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2007 Hybrid battery issues and dead 12v? - next steps

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Habidaccus, Jan 22, 2020.

  1. Habidaccus

    Habidaccus New Member

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    About 3 weeks ago when I was driving around the red triangle came up on the dash, along with the yellow ((!)), the vsc, check engine, and the turtle shell on the MDU. I promptly ran codes when I got home and was greeted with P0A80, P3019, C1241, C1259, and C1310.

    I started looking into what I needed to do to resolve this, and what my options were, but in the meantime still had to get to work with the old girl. At first the car was mostly running alright, except for a sluggishness when I was accelerating, but this continued to worsen until a week later. I finally had the car cap out at 34 MPH with the engine revving high, Problem appeared across the top of the MDU, and it then signaled there was a problem with the transmission lock. Thankfully I recycled the ignition and it started running again so I could get home.

    Eventually though, the car flat out refused to start, which I imagine was due to the 12v not being able to charge and eventually puttering out as well. Limited time and finances made it a balancing act to try and diagnose the problem and get it resolved, but now I've pretty much been forced to make a decision so I don't need to keep taking an uber to work every day.

    I was originally looking at trying to work on the battery and rebalancing it myself, but I don't have the time or the resources not to mention the expertise to try that unfortunately. I was also considering trying to get a refurbished unit from green bean batteries, as they would do the install themselves and they apparently have a lifetime warranty( highly suspect IMO). My other options are of course going to the dealer to pay a pretty penny for a brand new unit, getting the battery rebalanced or trying out newpriusbatteries. I've heard some bad stories about refurbs, and not too much about how newpriusbatteries' units are. There is of course the hope that once I replace the 12v, I can restart the car and drive to a place in the area that will rebalance it, as it may be that the entire hybrid unit does not need to be replaced.

    I have been reading up whenever I can since these issues started but am kind of at wits end, so any wisdom to be shared would be appreciated!
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    newpriusbatteries = $1600 and you'll be on you way to more happy reliable miles.

    another good option would be to get an OEM battery from the dealer at online discount prices.

    But those are the only 2 options you should consider, especially if you don't have much expertise in repairing these cars (repeated repairs)
     
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  3. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    Try green bean they fix priuses
     
  4. Habidaccus

    Habidaccus New Member

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    As I said, I looked at green bean but I am leery about dropping money for a rebuilt battery, even if they will do the full install. IF it is only a few modules (looks like module 9 was the problem cell), rebalancing might be an option, I just haven't gotten around to talking to enough shops yet. At this point I think I'm going to wait until i replace the 12v and then have it looked at by the dealer to make sure of what the issue is. I did talk to a mechanic this morning, dude was pretty condescending and tried to tell me that there was no such thing as rebalancing and that you can't replace individual modules, so he's out of the equation either way.
     
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  5. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    Have you tried prius hybrid repair in Annapolis md?
     
  6. Habidaccus

    Habidaccus New Member

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    No, I was looking local as right now I'm in Pittsburgh.
     
  7. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    Ok did you try the dealership?
     
  8. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    What was there pricing if you did?
     
  9. Habidaccus

    Habidaccus New Member

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    The cheapest new hybrid battery would be 1950, so it’s that or newpriusbatteries if I want a brand new one. Task number one at this point is to get it towed to a dealer so they can diagnose what the actual problem is, and then go from there. From what those codes were telling me there’s a bad module but who knows?

    Don’t think there’s anyone in the area that will rebalance the packs for me outside of a dealership.
     
  10. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Just rebalancing, which involves a series of discharge/recharge cycles, will not most likely work on its own if you have a P301x code. You will need to find the failed module within the block and replace it with a like module that has similar characteristics as the remaining 27 modules in your pack. This is not an easy task, hence why this whack-a-mole (as it is called) approach is not usually successful for very long. On top of this, if one module is failing there will be others that are not far behind, so you will be back in there within weeks or months doing it all over.

    Then, after replacing the module, you still have to rebalance the pack.

    A better cheaper option is to find a reasonably new pack from a Gen 3 wreck and transplant them to your Gen 2 case. If you can get it for a good price, then this is also a good option. Won't be as good a new, but a lot newer than ferreting around for good modules from Gen 2 packs.

    The supply of good (Gen 2) stock of replacement modules is pretty dried up (and old) and that is why the advice is now to replace the entire pack with new modules – that is if you want to fix this once and forget about it for the next 10 years.
     
    #10 dolj, Jan 23, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2020
  11. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Your battery is done.
    P3019 shows the bad block

    Get a battery with New cells.

    Sounds like you want/need someone else to install it for you.

    For a New Toyota battery
    From dealer it will likely be $2500-$3500
    A bit less at an independent

    If you don't want Toyota cells
    GreenTec sells packs uses New cylindrical cells. They may be able to direct you to an installer
     
  12. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    How much would the cells for cost the just cells to just replace them?
     
  13. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    I send them out for $50 apiece from my shop.
    You can get them cheaper elsewhere but I provide phone assistance as needed in my price.

    If you have time, patience, and interest in tackling it, it is a fun job. You'll likely have to do the job again in the future as other modules die, so you'll get quicker at the job. Continue to do it as long as it is fun for you.
     
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  14. Habidaccus

    Habidaccus New Member

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    Eric’s pricing is a good ballpark range - but balancing out the voltage and all the other steps involved seemed like an investment of time that I may not have. Lyfting to work plus that undertaking may end up being cheaper than replacing the entire unit in the short term but others have mentioned the whack a mole nature of the process that is a little disheartening. This Prius sat around a lot, only had about 85k on it when I got it, so there is a chance that I would soon be faced with multiple module failures.
     
  15. Habidaccus

    Habidaccus New Member

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    If anyone who grabbed one of the cylindrical packs from newpriusbatteries and has been using it for a while could chime in I’d appreciate it!
     
  16. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Don't waste your $120+ to diagnose at the dealer, you already have the battery failure codes. If you want to give money away, you can just send it my way.

    You should just get a new battery and forget about it for 10 years. You get what you pay for (used battery or new battery)
     
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  17. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    I would go to autozone for a Diagnostic
     
  18. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Autozone won't give a diagnosis, they will only run the codes, which the OP is quite capable of doing, and has done as mentioned in the first post. I believe the OP wanted to hear what Toyota thought the codes meant.

    But the codes speak for themselves. Follow JC's advice.
     
  19. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Newpriusbatteries is a DIY option.

    I ran one of the first batches of cylindrical sticks back in the day and they were fine.
    It is unassembled and requires a bit more work than putting together a Toyota OEM pack. But it can be less expensive than a Toyota OEM pack or drop in pack. ($50 less to hundreds less, depending of price dealer sells their packs)

    A New Toyota pack comes partially assembled. So there is still work you need to do. You'll have to call your dealership parts department for price varies from dealership to dealership.
     
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  20. Priuslover09

    Priuslover09 Member

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    Have u resolved the car issue yet?