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NEWBIE 2009 prius, do I need a new battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Brendan Husk, May 23, 2020.

  1. Brendan Husk

    Brendan Husk New Member

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    Location:
    Warren, OH
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Sorry I feel illiterate with this stuff because this is my first hybrid I've ever driven. Don't know how it's supposed to behave. The battery installer has put me off twice was supposed to be installed Tuesday, he couldn't do it, pushed back to today. He calls and says the battery he planned on using was testing low voltage. Idk maybe an excuse but I have more time. I'm so the car doesn't do that anymore. Only when I was outside tinkering with the torque app and odbii scanner. The ICE would stall out and the dash would turn off too all lights and everything as if the car was off. Definitely wasn't something that should happen but still I have the hybrid battery code p0a80 coming up, should replace it. I'm looking at all refurb options. My girlfriend refuses to dump $2000 or more on a new battery. I have no history with Toyotas and it's out of warranty by 2 years and 22k miles. Anybody have a recommended refurb place to reputably purchase a battery from or even better if they install it for me. I believe I could do it but it wouldn't be easy or a given.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    obd readers sometimes make prius do funny things. not sure why, but if it's not tech stream, it might be a computer issue
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    autobeyours, scottsburg, in
     
  4. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    @Brendan Husk

    I work on these very frequently. I have (3) 2005s, 1 2006, (2) 2007s that I currently care for in the immediate family. I really am trying to help. But, for me to help, I just need accurate information as to what happens step by step as you walk out to the car, get in and try to start it. Also, do you have a multimeter?
     
  5. Brendan Husk

    Brendan Husk New Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2020
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    Location:
    Warren, OH
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I don't own a multimeter currently but I'm sure I could get one cheap at harbor freight. I appreciate the help. I do have someone locally coming at 11 tomorrow am to fix the battery, I got fed up with eBay guy that flaked twice. Local guy has new refurb from dorman and is offering a 1 year warranty and installation for $700. So when I go to drive the car now it starts up just fine, when driving it has block 3 jumping around and the car runs but battery level goes up and down from green to blue within 2-3 mins of each other. The car eventually goes into a safe mode and it goes ICE only, battery level drops to 1 purple bar and you cannot accelerate at a decent level. Even pushing down the pedal all the way doesn't result in much of a difference. So that's where the big issue lies. Everything else seems normal. So I am almost positive it's hybrid battery issue. He's doing the work noon tomorrow. I will report back either way and I'm sure I'll have more questions. I have a broken hood latch right now that idk how to fix or even open temporarily. Any help on that?
     
  6. Brendan Husk

    Brendan Husk New Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2020
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    Location:
    Warren, OH
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    So it is not the battery. The issue is residing within the wiring harness. We found corrosion in the harness by the hybrid fan, the repairman will be coming back to trace the source of the issue. Basically it isnt recognizing the full state if charge and is constantly charging and overcharging the batteries. Making them wear out fast. Hope this can help someone having similar issues. Will report back once we for sure find the issue
     
  7. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    That corrosion is also extremely common. It's been a topic of discussion in a handful of threads over the last couple years. I've removed that connector and spliced those wires together on every Prius in the family. It's something I've also been checking on every Prius that I've replaced a HV battery on for the last year or so. If there's any corrosion at all, I inform the owner and give them the option of letting me do the "splicing" as a free service. It's worth doing to prevent call backs and unhappy customers.
     
  8. Brendan Husk

    Brendan Husk New Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Warren, OH
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Oh wow that's awesome. Are there any posts explaining how to do this that I could send to my repairman? That would be awesome. We're trying to get it up and running now. We think it's overcharging the system because his readings coming from a perfect battery he tested in his Prius are showing a 60% state of charge. He says in diagnostic mode for some reason it doesn't do this but works fine. Out of diagnostic mode it suffers from overcharging. He said he's coming back Saturday to fix it up. Please let me know thank you so much for the help thusfar!