Weird, intermittent indicator lamps (VSC, Battery, Triangle of Doom, "(!)", and Hybrid System) P0A08

Well, I think I could have done the repair myself but needed the car repaired quickly and there were no prius' at the local pick-n-pull, so I went ahead and had the dealer do the repair. They offered a 15% discount so the total to replace the DC/DC Converter (I think they literally swapped just the DC/DC Converter, and did not replace the entire inverter) came out to $1600 out the door...

On the way home, the lights came back on, this time, accompanied by Check Engine light. I decided to just go home and run TechStream to see if its the same code or a different one. Different code.

Now I'm showing P3000 and P0A80...

Does this mean I paid $1600 for nothing? This appears to be related to the hybrid battery. I was suspicious that the DC/DC Converter was not at fault when my 12v battery readings kept coming back fine (based on comments I've read from you in other related threads). I questioned the dealership and they said that replacing the converter was Toyota's confident recommendation, so I agreed... Now I'm thinking I made a mistake. Maybe it was the hybrid battery that was at fault all along?

Is it possible for a botched DC/DC install to mess up the batteries? The guy told me they did a hybrid battery check and it showed the battery was fine. Something seems weird.

 

From the print-out:
G9270-47040 "CONVERTER ASSY" -- $688.98
00272-SLLC2 "SUPER LONG LI" -- 24.19
08826-00100 "SEAL PACKING" -- 95.92


I did the battery fan clean-out just in case. It wasn't terrible but pretty dusty.
Check-engine light remains.

I did notice some weird battery behavior on the screen, where it would be full, then show empty. Thought maybe this was due to the car being disconnected from the 12v for a while and its "relearning" itself. Battery seems to have stabilized now but stays toward the bottom around 2 or 3 bars. I think the check engine line first came on when it got down to 1 bar.

What is weird is that I never experienced this behavior before. the P0A08 code is gone thanks to the dealer, but now I have two new one's in it's place. Not sure whether I'm just lucky, or if it wasn't the DC Converter at all, or if this other issue was being covered up somehow by the DC failure..

I'm still suspicious that the converter was fine given my 12v readings being consistently good.

 

Well, I checked the oil and noticed that it was past full... I'm thinking the technician was trying to do me a favor as part of their standard service and topped me off.. I used my handy vacuum pump to siphon out a little so that the dipstick reads about 90% to the full line.

I reset the DTC using tech stream and so far, the light has not returned.

The SOC stays mostly around 80%, occasionally getting up to 100% full green bars, and only once through the entire day did I notice it plunge down to 2 or 1 bars... I think last time the check engine came on, it was when the SOC 1 bar dropped to 0 bars, but my memory is fuzzy on that. Probably making it up.

I also noticed a kind of hot, motor-oil smell after driving the car for a while.. Is this a symptom of overfilling the oil?

 

Well, I took it back to the dealership today and they are saying my HV battery appears to have also gone bad by coincidence.

Considering the DC/DC converter rarely fails except by botched jumpstart (which has not happened), and considering that my 12v was being recharged fine, what are the odds that the converter really did not need replacing at all, and that it was the HV battery all along?

Can a dying traction battery cause P0A08?

If not, is it possible that a bad converter can somehow "disguise" a failing traction battery?

It just seems awfully unlikely that both of these would fail simultaneously, or that the traction battery would die the day I get my car back from a converter swap...

I called Toyota and though its a 2005 with 160k, they are going to get back to me on whether they can provide me with any out-of-warranty assistance. Very generous of them.. yet I can't help but feel disappointed.

 

UPDATE: Toyota Good Will Battery Replacement!

Just wanted to post an update. I called Toyota and they ended up doing a good-will battery replacement for me. Total out the door cost for the new battery was $200....

Can't believe it. So grateful! It definitely pays to ask!!!

 

Yes. 200 bucks. For anyone else looking into this, I called the following number (toyota customer service) which was provided to me by my service advisor at the dealership. He told me that I would need to call and open a claim, then toyota will call the dealership and speak with the advisor and/or manager and I believe they review your history at the dealership. I assume if you spend a lot of money at the dealership and have purchased cars from them, you might have better luck, but I'm not sure what all goes into the decision. just speculating.

1 (800) 331-4331