Hybrid System Failing?

Hi there,

Absolutely... the shop is called AutoDex, located near Keele St & Highway 7, in Concord, ON. The number is 905-660-0556, speak to Mony. Very trustworthy guy, really knows his stuff (works exclusively on Prius), and will be honest with you with what needs to be done or not done and is very fair with his prices. I've been to him a few times, nothing but good things to say about his work, and he has tons of references if you have any doubts.

Good luck!

 

Thanks much! Problem has gotten worse since my last post...losing power and battery fan constantly on. I'll see if I can limp to Concord from Mississauga on Tuesday! Thanks again!

 

No problem, and good luck.

When my battery failed, it declined pretty quickly as well, in about less than a week. Started with the charge level fluctuating very quickly, to "PROBLEM" message appearing on the screen (but otherwise driving "normally"), and then the fan blowing constantly, and sometimes losing all acceleration power (the Energy Monitor shows no power being provided by the Electric Motor) and lasted until I pulled over and rebooted the car. Rebooting worked short term, and recurrence became more frequent with each day, until I was able to limp to the shop, which was about 6 days from when the "Problem" message appeared (and the car was left parked the last 3 days).

You should be ok with limping there, but do get there ASAP, as a failing battery cell could become much worse if it ignored and it overheats and explodes and takes out a much more expensive computer.

I would recommend calling him before bringing it in (if you have not already done so) to be sure he can make space for you, and have a friend go with you to give you a ride back, as you will likely need to leave the car for a couple days, depending on how busy he is. But it will be like new again afterward, so if the rest of the car is still in good shape, it is definitely worth doing it.

Out of curiosity, what mileage are you at?

Tell him Kevin with the Blue 2006 Prius (300K KM) sent you, I had my battery done pretty much exactly a year ago (May 2013), and going strong.

Good luck!

 

Kevin, just picked up the car from Mony yesterday and like you said, it's like new again! Thanks again for the recommendation. The way the battery failed on my Prius sounded pretty much identical to yours with battery fan constantly on and losing power occasionally. Mony charged me $1000 + HST and took 3 days to fix it and gave me a 1-year no questions asked warranty on the repair. I did mention your name and he did have recollection of fixing your battery. I have a 2006 with 232K on it.

To all those in Toronto/GTA who needs a Prius fixed, Mony at Autodex is your guy! He had about 5 Prii parked out front, which indicates he knows what he's doing! Google "Autodex" and you'll find him.

 

Did OP ever figure out the problem?

I have a car that is behaving the same way. Will not run for more than a brief period on EV and will not discharge below 4 or 5 bars unless sitting with AC on . MPG is around 38-41 MPG. I am usually around 52-58 in any other Prius I drive. This car does have Enkei 17" wheels that are a little larger (215/45/17) and I am sure that is a 5-6 MPG hit. I have already replaced skid ECU on this car, replaced engine and transaxle to correct an internal coolant leak. It is running fine now with no codes or lights just doesn't go into EV mode for more than a brief moment and wont allow battery to discharge.

I suspect the HV ECU is bad or going bad.

 

Awesome... glad I could help and it worked out for you. I had my battery done just over a year ago (May 10, 2013), and have put 40K KM since then, still going strong. Prius are just awesome cars.

It's not easy to find a mechanic you can truly trust, but I have been back to Mony him a few times since for various minor unrelated issues (that come with high mileage) aside from the HV battery, and he has always been excellent, very helpful, and charge far less than a dealer.

I plan to buy another Prius (hopefully later this year), and the fact I have a connection with him for any future repairs is a huge factor...

Cheers!