P0A08 and I have to pee! Can I drive at all?

My 2017 V with about 185k has had a/c problems for a little over a month where it would not cool very well while idling. I assumed fan and just kept driving. Works fine as long as i'm driving.

Today it is incredibly hot and incredibly humid, and I had to idle for an hour. It would occasionally blow a little cool air, but mostly I was surviving on the cool temperature from the drive before I was idling.

Then the car started to make a little tiny rattle/shudder that was not huge, but was unusual for this vehicle. I turned it off, and the engine was very, very hot. I started to see the attached message.

" Hybrid system malfunction. Stop in a safe place."

I plugged in my basic doctor prius, and I have no engine codes, only a battery code.

HV Battery ECU error code P0A08.

That is the only code I can see anywhere.

Even after a half an hour, the hood was too hot to open by hand without protection. Eventually, it cooled enough for me to try to check the inverter coolant, and there's definitely sufficient fluid in there, and it does appear to move slightly when engine is in ready mode. I unplugged any chargers in my cigarette lighter place.And I turned off the air conditioning and fans.

I have had no luck finding a decent hybrid shop. Only a DIY Prius guy that i've never used, but I met at an o'reilly's. Or the dealer who wants $230 just for the diagnostics.

Aaaaargh. A recommended prius shop is not taking any new customers until february. No lie. But that mechanic did talk to me long enough to suggest that it might be covered by a warranty campaign that he has seen before. Sadly, the dealer disagreed and said there was nothing covering that code for my car.

So I am about forty minutes from home and it is about ninety degrees and I really have to go to the bathroom and i'm sweating to death...

Anyone got any good options for me? I am in St. Paul, MN, but again, that's 40 minutes from my house... at regular speed with no traffic.

I have good coverage with AAA and I can tow up to a hundred miles. But of course, my car is filled with my son's bed because I was helping him move, etc.

 

Thanks. I think I found someone with ability to diagnose and fix... fingers crossed.

 

Hope not! I love this one but am aware it will have more issues than my Gen2 (345k now).

I will try to reach Eric, thanks!