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Hybrid Battery Issue After Sitting Months

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by app-o-matix, Dec 6, 2020.

  1. app-o-matix

    app-o-matix Junior Member

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    I have a friend’s 2007 with 100k miles that has been sitting for nine months. The 12v was dead so I swapped it out and that’s fine now. I drove it around a bit and all seemed okay. I planned to get gas and have it washed, but saw a Jiffy Lube and had them change the oil and check the tires. Upon leaving the Jiffy Lube, all of the warning indicators, including the RTOD, were illuminated. I have an OBD device and the hybrid battery codes were indicated. I reset the codes, drove around for awhile and eventually the indicators/codes returned - and continue to return.

    My question is, could this be temporary - either some kind of recalibration period or a period when the car needs some sustained surface street kind of driving to recharge the cells? Or is the battery likely going to need reconditioning?

    On my own Prius, I’ve had modules need replacing, but that has appeared during use where a module voltage becomes out of range with respect to the other modules. But from a car sitting, I would think what happens to one module happens to all of them - like they all start to lose charge over time. Or not, I don’t know. Perhaps this would have happened if the car hadn’t sat and had been driven and is just coincidental that it was out of use just before it would have occurred anyway.

    I have not yet looked at any of the voltages of the individual modules. I’m first just trying to find out if anyone heard of or experienced an issue like this with the hybrid battery in a Prius that has been sitting for an extended period of time?

    Thanks
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You should pull the oil dipstick and see if it has too much oil in it (or worse, not enough oil)
     
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  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Odds are good you have bad modules and maybe buss bar corrosion. Letting it sit is always bad, we have heard many similar stories.
     
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  4. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    The battery is weak and out of balance; unfortunately driving it around will not repair it.

    http://www.newpriusbatteries.com/

    If you want to see what reconditioning involves, see the link in my signature. In your case this late in the game, I wouldn't suggest going this route as it's really a maintenance procedure. IOW, changing the oil won't fix an oil burning engine.

    GOOD LUCK!
     
    #4 fotomoto, Dec 6, 2020
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2020
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  5. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    You leave jiffy the cars messed up you don’t you don’t check the oil lol?

    they over filled it by one quart. There database says it takes 5 quarts it
    Takes 3.9 quarts,
     
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  6. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    You would think they would check the oil level after they filled it but that has happened before. Check oil level first, it's free.
     
  7. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    Stay away from jiffy lube!!!

    They recently overfilled my engine oil.

    I emailed corporate and two days later the shop calls me and sends me to another jiffy shop to do a compression check.

    They did not do it and pretended to do the compression check.

    I did not sign anything and drove to the shop that oveefilled it.

    The owner was on the shop phone and they passed it to me.

    He listened to what I said and it was a repeat of what I emailed corporate.

    At the end he said he needs a third party to confirm any damage by overfilling it.

    He then told me he sold the shop the very next day and he emailed me right after the call and denied any damage and that I took too long to let them know.

    This was just days away from two months later and just a tad over 1,500 miles.

    Limited liability warranty they have is 3,000 miles or 90 days.

    I remailed corp and letting them know all the games they played and still no word back from corp.

    I said to check all cameras.

    Tip for anyone with same issue.
    Have them put it in the system notes they overfilled it and get the oil that came out.

    Though corp didnt seem to mind I didnt have those two things.


    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  8. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    You live in California? Tell them your going to contact the Bureau of Automotive Repair and see what happens.
     
  9. AzusaPrius

    AzusaPrius Senior Member

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    @Skibob

    That would be the final step and yelp review too.

    Im sure Corp is looking into getting the footage of me getting the oil change and then going back to have them drain it and then the footage of me going to second location to have the so called compression check done.

    I will create my own thread on the outcome.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  10. app-o-matix

    app-o-matix Junior Member

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    Sorry, I’ve been unable to respond until now. Thanks for all of the great replies.

    I have not checked the oil level, but I will tomorrow. Just curious why too much oil would generate hybrid battery issue codes.

    I finally had a chance to check the voltage levels and one pair varies from the rest (see image below). Since I’m also having hybrid battery issues with my Prius (a 2006), I ordered the Prolong battery charger/discharger. Is there any chance the weaker cell pairs will be evened out with the others through the charge/discharge cycles or do those cells definitely need to be swapped out first before doing the reconditioning?

    74D19DF6-A3F7-49F6-BCF5-F2820AC9C108.jpeg
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    #10 app-o-matix, Dec 24, 2020
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2020
  11. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    In block 10, one of the modules has a difference of 1.2 V which indicates that one of the cells in that module has died.
    No, when you have a dead cell, there is nothing you can do to revive it. The module with the failed cell needs to be removed and replaced with another module that has a similar capacity so that it will play nicely with the rest of the modules in the battery.

    The HA charger/discharger equipment works best when used before modules get to the stage of failed cells.
     
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  12. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    It needs at least one module. You can see block 10 is 1.3V lower than all the others- that shows that one of the modules has a shorted cell and is "dead". Buy a few modules, replace the bad one, replace the bus bars and inspect the wiring and connectors to the battery ecu. Then use the prolong charger system.

    Or get a full set of new modules from Toyota or Newpriusbatteries if you want to go that route.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  13. app-o-matix

    app-o-matix Junior Member

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    Thanks for the follow up replies! We’ll see what happens once we hoist the batteries out.
     
  14. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Your battery is dead. Unfortunately sitting allows a weak module to stray into death and it is rarely recoverable. It is really just a symptom showing up earlier in miles than it would have if you continued to drive it. When the car is READY, the pack is being balanced continuously. If you drive gingerly and barely tap the go-pedal, you can probably eek out an infinite life from the pack if you never turn the car off.

    I recommend you get a new pack, either from me or the dealership. If you want to try and repair yourself, you would want to pull all the modules and charge/balance a few times. You will get some time out of this, but it is the beginning of the whack-a-mole game. If you only plan on keeping the car for 3-months, then this shouldn't be an issue.
     
  15. app-o-matix

    app-o-matix Junior Member

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    Thanks for the insight and suggestions. Since I’m dealing with two cars, have extra modules, will have the charger/discharger in a day or two, and am not immediately dependent upon either car for transportation, I’m going to give breathing a little more life into the batteries a shot. I’ve replaced a module before, so I know what to expect as far as effort. If I get more mileage out of the battery, but in three months I get one or more new dead cells, I’ll likely take a different course of action in response.