P0A80 Question

First time poster, long time lurker. I have read extensively but still have a question about my 2006 Prius with 165,000 miles. I am including a lot of info so that if the red herrings come up later, I will not be discredited. Here is the story...

Replaced the hybrid pack about 1.5 years ago after it failed at 110K. I live 20 minutes from Sanford, NC, so I was fortunate enough to have Re-Involt down the road. All went well and got another 50K under her belt since then.

Several months ago I left a cabin light on and killed the 12v. I hooked it up to battery tender charger which had no effect (I read later that this will happen if you don't remove the cables attached to the car). I jumped it, but had some suspicions about the battery failing so I ordered a new one ($200). I left the new one in the garage as the old one seemed to have some life left.

About a month ago, I replaced front brake pads and rear brake shoes.

Two weeks ago we had our first cold snap and the wife calls me after arriving to work saying the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. She also said there was a grinding sound coming from the bottom of the car. I told her to limp it home. That evening, she dropped off her coworker, but when backing out of the driveway and starting down the street, the grinding increased, so she turned around. In the process, she hit a trash can and knocked the passenger mirror off. I told her to park it and get a ride home.

Next day I head over with new battery and insufficient tools. I hadn't brought sockets, so I ended up unattaching the old battery and then jumping it to the new battery. Re-start, all lights off. Backed up and heard the grinding in the rear drum, assumed it was some piece that I had installed poorly. Got home and pulled drum, auto-adjust arm for parking brake ($3) was loose and grinding on the drum, removed it, no problem. While car is sitting in garage with trunk lid open, 8 yr old hits the remote garage button and the garage door tears the spoiler off the car. I ask all women in the house to leave now and not to even think about the Prius. While removing the spoiler, it slide down and sheared off the washer fluid nozzle ($20 more).

Same day I installed an aftermarket 12v Optimus battery, tapped up all the various points of water entry created by the mirror and spoiler. Since I was going to the dealer for parts anyway, I changed the CVT fluid and spark plugs which needed done. I ordered and installed used mirror ($45) and spoiler ($145) and believed my troubles were over. Test drive went fine, no warning lights at all.

This weekend, driving back from Charlotte, we stopped for breakfast and upon starting the car, I got the P0A80 code (I don't have a reader, I went to Autozone). It went off by itself after a day, but this morning the gas engine was surging at a red light. I called Dorman to see how their warranty process worked since they purchased Re-Involt and the tech said that that code alone was not sufficient to assume the battery needed to be replaced. He said it should throw other codes indicating a cell is bad, or it could be several other things (ECU, relays, etc.). He recommended waiting to see if anything else happened, particularly having changed the 12v battery recently. After doing some reading and based on the positive statements here about Dorman, I want to believe him. So, my questions:

Is there a way to test the traction battery to determine if I have a bad cell without deconstructing the entire rear interior? I have ~40K left on the warranty, should I just drive it until it throws other codes? Is it worth going to the dealer for ToyotaTech diagnostics that would show cell damage to then take to Dorman?

At this point, I really love the Prius and find joy in seeing how long I can keep her running. Also, I am not afraid of just about any DIY, especially since the most damage I can do is only the value of the car, which is not much at this point. There is freedom in an old, long paid off car.

Thanks for your time and feedback,

Kuriti

 

thank you for your reply. Glad to see the site is back up. can anyone speak to whether Dorman's position is reasonable? So far my warning light has not returned, & I still have 40,000 miles under warranty. Is it worth additional diagnostics at this point?

 

Thanks stonerider, will do.