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Help Please - hybrid battery acting strange!!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Susan Potter, Aug 20, 2018.

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  1. Susan Potter

    Susan Potter New Member

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    I have a 2005 Prius. The battery was reading great 6 weeks ago prior to purchasing. I discovered some recalls that were never handled so I had my local Toyota dealership handle. When I picked up the car before I got off work he lot lights started flashing. I took it back and they told me my battery was bad. How can my car go from holding a perfect charge for 6 weeks to spending 2 nights at the dealership and coming home dead?? When I turn on the car it goes from 1 bar to 8 then right back down to 2 after driving 10 min. Or so. Is my battery dead now? I did have to he 12 volt battery changed about a week ago, could this have caused it?
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    If they installed a bad 12volt battery this would cause it. Because it's so recent I'd insist they replace it. If it's an Optima Yellowtop 12v battery, one look at their consumer / customer service ratings will explain clearly that they're criminals selling garbage. Once that's resolved your Toyota dealership has to take responsibility for breaking your car if the warning lights came on when you started up the car at their shop. Or did this happen later? Calling Toyota customer service to report the dealership is your next step. Keep escalating until you get results!
     
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    dealerships only install yuasa or panasonic oem batteries. have them loudest it on their dollar.

    how many miles on your car? rapid charging and discharging is a classic bad battery, not likely caused by the dealership.
     
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  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    The dealership is not responsible for an aging battery that goes up and down in its state of charge rapidly... But they are legally, morally and reputationally responsible for doing repair work that caused the warning lights to come on, as well as not repairing what they did to cause those warning lights to come on.

    Know your rights! Defend yourself from well-documented scams run by corrupt Toyota Car dealerships!!
     
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The car is 13 years old, what Toyota dealer will sell that old of a car? And those batteries die after about 10 years
     
  6. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Your claim that batteries die after 10 years is false... Drive anywhere and you'll see Prius older than 10 years on almost every trip. I see Gen1 Prius from 2002 even... Get on Craig's list for any major city and you'll see hundreds of Prius older than 10 years with no maintenance issues and a much higher price than most any other non-hybrid economy car of similar age. Prius is way, way better than what you're saying and you know it!
     
  7. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    …er, um (always late to the party (as per usual!)) Which is the battery of which you speak? There are at least two: (1) the main Traction Battery (which drives the car (sometimes), starts the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) (when necessary), runs the Air-Conditioner (when needed), and this is the battery whose State of Charge (SoC) is shown on the MFD (MultiFunctionDisplay); and (2) the AuxBattery (12V) which is used to run the multitude of computers, accessories, lights, horn, radio, sound-system etc. etc. Sorry if this sounds pedantic, but in order to get a better understanding of what is going on, accuracy is of paramount importance, and the devil is usually in the details! - hope this helps - Wil (BTW Welcome to PriusChat!
     
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  8. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    So mine that died at 8 didn't really happen? o_O
     
    #8 fotomoto, Aug 21, 2018
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2018
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  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I've got 3 cars with warranty batteries within 10 years. I'm not just talking BS
     
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  10. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    With a record like that I'm certain your driving habits and car care methods, or lack thereof is partly responsible for that...
     
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    There's no caring for the battery. Why would I try to prolong a battery that's under warranty? When it fails, you get a new one for free
     
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  12. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Exactly... You even admit you didn't have to care for the battery pack!

    But when you live in a country that's run out of warranties and 2/3rds of the population has less than $2k in emergency savings, you don't simply abuse yr Prius hybrid battery & expect to get a new one for free.
     
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  13. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The battery is maintenance free, you just drive the car. The 10 year warranty is offered by Toyota for times when the battery fails.

    Can you prolong the life of the battery? Yes you can, maybe recondition it by spending $700 for a prolong reconditioning system and give it a little longer life. When it fails, then you spend $2000 for a new battery.

    Or you can simply not do anything to the battery and let it die on its own within the warranty period and you'll get a new one for free.

    The manual does not list any preventive maintenance schedules/procedures for that battery.
     
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  14. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Camper,

    Can you provide a list of your recommended maintenance for a HV battery. Let's go with the assumption it's 2005 and you just purchased a new 2005 Prius. You're in a CARB state, so the hybrid system has a 10 year warranty. What maintenance would you perform on the battery? How would you treat it other than just getting in and drive?
     
  15. #1 Toyota salesman

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  16. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Classic sign of a failing hybrid battery.

    Since there are no recalls on the battery, it's highly doubtful the dealership worked on or otherwise messed with the battery so it's purely coincidental. Sitting a couple of days in the hot Florida August sun was probably the last tiny straw that broke the camels back.

    I would not be surprised if the previous owner (6+ weeks ago) got a warning code, reset it, and sold/traded in the car before it came back.

    You can enter your VIN here and find out what service/recalls have been done at Toyota dealers (but not other shops). Toyota Owners Official Web Site

    You can, in order of best to worst reliability and correspondingly also most to least expensive:
    1) replace with new Toyota pack
    2) replace with 28 new modules (very limited source)
    3) get a rebuilt pack with old modules (prices/warranties vary)
    4) try to rebuild/repair yourself
     
    #16 fotomoto, Aug 22, 2018
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2018
  17. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I would not be surprised if the previous owner (6+ weeks ago) got a warning code, reset it, and sold/traded in the car before it came back.

    x2....this was my first impression also. Sometimes sitting unused for a couple days is all that's needed for an older Gen 2 with the original battery to throw the P0A80 code. All it takes is one borderline module with one borderline cell to discharge and that's all she wrote, that module will be sitting at 6.3 volts.

    If a replacement is not viable at this time, I would just force charge it and make sure I drove it every day. That should at least give time to make a decision on what path you'd like to take.
     
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  18. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Hey it's all speculation.
    But with a 13 year old Hybrid Battery, it's potential failing is not out of the realm of either being shocking or impossible.

    My personal speculation is perhaps the two nights at the dealership...maybe just mostly sitting and not being run...did reveal the failure that was inevitably coming.
    It manifesting upon return might really just be coincidence. If two nights at the dealership can kill the battery, it was approaching death anyway.

    I'd have them test the 12 volt, and make sure it's fine. But unfortunately I'm placing my pure speculation bet, on that indeed the Hybrid Battery is failing.

    Which leaves the OP in the rather common 10+ year old Prius situation of dealing with how to approach Hybrid Battery failure.
    My opinion is that for the vast majority of people, investment and replacement with a new OEM is the best approach, assuming you intend to keep the vehicle a significant time longer.
    It's not the cheapest answer, but it's IMO the best and shortest road to virtually resetting you Hybrid Battery situation.

    Since it is not a cheap...around a $3000 dollar investment, you do want to make sure the much cheaper 12 volt battery is OK.

    But my guess...is that the Hybrid Battery is indeed failing and that whatever happened in two days at the dealership simply exacerbated the situation.
    Sorry not a particularly uplifting speculation, but the OP is not the first person to purchase an older used Prius and then suddenly have the Hybrid Battery fail, nor I suspect will they be the last.
     
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  19. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    How you treat your car has a huge impact on how long the battery pack lasts...
     
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  20. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Maybe. When the battery pack gets old/weak, it has to be constantly used or it'll go out of balance. That's why there are reports of people going on vacation and coming back to a dead battery.

    Since I have multiple cars, I often have my cars sit and they probably die from that
     
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