2005 Prius - Getting Triangle with !, CEL, VCS and the circle with !

Hello,

I live in the Dallas area and yesterday (2/2/12) drove to the Mall (5 miles) and on the way home, I got the triangle with !, CEL, VSC and circle with ! icons on my dash. I went to a local shop and pulled the codes. He said error codes are P3000 and P0A80 and not sure if there is more. I've been reading a lot of information regarding those codes.

Today (2/5/12), I tested the 12v batteries.Followed the steps on turn Ig-On - press and hold down info button and turn headlights on 3x. When I got to the Vehicle Signal Check - it gave me 12.2v, pressed the power button again and gave me 11.9v then turned on the car and gave me 14.0v.

I unplugged the 12v battery for about 5 minutes and re-plugged it in and the icons disappeared and came back. The inverter coolant pump i think is working based on the steps i followed on how to check inverter coolant pump.

After all the steps above, I drove the car for 12 miles (20 minutes) with a speed from the 40s to 50 mph and temp outside is 50 degrees. As soon as I start the car, the lights on the dash all showed up, the fan right next to the rear passenger stayed on throughout the duration of the drive, the cruise control won't turn on, the energy meeter stayed on full green for awhile then went to 8 purple bars.

I am not sure what is wrong with the car and hope to get it fixed. The car has over 270K and I'm the only owner. I had performed the inverter coolant pump when it was announced and if I'm not mistaken, the 12v battery was replaced with a new one less than 2 years ago.

I really appreciate everyone here. This is a great place to get to know the prius.

 

Thanks for your reply. I will check it out and will let you know the outcome. But my question is, will a dirty fan causes the P3000 and P0A80 codes to show? Also, the fan didn't turn on all the time before getting the error codes. Right after the codes and icons appear, the fan just stayed on everytime the car is on and the air coming out from the rear passenger fan is cold. And when I turn on the car, I get Air Conditioner Off or similar to tht message on the MFD.

 

I am planning to go to the dealer as soon as I can, I am just trying to see if I theres an alternative way to replaced other than the hv battery. I have read here that if the 12v battery is bad, it could throw the codes that I am having. As for the inverter coolant pump service, I did the recall 13 months ago as well as replaced the 12v battery. The energy indicator when i used the car earlier seemed not right. It would go down to 1 purple bar then go up and get the full green bars for a long time. Also, i turned the car on after 4 hours and the battery indicator doesnt have any bars showing for the first minute then got full green bars.

I am hoping that you are incorrect about having bad hv battery but if not, is there someone you know that i can contact around north texas (Dallas/DFW) area? I would buy a rebuilt battery re-involt if i need to. Thank you all for all the help.

 

How about the P3000 error? What could cause that code to show up?

Ive been happy with my prius, I am the original owner. I accumulated most of the miles in Sunny Southern California then moved to the Dallas area a year ago. I am still hoping that the only problem is the 12v battery instead of the hv battery. Also, I read somewhere here at PC that maybe that 1 module is the only problem and that module can be replaced (Is this hard to do). If its the hv battery, where is the best place to get a replacement? Dealership or re-involt? Is it hard to remove and install the hv battery? Thank you

 

Thanks for your reply.

Is it better to replace the whole battery pack? How about battery ECU for the P3000 code? Does that need to be replace as well? I am new to the Dallas area and don't know any shops that may do it. I hope Toyota dealership can do it if I get a reinvolt battery. How about the 12v battery?

 

Its been tough finding an independent shop that works on prius. Are there any special tools or steps on removing and replacing an hv battery? Is it like a plug n play situation? I was talking to re-involt and they said that the error codes will need to be remove before installing a new hv battery.

Thank you for all the help and inputs from everyone.

 

Thanks for your reply. I called Toyota of Richardson and they would install a re-involt battery for $650. But they want to check the car first to make sure what the problem is instead of just replacing the battery. I guess that isn't so bad, maybe the 12v battery needs replacing instead of the hv battery. I noticed that everytime i unlock the car, the dome lights are not very lit, they're a bit dimmer. Based on my first test of the 12v battery, it may need to be replaced. I dont know if that is right though. What do you think?