It seemed like the best deal for me as an uber driver. 5 year unlimited mile warranty on the battery. I replaced the egr valve and cooler with genuine Toyota parts.

    I assumed Greentec did the reprogramming. I will call them to see. I also assumed my mileage would shoot back up when I got the new battery but it hasn't. In fact it gone down from around 36mpg to 30 and as low as 26.
     
    #18 Gregory Baird, Aug 2, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 2, 2019
  19. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    If GT really told you they installed a lithium battery in your car, you got yanked...............and I would love to see a photo of the serial numbers on the modules so we can verify what definition they use for "brand new".....

    I wonder if they're using "brand new" prismatics or if they're using the chinese cylindricals? They don't seem to mention that. The more I think about it, at $1850 + $750 core, I'm thinking they're using the chinese cylindricals. We need PHOTOS........
     
    #19 TMR-JWAP, Aug 2, 2019
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2019
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  20. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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