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Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Alexandrea, Feb 9, 2020.

  1. Alexandrea

    Alexandrea New Member

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    Aloha from Hawaii!

    PLEASE READ AND HELP!

    I have a 2014 Prius C One with 112,000 miles. The check hybrid system light came on with an error code of Poa80 (replace hybrid battery pack) so I brought it to Toyota to see if I was covered with the extended warranty I purchased with the car. It turned out I was not covered and Toyoya wanted to replace the battery for nearly $4,000! I read a lot of articles online and watched a bunch of videos on how to replace individual modules in the battery. I also saw a few people just clean the cooling fan and that was all the car needed. I cleaned the fan (which was filthy), reset the code and the car ran great for 3 days, then the code went off again. I now have taken the battery out of the car and tested every module. They are all between 7.96 and 7.98 so from my understanding none are faulty. I also took off all the copper bus bars and have been cleaning them overnight in vinegar. Today I was going to put it all back together but is there anything else that could be wrong? I dont want to do all this work again!!!

    I'm considering trying a prolong battery reconditioner. Any thoughts on that as well?
     
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  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    If it's a bad module, then it's not bad enough that it's resting voltage is much different than the others. But if you watch the module voltage drop for 2 minutes when hooking up a regular, non-LED headlight bulb, basically 12v 55 watt bulb, the bad module will lose voltage much faster than the other modules.

    Another good test is getting a charger suitable to charge up a single module, which are the types of chargers they sell for remote control cars, boats, etc.. This is the one I've used: SkyRC iMAX B6DC V2 Battery Balance Charger Discharger Dual Power DC/DC LiPo pb | eBay You use that charger on the NiMH setting to charge up all 20 modules to full charge, then wait three days or longer while they all slowly discharge and the weakest module will lose the most voltage.

    But before you do any of that, you want to find out what the subcodes are for the P0a80 error code, which will point more directly to the problem. This is most easily done via the Dr. Prius app and an inexpensive bluetooth OBD2 reader. Here's the buyer's guide for that: Hybrid battery diagnostic and repair tool for Toyota and Lexus
     
    #2 PriusCamper, Feb 9, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2020
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  3. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    Welcome!

    Sorry to hear the troubles!

    You got off to a fast start with the work.
    You may have had luck contacting Toyota to see if a good will was able to be reached since
    you are just over the mileage of 100k for the warranty.
    I am not fully sure, but maybe warranty is now void from the work done?

    However, @PriusCamper has the xp and knowledge along with others here to get you were you need to be
    good luck!
     
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    If the dealership thought they could make a fortune charging/robbing Toyota for hybrid battery replacement under warranty they would of done so... And sometimes you can argue and get Toyota Customer Service to authorize the dealer to do it. There's no seal that voids warranty if you take the pack apart. So as long as you put it back together and nothing looks out of the ordinary you can still pursue that option.
     
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  5. Alexandrea

    Alexandrea New Member

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    I would love to see if Toyota would replace the battery. I don't think it would be apparent that the battery was ever taken out. I didn't end up changing any parts on it and I already put it back in the car and the car is running just fine (for now).

    How would I go about pressuring toyota for a replacement???

     
  6. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    That is a bit early to have the HV battery pack fail.

    Even if "reconditioning" appears to do some good, it won't last long.

    Have you had the 12 V battery tested (or replaced lately)?

    Have you personally contacted the company that sold the "extended warranty" ?
    If not, you should.

    Let's hope that it works fine again after you put it back in.

    I don't suppose that you have easy access to more than one dealer there ?
     
  7. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Owner reports of Prius C packs failing have been posted here for years. OP's pack could be as much as 8 calendar years old now and is over the 100k mark so although it's in the early group it's certainly not unheard of.

    My guess is the pack is weak but can still be easily revived with good, known practices of module testing/replacement and grid charging/maintaining and get several more years out of it.

    If Hawaii was a CARB state then things would be different...... maybe try for a goodwill warranty also.
     
    #7 fotomoto, Feb 10, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2020
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  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The Prius C has a shorter warranty, evenn for CARB states. CA has a 8 year/100k warranty on the C
     
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  9. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    I should have remembered as I actually looked that info up during one of those threads from years ago I just mentioned in my previous post. CRS* disease strikes again! :unsure:





    * Urban Dictionary: CRS disease
     
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Isn't that kinda high too? $2500 is more the norm? Or Hawaii, different dealership network, they jack up the price?
     
  11. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    It should be cheaper since Hawaii is much closer to Japan... :whistle:
     
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  12. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    You could try contacting the dealer you went to, and ask if Toyota can help you with it since it is just over
    the mileage for the warranty, and still within the time frame.
    If they dont seem too convincing that they want to help, you can contact Toyota directly.
    Not sure if they have a direct number, but this number is a good place to start.
    Contact Us | Contact Toyota
     
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  13. Fred_H

    Fred_H Misoversimplifier

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    If it's not already too late, also check all the voltage sensor wires, their connections to the battery modules, and the connector where they all plug in to the battery ECU (Electronic Control Unit). There have been cases where the battery cells were good, but the ECU was getting false voltage measurements. maybe also check the temperature sensors.
     
  14. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Hawaii has a company that has a monopoly, aka SERVCO. Everything is expensive there to boot. Maybe try Amayama. (I never tried looking up a battery there, but they sure shipped me a iQ rear axle)!

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  15. rioe

    rioe Junior Member

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    Correct!
     
    #15 rioe, Feb 19, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2020