Do I need a new hybrid battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ronnyrado, Aug 21, 2023.

  1. ronnyrado

    ronnyrado New Member

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    I drive a 2008 base model Prius and it’s been great. I’m at around 243,xxx miles now and we replaced the hybrid battery once (with a refurbish) at about 170,xxx.

    Just a few weeks ago, all the hybrid warning lights came on, red triangle of death, check engine, warning light on infotainment screen. The gas mileage is still about the same - around 43-48, depending on how it’s driven.

    I did a Dr. Prius code read on it and shared the results with the guy who I bought the first refurbish from to see if I need another new battery. He said the results indicate that it’s still in good shape and the issue resides somewhere else, and discouraged from buying a new battery yet.

    I went and tested my 12v battery and it seemed to be time for a replacement, so I got a new AGM battery. While driving it around to get the battery and such, the acceleration lag got continually worse until it was in limp mode.

    I am college student so money is tight haha and I want make sure I am putting money in the right places. So I’ve come to the Prius masters - what should I do next? What should I check and what could this issue be?
     
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I did a Dr. Prius code read on it and shared the results with the guy who I bought the first refurbish from to see if I need another new battery. He said the results indicate that it’s still in good shape and the issue resides somewhere else, and discouraged from buying a new battery yet.

    Share the codes with us? It would help a lot for us to give you an accurate assessment.
    P0A93 by chance?
    P0AA6?
     
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  3. ronnyrado

    ronnyrado New Member

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    Good point. The codes I got back were:
    P0A80
    P3022
    P3016

    I've also attached some screenshots from the Dr. Prius app.

    IMG_5891.PNG IMG_5890.PNG IMG_5888.PNG IMG_5889.PNG
     
  4. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    Those three trouble codes indicate problems with the battery modules in blocks 6 and 12. It is time for a "new" refurbished battery OR a new OEM battery.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  5. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Yeah, that guy blew smoke. Those are 100% HV battery failure codes. It's a bit surprising that anyone who works on these batteries doesn't recognize these as HV battery codes.

    P0A80 is actually P0A80 and is "Replace hybrid battery"
    P3022 = Battery Block 12 weak
    P3016 = Battery Block 6 weak
     
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  6. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    73k miles on a used battery is pretty good. That kind of battery is worth maybe $900 with a warranty. Did he give you a “lifetime“ warranty? If so he is trying to avoid your claim.
     
  7. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    You can monitor block voltages while driving - particularly hard accel and decel. You will likely see the "bad" block voltages drop 1.0-1.5V lower than others on accel, and go higher than the others on decel. This would confirm that the codes are condemning a failed Hv battery.



    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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