P0a80

2005 prius, 74k miles.

I received the dreaded P0a80 code on Thu last week. It wasnt a total surprise as I noticed all the warning signs startup a month ago. So, I reset the ECU (erased the codes) and kept driving while monitoring the battery block voltages (using elm327 and an android tablet). Voltages looked fine but all the blocks would charge up and down much faster than they used to. The code popped up a few more times over the weekend, and I just erased them to keep driving. By the way, erasing the codes seems to put the car back into normal operation mode where it uses the battery properly vs reving the engine like crazy.

Yesterday, while accelerating to get onto the highway there was a clunking sound and I noticed block 12 was around 14 volts while the other blocks were around 18 volts. The prius decided at that point to stop using the battery entirely and become an ICE only vehicle with the transmission locked in whatever gear ratio it was in at the moment. Luckily, I was able to pull over, reset the ecu, and get home. After the reset, the prius resumed using the battery and transmission shifts normally.

Here is a screenshot of my bad block 12. Its not so bad in this screenshot, but when the prius shut down, it was almost 4 volts lower than the rest. It also charges much faster than the others, which indicates very low capacity.



My options:
1. delaership ($4,000),
2. buy new battery on trademotion ($2300) - self install
3. bandaid battery (remanufactured) locally (green tec auto) $800 (6 month warranty) or $1350 (18 month) - self install
4. salvage yard locally ($925) - self install - donor=2006 prius, 160k miles

Am I missing any options? Anyone tried Green Tec Auto yet?

 

It's 10 years old, so the warranty expired due to age. The warranty is 8 years/100k miles.

 

I tried calling the Toyota HQ myself and was denied. Is it possible to engage a service manager without bringing my car to the dealership and paying a "diagnostic fee"?

 

Im wondering if anyone has ordered the battery from trademotion (or any new toyota battery) and installed it? Does it have the ECU and shell already installed, so that its just a replacement operation? Or would I need to swap the ECU and shell from the old battery?

 

Thanks. How difficult is that? I cant seem to find any instructions or mention of the procedure online.

 

I forgot I had the repair manual from a previous repair. So, upon reviewing it, I can see several components attached to the battery. Do you know if the new battery is missing only the ecu assembly or is it missing all the other parts around the ECU (the upper battery carrier, service plug port, ECU, etc)?

If its just the ECU, then it shouldnt be too dangerous to swap that box. It looks like 3 screws and it lifts up and out. If its all the other components, then I agree the risk goes up since the service plug is involved and therefore cannot protect you during the operation.

 

The dealership was no help. The service manager hinted that Toyota was not willing to help because I never take my car in for service (I do all of the maintenance on my own cars). Apparently, thats how they measure customer loyalty.

 

I brought the car into the dealer. After waiting an hour for them to diagnose the issue and call Toyota, they reported the results from Toyota to me. The service manager said "Toyota is declining to help. Maybe if you had brought your car in for service a few times, they would be more interested."

I really like my Prius, but I only drive it about 2-3k miles a year now. So I'm not sure if I should keep it since the NiMH batteries dont seem to like sitting around in my garage unused. I'm considering installing a re-manufactured battery and trading it for a Nissan Leaf. 100% gas free is attracting my attention.