P0a80

I called the service manager originally and he told me I would have to bring in the car and get a case created before he could call Toyota. He was aware of the service history (or lack of) at the time. So, the only purpose of me bringing my car to the dealer was so he could call Toyota. I doubt he would have gone through all the trouble only to not call Toyota.

I might call Toyota one more time, but havent decided. The first time I called them, they also cited lack of service history when they declined to help, so there is a common theme here.

 

Trademotion (the gulf freeway autonation toyota dealership that sells parts online) claims that they dont actually sell the prius battery on their website, even though its listed at ~$2000 on their website. When I called they they declined to sell it telling me that the freight charges are just too expensive (even though they couldnt tell me the amount). They said if I ordered it, they would just call me later to inform me that its cancelled.

So, I inquired to buy a battery from a dealership locally and they gave me a hard time. They quoted the price at $3200 and when I pointed out it should be lower, they mentioned its actually about $2600. When they found out I was planning to install it myself the parts guy started spouting outright lies (only a dealership can install it, the prius has to be reprogrammed to it, you need a special license to handle the battery, you need a special license to install it, etc.). I was pretty surprised by the clear disinterest Toyota has in selling me their overpriced $2600 part. So, I decided I shouldnt have to work so hard to give them my money and gave up with that, too.

In the end, I found a local place (Green Tec Auto) that sells a battery with brand new cells for $2200 with a 4 year warranty (which beats the 1 year warranty on the battery Toyota wont even sell me). So, I ordered that "new" battery and I will update with the results sometime next week after I install and test it.

 

I have spent 2 weeks thinking my decision though very carefully. I called each dealership in my location and received the same response (~$3200 battery, ~$4000 installed, "we dont want you to install it yourself"). I'm sure I could have purchased the battery (for list price of $2600) if I was persistent, but then I would have a battery with only 1 year warranty; and would have some extra work to do in the swap (battery ecu swap at the least). I'm happy for any of the people that are able to get these great deals that you have cited in this thread, but non of them have worked out for me. Toyota may not be as generous as you think.

My plan is to get my prius working with this battery and begin looking for a new vehicle that is better suited to my low mile lifestyle. This prius made sense when I drove 500 miles a week, but there are better choices for me now. This battery should increase my resell value because I can advertise it as a new battery with 4 year warranty.

That is a risk that I weighed carefully and is the issue that made me hesitate the longest. In the end, I decided to take the chance (obviously). The company only needs to stay open longer than a year to make it a better deal than a Toyota battery. Several dealerships that I called reported to me that people are coming in with failed gen 2 prius batteries like never before. So, it seems like the right climate for an aftermarket hybrid company to thrive.

Yes, they have several locations throughout the US. Even though I am installing the battery myself (which is not a difficult task), if my battery fails within the warranty, green tec auto will swap the battery for me, free. They will even come to my house to do it. Good luck getting a dealership to do that.

There have been new cells available for quite some time. I only recently started looking, but I have seen numerous threads on this forum spanning the last couple years from people who have purchased new cells and swapped them into their battery.

 

I thought of the refurb, but the problem is that I am an honest person with ethics and morals. If I bought the refurbed battery, I would be compelled to tell the potential buyer that the battery is refurbed and only has a few months left in the warranty. Compare that to being able to tell the potential buyer that it has a new battery with a 4 year warranty and I think it will at least recoup its cost if not net an increase. Most people who think about buying a used prius are worried about the battery, so being able to say its not only a new battery, but it has 4 years of warranty is a big deal (I'd like to think).

Imagine you want a used prius. There are 5 available for about the same year and same miles. One has a new battery with 4 years of warranty. 3 have original battery with no warranty. 1 has a refurbished battery with very little warranty. I think the new battery item would be first on my list for a test drive. The other 4 are basically the same value to me until I see them in person.

 

My response regarding ethics/morals was because JC91006 seemed to suggest that I should buy the cheapest battery I can and then sell the car to maximize my profit. He had also suggested I lie to Toyota earlier about my situation in an effort to get them to knock the price off a little as well. So, I just wanted to make it clear that I wasnt interested in deceiving anyone.

To answer your question, if I had tried to sell my car two months ago (before the battery problem was known) then I would disclose whatever information was accurate. I wouldnt say that "I have been driving my car in a way that is bad for the battery" only because I wasnt aware that low mileage is bad for the battery at the time.

 

I received the Green Tec Auto battery this morning and installed it today. Everything is running good. The battery started with some blue bars and quickly dropped to purple bars, which had me worried at first. But, then it slowly charged up to 6 or 7 blue bars and barely moved for the remainder of the 30 minute test drive. I drove up and down hills and stopped at lights/jammed the gas to the floor on take offs, but the battery held high blue the whole time. Much different than my dead battery which would be 8 green bars at every stop light and would stumble on every take off and drop to purple bars 3 seconds later.

Very satisfied so far and the install was a breeze. I even swapped the battery ECU because the Green Tec Auto installer suggested it. The battery ECU swap was as easy as expected, 3 screws and 2 wire plugs.

 

It's been nearly 4 months and the first 2-3 months were flawless, but a problem has appeared. The battery is starting to "bounce", which means it goes from very full to nearly empty after just one acceleration and goes from purple to green after slowing down to a stop for only 5-10 seconds. It also stumbles bad on heavy acceleration. Surprisingly, no codes have popped up yet even though my mpg has dropped to 43 (normal is ~49). All the signs that the battery is about to fail. Using OBD2 meter shows 3 cells are not following the other cell's voltages.

I'm hoping a code gets thrown soon so I can call GreenTecAuto to get a replacement battery under their warranty. I might just call this week without a code to see what they say.

 

As expected, the battery code P0A80 finally popped up and the dash lit up like a christmas tree today. It's looking like their "new" battery is actually just a refurb with a bigger warranty (as many people suspected).

GTA is going to replace it for free and they will do the swap this time. Hopefully this next battery lasts longer.

Also, interesting to note. I mentioned the new Lithium Ion battery they have for the Prius (which wasnt available when I bought my battery originally) and they offered to upgrade me if I want to pay the difference! The difference is about $500, so I'm considering it.

 

Do I sense a little "I told you so" attitude? Let's keep it classy.

Seriously though, I think everyone (including me) suspected the battery might not be new but the warranty is what drew me into the deal (4 years is better than the dealer's 1 year). Also, the scientist in me pushed me down this road because there was little to no information on GTA at the time and I wanted to blaze the trail and provide data and feedback for other Prius owners. Whatever this experience ends up as (good or bad), I hope my experiences help make other owner's future decisions easier.