P0A92 code after replacing hv battery

Ok, so I had the battery replaced last night (Came with an 18 month warranty). Drove it around the block and the dash lit up like a christmas tree again... After much cursing and throwing things, I pulled out my simple scanner and pulled only 1 code: P0A92. A quick google search took me to a bad MG1... aka replace transaxle.

Today (as I type), my wife has the car at the Toyota dealership for a full diagnostic and to pull the subcodes (I want to know if there is anything else I need to replace while the whole engine is out. I have already found a replacement tranny for $136. Donor car was 2005 with 120k. I will be doing a fluid change when I install it but are there any gremlins that I should look for when purchasing this unusually cheap transmission. (comes with a 101 day warranty)

Question about why this would have happened: We purchased the car with a bad hv battery and knew it would need replaced. I had pulled the codes before buying the car and there were none listed for the transaxle. Only battery codes. The first mechanic we tried to get the battery replaced by said he was a "prius expert" and said that driving the car with a dead hv battery would be ok. Was this bad advice on his part or was the failings of the transmission due to some other issue that just didn't come up? We drove about 200 miles with the bad hv battery (mostly highway).

I am confident that I will be able to replace the transmission (not my first whole engine drop). I will try to remember to take pictures but usually forget when I am on a role with something.

 

So the codes that Toyota pulled from the car:

P0A7A/303
P0A92
P0446/526

The p0446 is a gas cap type issue it appears. The P0a7a is inverter performance and p0a92 is MG1. The dealership stated that it is the transmission and possibly the inverter. I am replacing the transmission this weekend and if still not fixed, the inverter.

Is there anything I should be asking a salvage yard about the transaxle or be looking for when I get one? (besides the miles)

 

Yes, I looked at the manual. $15 seems pretty cheap for the 2 days i will need it. I want the downloadable version but can't find anyone that has it. I am also following this thread: DIY: How to remove GenII Transmission | PriusChat It is VERY detailed.

 

Finished replacing the transmission. It took about 8 hours with myself, my dad and my friend. Only thing we had an issue with was pulling the axles but once we got the tranny out, they were easy to remove. I have to say, I would do it again if necessary, I just HOPE that I never do!

 

Welcome to the forum! Yes, changing the transmission/transaxle (whatever you wanna call it) did solve my problem. I have put over 300 miles on the car since replacing it and I'm getting almost 50 mpg to and from work.

Replacing it was pretty simple for someone with the knowledge to do things like that. It took me 8 hours from start to finish with help of 2 people. It was way easier than replace the engine in my 1994 accord and also still easier than replacing the transmission in my 2000 dodge durango. There are no bolts that require any additional equipment to get to like most transmission jobs and not having a torque converter makes things super easy.

Finding the transaxle was pretty simple if you have any salvage yards in your area. I found one on ebay and then found their website. On ebay they wanted $250 plus core of $75. I paid $200 and got a 1 year warranty. Make sure you get one from a wrecked prius so you know that car was in driveable condition before the accident. I'd say anything under $500 is a good deal if the miles are low. Best I found in my area was $450 and it only had 36,000 miles. I would have purchased that one but it was 5 hours away and the shipping would have been another $200. The one I got was 15 minutes from my house (they also have an inverter for when/if that goes out)

 

I purchased my prius with a bad battery and 256k. tranny was a side affect of driving on a bad battery based on what I read. The "new" tranny had 120k. upon flushing at after the install it was still pretty red so i'm guessing it was done at 100k but not sure if it was ever done before that.

 

Unless the salvage yard has a core charge, you'd probably get more money if you took it apart and sold the pieces for scrap. If you try to scrap it as one unit, they will give you a mixed metal rate which is way less than separate metals. I plan on taking mine apart this weekend... I really wanna see the inside of this monster.