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Is this really the hybrid battery going bad?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Curtanu, Mar 15, 2017.

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  1. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Sorry, let me expand on that. If you are a significant DIYer (like myself) then feel free to take on the challenge, just be prepared for non-stop challenges. Myself? Although I'm confident my experience and ability would make short work of these repairs, I would dread what was always lurking just around the corner. I couldn't care less about breaking down when I'm alone. Wife or kid or guest in the car makes it a whole different story. If you're not a Hard Core DIYer and have to pay $$ to fix things, then get out while you can..
     
    #21 TMR-JWAP, Mar 15, 2017
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  2. Curtanu

    Curtanu Junior Member

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    That's what I'm afraid of, yes indeed. And that's why I keep coming back to ask what people think -- people who know what a Prius with a bad battery behaves like: Qualitatively speaking, is this how a Prius behaves when a battery goes bad? If yes, then maybe there's hope. If no, then it's definitely time to dump it (and probably get an old stationwagon, instead).
     
    #22 Curtanu, Mar 15, 2017
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Bad battery symptoms

    1. Hybrid fan constantly on in the back.
    2. Battery gauge goes rapidly full to empty and reverses doing the same
    3. All kinds of warning lights
    4. Virtually no power to accelerate
    5. Will eventually leave you stranded
    6. Owners are usually not accepting
     
    #23 JC91006, Mar 16, 2017
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  4. Curtanu

    Curtanu Junior Member

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    OK, thanks. My main question in response is: over what period of time do these symptoms occur? I've had the warning lights (#3) at individual points, separated by: 1 month, then 2.5 months, then frequently, then failure. No power to accelerate (#4) -- well, the last time it drove, that was certainly true, for those couple of minutes; but it wasn't a symptom prior to that (except the increasing sluggishness going in reverse up a steep hill, about 400 yards). Well.... now that you mention it, it did seem less spritely when I would pass somebody on a 2-lane highway; when I first got it, the acceleration used there was impressive & that seemed vaguely less spirited more recently. I haven't noticed any rapid movement of the battery gauge (#2), but there again I haven't been watching it, to speak of. I didn't notice a fan noise (#1), but then I don't know what exactly that sound is. Maybe it was there & I just didn't notice it.
     
    #24 Curtanu, Mar 16, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 16, 2017
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's a loud fan sound coming from behind the front seats, pretty hard to miss, unless you're half deaf like me.
     
    #25 bisco, Mar 16, 2017
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If your warning lights come and go, it could possibly be the following items too

    1. Low on engine oil
    2. Car overheating
    3. Inverter pump failed
    4. AC cooling function would be gone when car overheats due to inverter pump failure
     
    #26 JC91006, Mar 16, 2017
  7. Curtanu

    Curtanu Junior Member

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    OK, then I didn't hear that. Maybe just possibly on that last 3-minute drive. There was a sound, which I identifies with a racing engine; but I was pretty distracted with the other behaviors.

    Hmm. So from JC91006's list of symptoms, I've got:
    1. No.
    2. Not so that I noticed.
    3. Yes.
    4. Only for 3 minutes the very last time it drove.

    Hmm. So is it really the battery? Or to put it a different way: maybe it's the battery now, but was it the battery back in November and again in December -- or would that have been something else? Ugh. I do not know.
     
    #27 Curtanu, Mar 16, 2017
  8. Curtanu

    Curtanu Junior Member

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    3. Inverter pump failed. Well... maybe. I don't know what that is.

    Engine oil level should be fine... though I didn't specifically check.
    Car overheating -- I don't think so.
    AC cooling -- well, there is no AC unit. There's just a stub of a pipe, open to the air.
     
    #28 Curtanu, Mar 16, 2017
  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The inverter pump is a water pump that cools the inverter (electric motor).

    You can check if it has failed by looking at the fluid inside the inverter coolant reservoir (located in the middle of the car, pink fluid). Open the cap and see if there's movement in the pink fluid, make sure the car is on and in READY mode. If there's movement in the coolant, then the pump is working, if there's no movement, the pump has failed.

    But that does not fix the problem of the P0A80 code, which points to a hybrid battery failure. This is usually not a false code
     
    #29 JC91006, Mar 16, 2017
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    #30 Mendel Leisk, Mar 16, 2017
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    ouch! that's espensive.
     
    #31 bisco, Mar 16, 2017
  12. biglew8

    biglew8 Active Member

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    #32 biglew8, Mar 16, 2017
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    that's a great price. i wonder why they won't ship., how does it get from the factory to them?
     
    #33 bisco, Mar 16, 2017
  14. Curtanu

    Curtanu Junior Member

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    I called my local Toyota dealership, parts dept.

    New Toyota battery: $3900 (probably doesn't include tax, even)
    Aftermarket: $2300 (plus $975 core charge, if they don't get my old one)

    Also a dealership in Oregon:
    $2588 (plus core), but they won't sell it to the average Joe, only trained people. And the person I talked with didn't know for sure if it was new or refurb -- but one guesses based on the core reclamation that it must be refurb.
     
    #34 Curtanu, Mar 16, 2017
  15. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    They may be able to ship it, but may not want to ship it. Especially not for free. And especially if the buyer does not have a business shipping address. It takes two people to move the crate. Or a pallet jack if only one person, which most DIYers don't have.
    Cost would be a few hundred each way? Many folks don't have the info on the correct torque specs, nor the correct tools for assembling a hybrid battery. Remember, they come partially unassembled and you need to move many pieces over from the old pack, in addition to adding the new parts.
    Plus there is a specific protocol on how Toyota requires cores to be prepared and documented when returning.
    The dealer may not be interested in training each DIYer on the process each time. Especially since there are DIYers who aren't going to do it anyway and the dealer ends up spending time prepping the pack for return anyway.
     
    #35 ericbecky, Mar 16, 2017
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  16. Curtanu

    Curtanu Junior Member

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    Yeah, I can understand not wanting to mess with it. What she actually said was that they required some sort of approval because it was dangerous and "people have died from these."
     
    #36 Curtanu, Mar 16, 2017
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I've yet to find news off someone dying because of a prius battery.

    Tasers yes, prius batteries no
     
    #37 JC91006, Mar 16, 2017
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  18. Glen2007

    Glen2007 Junior Member

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    How many times have you cleared the codes with a scan tool or had someone else read the codes then clear them?
    Have you ever disconnected the 12 volt negative battery terminal lead to ground to reset the computer ? Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery took me out of limp mode and cleared a P0A80 code yesterday all seems to be ok now many drive cycles since then.
     
    #38 Glen2007, Mar 16, 2017
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Well I don't think you'll be cleared for long
     
    #39 JC91006, Mar 16, 2017
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i can't believe toyota dealers are selling reconditioned batteries. it's a whole new world out there.
     
    #40 bisco, Mar 16, 2017
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