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2005 with P0A80 error in CA - one month out of warranty

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rightonbro, Jun 15, 2015.

  1. rightonbro

    rightonbro Junior Member

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    I haven't been on Priuschat for a long time, but my '05 Prius popped the red triangle today. Car has been great until now. I bought the car here in Los Angeles, and I understand warranty is 10 years or 150,000 miles according to this press release from Toyota:

    Our Point of View: Prius Battery Change is No Big Deal | Toyota

    I have about 110,500 miles...but I'm one month out of warranty. Called Toyota to ask for out of warranty assistance. They said they'd review my case, but are skeptical because I haven't taken the car into Toyota since 2011 (when I started having everything done with an independent mechanic), and they want to see loyalty. This is my third Toyota, all of which were financed through TFS, and I bought Toyota Care for this car. I'm taking the car in to the dealer tomorrow to start the process of Toyota considering my case.

    Is it at all possible that P0A80 could be caused by something else? Coincidentally, I replaced the engine air filter right before the red triangle popped. I thought maybe the mass air filter needed cleaning until I took the car to Pep Boys and asked them to pull the codes. It showed only the P0A80 code, nothing else, if that's of significance.

    Dealer quoted me $3400 to replace.

    I get that the battery was going to die eventually, but right at the 10-year mark and 40k under the stated 150k doesn't seem right.
     
    #1 rightonbro, Jun 15, 2015
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    go for a goodwill warranty. if denied, and in the meantime, start your due diligence. are you having any drivability issues?
     
    #2 bisco, Jun 15, 2015
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  3. rightonbro

    rightonbro Junior Member

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    No drivability issues, although I commute about 80 miles once or twice a week and I'm afraid to do that right now. I haven't noticed any drops in mileage or funny behavior otherwise. Do you think I can do less than 5 mile trips to the store over the next few days while I figure things out?

    What kind of due diligence do you recommend? I'm keeping records of all of the calls I'm making, and have started shopping around for replacement costs. Found a local highly-rated-on-Yelp mechanic who will put in a new battery for $3200. I'm a little bit reluctant to go with a remanufactured or salvage battery, as I think I might keep the car for awhile. Almost bought a new Prius a couple years ago but just sort of figured there wasn't anything wrong with my current one.
     
    #3 rightonbro, Jun 15, 2015
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would read as many battery threads here as possible to learn the pitfalls. i agree with a new battery in your situation. shop around though, before deciding. some dealers will do it for that price.
     
    #4 bisco, Jun 15, 2015
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    have you checked your 12 volt health? and make sure all the hoses are connected properly on the air filter.
     
    #5 bisco, Jun 15, 2015
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  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Let Toyota sort this out for you, they have been good with the goodwill stuff lately.

    Owning 3 Toyota vehicles shows a lot of loyalty
     
    #6 JC91006, Jun 15, 2015
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  7. rightonbro

    rightonbro Junior Member

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    I haven't checked the 12 volt health, I will do that and check the hoses. I replaced that battery a couple of years ago myself (I think it was an Optima battery). Also reading a ton of battery threads. Thank you!
     
    #7 rightonbro, Jun 15, 2015
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    good point about 3 toyota's, push that home to the dealer and corporate. especially the tfs, they make a lot of money on that.
     
    #8 bisco, Jun 15, 2015
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  9. rightonbro

    rightonbro Junior Member

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    Quick update - Toyota called back and offered partial reimbursement, which I'm grateful for. Also managed to get the local dealer to pricematch the battery. I'll post numbers for the tracking thread when I get my car back. Thank you for your guidance on this!
     
    #9 rightonbro, Jun 17, 2015
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  10. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Once Toyota offers assistance, the battery price should automatically drop, as well as the labor charge. usually done on a set warranty rate. Kinda like health coverage, the plan pays a certain amount (usually way less than retail) and the provider says, thank you mamn, may I please have another.
     
    #10 JC91006, Jun 17, 2015
  11. Irish4

    Irish4 New Member

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    Hello, I have a 2005 Prius and got the P0A80 code on Fri. It happened about half way thru a 400 mi trip, after fueling up. I made it to my destination, checked into my hotel and did some quick research on the problem (finding this forum in the process). I went to grab something to eat and after picking up my food and returning to the car, I started it and the warning triangle and CEL did not return. The car has 105K on it. I bought the car this May and it is my first Prius.

    My questions are:
    - Will the CEL/warning lights go out after cycling the car on and off a certain number of times (I did this a few time at first to see if it was a fluke and after stopping at Auto Zone to get the code pulled)?
    - Would weather have anything to do with it (I live in the CA desert, the issue happened in Quartzite, AZ and it was stormy. With the monsoons, AZ is always more humid/wet then where I live)?
    -If I took it to the dealership, would they still be able to pull the codes/history/troubleshoot the problem even though the CEL is off (Ford doesn't do a good job of this when I've had problems with my truck)?
    - I assume that even though the CEL is off, it's just a matter of a short time before the battery will need to be changed?
    - Any issues making the 400 mi trip back home, I'd rather deal with it back there?
     
    #11 Irish4, Oct 18, 2015
  12. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You may want to call a dealership that is open on Sunday, (longo Toyota in el Monte ca), ask them to check if your car is still under warranty.

    You may or may not be able to make it home on a 400 mile drive, that's pretty far to be stranded if the car decides to stay on limp mode.

    You can reset the car by disconnecting the 12v battery negative for a few seconds. You can keep doing that until you get home......but 400 miles is a gamble
     
    #12 JC91006, Oct 18, 2015
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