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Craziest prius mind boggling hybrid system failure P0A80

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Jakemathews, Aug 16, 2019.

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  1. Jakemathews

    Jakemathews New Member

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    have a 2012 Toyota Prius and got the code P0A80. Was diagnosed by the toyota dealership at 170k miles few weeks ago and they said that the hybrid battery pack needs to be replaced. So i found a reputable hybrid battery shop that i have used previously as well for 2 of my other priuses before and worked great. This time i got the battery pack replaced and the codes were cleared via obd2 scanner. Car has been driving perfectly fine after the battery change “well it drove even fine with the bad battery pack”. The mpg has been decent at 40.5 to 43 depending on a/c usage. So here is the problem i took the car into a california smog inspection place and they failed the car for P0A80 “permanent code”. I went and through a few connections used a big “snap on scanner for professionals” the scanner read no current, no pending, no permanent codes and all monitors were completed for smog. Took it back to the hybrid battery shop he hooked up his “hybrid battery scanner” and determined and showed me while he hooked it up that the car has 2 ECU “1 main ECU” “2 hybrid xyz type ecu” ECU 2 was the one with the code stored as P0A80 and the hybrid guy said only option i have is to drive it or take it to toyota and get it flashed. Took it to miller toyota and they flashed the ecu many times and could not get the code to clear. They recommended replace hybrid battery pack. Took it back to the hybrid battery shop without questions they put in another hybrid battery. Drove the car 400 miles and still the issue is the car will not pass smog because P0A80 is stored in the ECU as a permanent code. Any help would be apprciated. 12v battery was checked to be in good condition but had it die on me this morning so i purchased a new aftermarket one. The 12v battery has 410 cold cranking amps and the other one from toyota had 380 is this a problem? Parts store said this 12v battery is made specifically for the prius. Lastly we ran tech stream on the prius and tried to clear the code that way but still will not clear appears back immediately. All cells were running at 15.2-15.7 volts “hybrid battery” battery is in good shape and giving 45-46 mpg now the new one as we replaced it again from a working car this time to really test the car.

    #57
     
    #1 Jakemathews, Aug 16, 2019
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I'm losing count: third thread you've posted regarding the same issue? ;)

    I know, the more the merrier, but it's frustrating for responders.
     
    #2 Mendel Leisk, Aug 16, 2019
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  3. Jakemathews

    Jakemathews New Member

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    Haha true someone recommended me to post here in this gen 3 forum and maybe someone can help me
     
    #3 Jakemathews, Aug 16, 2019
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  4. Jakemathews

    Jakemathews New Member

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    Not trying to frustrate anyone sorry to anyone who feels that way. Im just new on here and didn't really know where was the correct place to post will try to post in the correct areas going forward
     
    #4 Jakemathews, Aug 16, 2019
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  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    It's not that important where you post. Just post the issue once, and wait for responses, will work best.
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Aug 16, 2019
  6. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    The diagnostic trouble code (DTC) is P0A80 (with a zero in the second position). This may help you find more useful information, in Toyota’s Repair Manual (more info) or elsewhere.
    “Permanent” means that a DTC, by design, can be cleared only when the car’s computers, over a specified number of drive cycles, no longer detect the problem that caused the DTC to be set.

    If the hybrid battery problem has been fixed, do the procedure under “CONFIRMATION DRIVING PATTERN” in the Repair Manual topic Engine/Hybrid System: Hybrid/Battery Control: Hybrid Battery System: P0A80-123, Replace Hybrid Battery Pack. The required “universal trip” is explained in the topic ...: Hybrid Battery System: DTC Check/Clear. Alternatively, as Toyota writes there, “[P]ermanent DTCs are cleared by obtaining a normal judgment during 3 consecutive driving cycles.”
     
    #6 Elektroingenieur, Aug 16, 2019
  7. Jakemathews

    Jakemathews New Member

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    When i took the car to toyota they gave me the drive cycles to be performed. You are correct about the 3 consecutive drive cycles tried that and still no luck
     
    #7 Jakemathews, Aug 16, 2019
  8. Jakemathews

    Jakemathews New Member

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    Right looked it up and that code refers to “replace hybrid battery pack which has been done now with three different hybrid batteries same issue persist
     
    #8 Jakemathews, Aug 16, 2019
  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Just for future reference the proper process is to use the Report button on your first post in the thread and ask the moderator to move the thread.
     
    #9 Prodigyplace, Aug 16, 2019
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  10. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Yea, but in this case, I saw their previous post and it was added to a 5 page thread that wasn't related to their post...
     
    #10 PriusCamper, Aug 16, 2019
  11. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    “Replace Hybrid Battery Pack” may be the one-line description for that DTC (its “fortune cookie,” to use @ChapmanF's apt term), but if you looked at its Repair Manual procedure, you may have noticed that there are two potential trouble areas listed, the HV battery assembly and the battery smart unit.

    This makes sense, if you think about the detection condition, “Difference in voltage between battery blocks is larger than the standard.” Those voltages are measured by the battery smart unit, so if the smart unit is faulty, or there is a problem with the wiring between the smart unit and the HV battery assembly, then the power management ECU could still store this DTC, even if the battery itself were fine.

    In the procedure, step 1 applies only if DTC P0AFC-123 is also stored; since you haven’t mentioned this, I’ll assume it’s not. Step 2 is to do the “Check Battery Smart Unit” step from the procedure for another DTC, P0A7F-123. This involves using Techstream’s Data List feature to check the differences in the reported battery block voltages under specified conditions. Has anyone done this check?

    Also, do you have the freeze frame data that were captured when the P0A80 code was stored?
    How was this measured? With the Data List feature in Techstream, or with a multimeter at the cells directly?
    I imagine this could just be good customer service, but the fact that a seller would exchange such a costly part without much investigation suggests that they might not have much confidence in their products.
     
    #11 Elektroingenieur, Aug 16, 2019
  12. Jakemathews

    Jakemathews New Member

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    So at this point the dealer has checked the small battery and the large battery and both are in top shape. Dealer says all voltage looks ok but pcm was not flashing the P0A80 code. The pcm i came to learn is what stores the hard P0A80 code not the ecm. Replaced the pcm and had it reprogrammed no luck yet still any new ideas
     
    #12 Jakemathews, Aug 27, 2019
  13. RDSZ

    RDSZ New Member

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    I have the same problem as you, replace hybrid battery twice and still have a permanent code p0A80. Did you fixed issues with code. Thanks
     
    #13 RDSZ, Sep 7, 2019
  14. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You replaced the failed battery with a new battery?
     
    #14 JC91006, Sep 7, 2019
  15. Jakemathews

    Jakemathews New Member

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    No idea just been driving it has no check engine light no problems but the permanent code still exist. Had it checked out by 15 different places by now. Toyota dealer just keeps wanting to replace “everything till the problem is solved” not gonna do that they already screwed me for alot
     
    #15 Jakemathews, Sep 8, 2019
  16. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    #16 Raytheeagle, Sep 8, 2019
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You went to 15 places and you got the same result? This is an exaggeration r right?

    If the code is there, there would be lights on.
     
    #17 JC91006, Sep 8, 2019
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  18. RDSZ

    RDSZ New Member

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    No new battery, the guys that came to my house inform me that the replacement battery was from a low miles prius which I purchase with a 3 year warranty but still had the P0A80 code after replacement but the car was running perfect. I called them back and a different battery was put on my car and still runs fine and no CEL but my OBD2 scanner still shows a permanent P0A80, I will keep driving more miles to see if it reset code by itself. I know it wont pass smog test with code in store in computer.
     
    #18 RDSZ, Sep 8, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2019
  19. Jakemathews

    Jakemathews New Member

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    Yeah i wish it was an exaggeration but they all hook up there techstream and try to clear it but it never goes away the problem is that it is not a current code its a permanent code that should have gone away with driving but it wont. Went to a place guys been in buisness for 20 years he had over 100 prius st his shop being worked on. He told me leave the car so i did for 2 days and same he could not fix the problem
     
    #19 Jakemathews, Sep 8, 2019
  20. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Tell them if THEY pay for it, go for it! ANYONE can just change parts until it's "fixed".
    It could just be a dirty connection or bad pin contact. The dirty connection could be cleaned up
    when they replaced the part, and they would think it's the part. And possibly the same with a bad pin.

    When I worked at Mercedes, when we ran across a problem similar that we couldn't figure out, the service
    manager would call Mercedes and they would do what they do and come back with a fix.

    I'm certain every manufacturer has something similar. Maybe they aren't doing that???

     
    #20 ASRDogman, Sep 8, 2019
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