New Battery? Monsoon Flooding? Help appreciated.

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by desert2ocean, Jul 22, 2025 at 11:36 PM.

  1. desert2ocean

    desert2ocean New Member

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    Location:
    Albuquerque
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius c
    Model:
    III
    Hello!

    Prius 2014 C, 170,000 miles.
    Four days ago the blessed "pull over immediately, check hybrid system" warning came up.
    Took vehicle to shop (towed) and received invoice with error codes a few hours ago:

    P0A80, Replace Hybrid Battery Pack
    P3000, Battery Control System
    C1259, HV/EVControl System Regeneration Malfunction
    C1310, HV/EVControl System Malfunction
    C1464, Right Front Speed Sensor Circuit
    C1464, Left Front Speed Sensor Circuit

    I was quoted at $3,700 to replace the hybrid battery, $600 to replace the rear shocks, and $300 for Spark Plug replacement.

    Questions:

    1) Worthwhile to replace hybrid battery in a 2014 C with 170k miles?
    2) $3,700 a reasonable quote to replace?
    3) Perhaps random: flash floods have left my Prius in standing water right up to bottom of the doors for about 1-2 hours the past few months. Could these codes be influenced by that? Is 170K around the time hybrid batteries need replacement?
    4) Other thoughts?

    Thank you!
    ~Ilan
     
  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2018
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    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Welcome!

    It's important to figure out which of these codes are current vs. historical. Based on the immediate symptoms, the warning to pull over, it is likely that the P0A80 is true and current and should be cured with a replacement battery.

    The other codes merit a bit more detective work, I think. If the speed sensors got flooded out they'll probably dry themselves and be fine in a few days. And they may already be dry, and these may just be historical codes that can now be cleared/ignored.

    I'd be surprised if the rear shocks really needed replacement, they may just be fishing for dollars. That said, $600 is a good price... so be suspicious about what parts they want to use. Toyota dealers are required to use Toyota parts; third parties can use anything they find and lately it is easy to find some really bad counterfeit stuff, unfortunately.

    Spark plugs? I think those are due every 125k miles. It could be 100.. Either way 170k is not a multiple of either, so dig deeper on the "why now?" part. $300 is a bit high given the ease of that task. (It's considerably easier in a c than in other versions of the Prius, they may not realize this if it isn't a Toyota dealer)

    A 2014 c model asking for a new hybrid battery is right on schedule, to be honest. The battery packs for this model are made to last "about ten years" and they don't really care what the odometer says- use it or lose it. In a drier climate like NM with no winter salt corrosion, it's fair to expect the overall car to last about 20 years, so you're likely to get your money's worth out of a replacement battery.

    $3700 is high, but prices have been fluctuating (mostly upward) with tariff news, so there's a lot of new normals to get used to. IMO this is only worth doing if you are using a real Toyota battery. You don't have to pay Toyota to install it, lots of shops can do that and most of them are cheaper than Toyota. Swapping these batteries is not difficult- the c model is probably the easiest in the entire Prius family. But get the part at Toyota.

    Check the battery cooling fan under the left rear seat, clean the screen & ductwork. There are youtubes showing the whole thing, you can do it all yourself with a simple screwdriver and the vacuum down at the carwash. While you are in there look for signs of water intrusion from the flood. There is a computer that manages the battery in that general area, and if it got wet from the flooding this could be contributing to the other codes you saw.

    Good luck!