Hybrid Battery Kaput

Well today the battery in the 05 started acting weird, 1 bar to full bars of SoC then back down again. It did this for about 5 miles then the lights came on. The scanner shows P0A80, replace hybrid battery. Got lucky as it's a California car and has 143,000 miles. Hopefully it will limp down 10 miles to the stealership.

What kind of BS can I expect the stealer to throw out there and tell me I need to pay for extra?


Thanks,

 

I didn't plan on going in with guns blazing...

I only visit them when I need genuine parts, warranty work or for a recall. I just hate it when they think they're talking to someone clueless about cars. I always play stupid until they pull some BS then give them an education.

 

That's what I thought but just wanted to know if there were any other components that the dealers like to say "go bad" and need to be replaced.

I must have one of those faces that say "sucker" because I've had more than one dealer try their stunts on me. This has me gun shy to say the least so like to be prepared to ask the right questions.

The last time I had my Tacoma in for service was for a whining clutch release bearing at 20k miles. The service manager calls me up and tells me yep, the bearing is bad and will be covered under warranty. He also informs me that the clutch disc is well worn and it, along with the pressure plate, needs to be replaced. They would get the factory to cover the labor and the plate but I would have to pay $70.00 for the disc. I said that would be no problem at all but before they did any work I was to come down and speak with the technician and inspect the parts. When I arrived, there was my truck parked in front of the service dept all washed and ready to go. I asked the service mgr what was going on and if they had changed the clutch I still wanted to inspect the old parts. He promptly told me that the factory covered all parts and labor and refused to let me inspect any old parts. I guess even the factory isn't immune to getting bent over by some dealers.

I had another one install a timing belt incorrectly (cam timing was off) and the tech wanted to re-set the ignition timing to correct his mistake. I asked him if he knew the difference between valve timing and ignition timing then insisted he fix his mistake the right way.

Don't even get me started on brakes...that's a cash cow for the industry.

 

Took it in today and it wasn't too bad at all. The only thing the service adviser tried to sell me were new tires. My Michelins have 70K miles but still look pretty good. I asked him if they sold Michelins and would consider it in another 10K miles. They recommend the original Goodyear OEM tires which I was never impressed with.

They did all the recalls even after I asked them not to do the gas pedal foolishness. Good thing I left my all-weather mats at home. I also explained to him that I had changed the inverter coolant pump two years ago and would like to have it back for a spare but that didn't happen. I'll have to have Toyota reimburse me for the 100 I paid back then and buy another spare. They felt compelled to air down my tires to the factory pressure so I explained to them that the tires are much happier where they were and that's why they lasted so long with even wear, I put them at 38/35.

The new HV battery is great, it held it's SoC (top of blue) all the way up the grade with ease, 4 miles to where I live. The old battery at its best usually dropped to 2 bars at the halfway point and the engine would scream. Now I will see if my best mileage of 51 MPG can be beat.