P0AA6 -> 526-612

Hello everyone

I have a Prius 08, 124 k miles. New to me I'll give some context for my questions, which are at the bottom in bold.

One day, I got the red triangle and the 5 lights to the right of it. Nothing useful from the screen. Did not go into Drive or Reverse.

I had it towed to Toyota. They got the P0AA6 code with 526 and 612 codes. They said "system isolation fault" was the problem technically, and I was told "there's corrosion" all in the battery pack. They said the solution was a new HV battery.

I had it towed back to my house because I couldn't afford a $3k repair right there and knew I should shop around. When the tow truck driver returned it he said it would drive. I assumed this was because they had cleared the codes at the shop. So I drove it into my parking spot and noticed the battery (on the display) was purple. That was 2 weeks ago.

I decided I would just wait to get a new battery, maybe 30-45 days. Can't afford it just this minute. Yesterday I turned the engine on so it could breathe a bit and, per the display, the HV battery charged from the engine being on.

I'm trying to save money to get this thing fixed. I forsaw this being a cost when I bought the car, but my Car Emergency Savings has taken a hit so I'm trying to save up for it.

Extra details: it had one single previous owner and the inverter pump was replaced at 78k

My questions:

1. Can the car be driven? I know it'll run and it'll move. I want to take it within 2 miles - no further. Just so I can get weekly grocery shopping done with some ease. I don't want to worsen the problem. I've read many threads on this topic... some people get by weeks after those codes, others warn that it could explode at any moment. I will start to scoot around the parking lot so the tires and 12v don't become a whole other problem.

2. Should I get a 2nd opinion? I'm ready to bite this cost, but I realize I may need a 2nd opinion. I don't think they would lie about the codes that popped up, though. I live in the South, where hybrid mechanics are a bit difficult to find. If anyone knows anyone in Anderson/Greenville, please do tell. Most folks want $3k. Greenbean will take 1.5k and come to my home.

 

Thank you!!!

 

Also, update: I've avoided driving the car even though it would go into drive but today I had an errand to run about 2 miles away that was urgent and time sensitive so I drove it. I live in the Upstate and it's very hilly and the car drove me there fine. I'm still learning about how the hybrid system/transmission (or "not transmission"?) works so I was afraid for the hills/power exertion but I got there and back fine.

I suppose once a week I'll take it to the grocery about a mile away and maybe get a reader so I can clear it if needed until I can get the battery fixed.

 

So you're saying this can't be predicted - it won't throw the code till it does, and I can't predict that or drive any type of way to prevent that from happening. I guess I should mentally prepare to disconnect the battery at the drop of a hat.

I would love to learn about the services you could provide! Could you message me or should I message you?

 

@TMR-JWAP because I'm new and don't have enough posts, everything takes forever to get moderated but I am VERY interested