"How do I know if my hybrid battery is failing?"

great idea! but i hope i never have to ask that question.

 

Still looking to split the cost of one of these. Use it once or twice a year.
Prolong™ HEV Battery Chargers & Dischargers.

 

You might get some responses if you allowed PMs.

GG

 

Didn't know I had that function turned off.
Fixed now!

 

2007 Prius, 92K miles, 5 months left in CA emissions warranty ... Just had our HV battery replaced by Toyota dealer (Santa Cruz), all smiles... no charge.... in and out in one day (in at 7:00 am, dealer had replacement battery in stock but lacked an air filter, so had to wait until afternoon to pick up. Dealer had courtesy van bring me home.

For past 6 months have noticed mpg slowly decreasing. First assumed it may have been due to new set of tires (tried increasing tire pressure to max tire rating which resulted increased road noise but no real significant change in mpg). Other than decreasing mpg, car seemed OK. Mileage kept decreasing (original around 45 mpg, down to 40 mpg in August, when took car to have hv battery stress test at well respectd local tire dealer (Lloyds) that had taken up Prius battery maintenence/repair business a couple years ago. Stress test resulted in a graph image printout (labeled 'Techstream' in top lh corner) that indicated battery marginal with an 11% decrease state of charge. Tire dealer said that they reccommend battery reconditioning (or replacement at our option) if decrease greater than 15%.

In October, mileage decreased to 39 mpg when one morning the triangle and check engine lights came on and the turtle shaped icon appeared in upper rh corner of screen. Car started ok so went for a short drive down the street and back. Seemed OK but when driving up/down steep hill noticed battery bars going up/down unusually fast. Bought Bosch OBD 1050 (bluetooth, runs with Android app on phone, $99), plugged it in and came up with code P0A80 'Replace Hybrid Battery Pack'. (Auxilliary battery voltage nominal.) Called to schedule service appt with Toyota Dealer for the next morning.

Started car next AM, more lights came on (VSC, tire pressure) and car ran rough until warmed up. Drove to dealer (downhilll/level, some freeway, about 8 miles) with car running smooth and battery bars going from bottom after started to hover in upper range). Did not mention to service mgr anything other than symptoms and all the lights.

After about 30 minutes mgr came with service papers to sign, telling me that computer diagnostics indicated that HV battery was bad. He said had one in stock but would have to wait until early afternoon for new HV battery air filter to be delivered before car would be ready for pick up. Car ready by 4 PM and drove home. Dealer invoice: N/C!

Sooooo....

POSSIBLE HV BATTERY HEADING FOR FAILURE IF MPG DROPS OVER TIME FOR NO APPARENT REASON WITH NORMAL DRIVING AND VERIFIED WITH MARGINAL RESULT DURING STRESS TEST BY (NON-TOYOTA?) BATTERY SERVICE FACILITY.

Wether or not spend own money to recondition/replace battery based on marginal stress test result is car owners decision to make. A second stress test made after a few more months driving that shows further degradation might be in order.

Having marginal stress test results from a reputable source in hand prior to warranty expiration might be a good thing. In that case Toyota may just offer to replace a battery if it happens to fail within a reasonable time after warranty is up.

I WAS LUCKY that car did not completely 'die' on me somewhere on the road and that it actually let me drive long enough to get to dealer.

The purchase of the OBD and resulting 'replace battery' code was somewhat of a relief. Other conditions that can cause the same lights/indicators to come on would well have caused serious damage to hybrid system if I continued to drive. (The on-board computer would (hopefully) have prevented further operation anyway.) The car seemed drivable and I had a pretty good idea feeling it would make it to dealer OK.

 

Thanks for this!

Purely editorial, should the intro read "subtle clues"? Not quite sure myself, lol.

BTW, that "third and final warning" phase in the Prius, that behavior went on for blinking years with our previous Civic Hybrid (pause to spit), before the warning lights finally came on.

 

Presuming you mean a bona fide Toyota Dealership workshop. What was the Toyota part number on the Invoice?

Sounds very much like a reconditioned battery, what was the warranty on it? Let us know the outcome of your service visit.

 

DEALER:
TOYOTA OF SANTA CRUZ


FROM INVOICE:

G9510-47031 BATTERY ASSY, HV SUP
G92DH-47020 FILTER, HV BATTERY I

CLAIM TYPE : WT94*



* I ASSUME THIS CODE REFERS TO CA HYBRID BATTERY WARRANTY


ALSO...

HYBRID BATTERY STRESS TEST PERFORMED BY:

Lloyd's Tire & Auto Care
Santa Cruz
Reputable business, 76 years, two locations in Santa Cruz, and a 'Hybrid Shop'* dealer.

*see hybridshop.com for information regarding network of dealers and services performed.


Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Good to hear....
Been a fan of Prius since my mom bought the one in question in '07.
A casual survey while driving around Santa Cruz reveals that around 3 out of 100 vehicles on the road, including trucks, buses and motorcycles, seem to be Prii.
Kind of reminds me of the number VW bugs on the roads in the '60s. Both Prius and the old VW's have unique body styles that make them easy to spot (at least until recently).
My guess is that folks in Santa Cruz tend to be:
Liberal minded (eco sensitive?)
Wealthy enough to not mind the extra cost of a Prius.
Like cool tech in a car.
Like to save gas when driving 'over the hill'.

As for my mom, she just likes the car (and appreciates the mileage).

And myself?

Alas, I drive a small pickup 'cause I tend to fill my vehicles with junk and a truck just makes a lot of sense.

Now if Toyota were to come up with a hybrid light truck I would snap one up in a minute!


Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Mine was experiencing deteriorating milage. Then the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Went to autozone and borrowed their code reader which said the battery was indeed no longer well. Drove for a week like that. Would occasionally lose power and top out at around 30 mph.

Wish I had explored replacing cells and fan filter and cleaning. Couldn't get the dang filter out and needed the car. But I doubt I would have been successful. Just would have liked exhausting other possibilities before $3K ($3,048 to be exact)

 

Check these out:

2005 Prius to Light Duty Pickup Truck Conversion | PriusChat

DISCOUNTED INSURANCE SALVAGE

 

Very obvious when a g2 battery is starting to age. Casual observance
Of the battery level meter over the course of the day will reveal car goes
Into one purple bar very quickly. Fast food drive threw will go purple very
Quickly.
My battery has been very good since new but lately has started the purple.
Have had excellent results with hybridauto charger.
It has taken about 10 charging sessions and all of a sudden i saw a 4 volt increase in max charge level from 237 to 241 and after a 18 hour session
The battery for the first time in months has not gone purple once.
Car has more power too.
I bought the recondioner too but see no need with this new result.