We've owned 2005 Prius for several years, has 190000 miles on it. Last week many warning indicators came on and off erratically, sometimes off for a couple of days. On advice found somewhere online, we had the auxiliary battery checked first, since a bad batt apparently can sometimes start these kinds of issues. Aux. batt was OK and the guy told us to go to the dealer for diagnostics. $60 dollars and 5 days later they called to tell us the Hybrid battery coolant control valve is (and has been) "stuck" for some time. They suggested replacing the valve and battery for a little over 6K. We love our Prius, but geez there has to be another way! Found a place "Falcon Hybrid Solutions" with $950 replacement battery and instructions for DIY. Anyone have experience with them? What is worse case scenario if we drive locally without addressing this for a week or so? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Did the $60 you gave to the dealer for a diagnostic scan on your vehicle (cheap compared to here) include an invoice with the results/codes (DTC and INF codes) outlining their findings, if not you should ask them for such as it will help with any further suggestions.
$60 is cheap for a dealer diagnostic. Generally it is $110 or more. $6,000 is high for a replacement battery. You can generally buy a new one for less than $3,000. Installation is a few hours at most. So even at $125 an hour it should be less than $500 more $950 for a replacement battery is NOT NEW CELLS! It cannot be compared to a battery with NEW CELLS from Toyota. There are some seriously terrible opinions of Falcon here on PriusChat. Do some more searching. A new battery will last as long, if not longer than your original battery. How long will a one made up of used/junkyard cells last? It cannot last as long as a new one. Your original one lasted 11 years! Will a used one last 11 years? No, it won't. Will it last 5 years? I doubt it. 3 years? Maybe if it is warranted 3 years. 1 year? Hopefully. Be careful about driving it. It can easily leave you stranded. And I have seen other damage done by driving on a failing battery. Including the battery pack going "pop" and releasing fumes/mist into the car. Kinda icky. Feel free to call if you want to discuss batteries and options. I help people talk through options all the time. It's a hard to decide what direction to go. There are definitely some batteries that I do not install for customers.
I think my first option would be to trade it in. If that is not an option for you right now........ I would replace the coolant control valve AND the 12 V battery too if it is over 5 years old (the standard tests don't always show up a bad one). Then if codes come back, get a second opinion. But given the age and mileage, a failing HV battery should not be ruled out. Trying to get by TOO cheap often costs more in the long run.
falcon?!? isn't there a thread here? if a battery rebuild is reliable, why do you have to pay for a warranty beyond 90 days?
As said before, good price on the diagnostic. TERRIBLE price on the battery. At 190,000 miles, I would take it as a good opportunity to get a newer Prius. But, if I was getting a replacement battery, it would be a new one and have a reasonably priced dealer do it. That price can't be real even including the valve. I think maybe they want to sell you a car or else (given how long it took them to read the codes) they have too many customers and don't want you bothering them.
Good point. I was assuming he meant "Inverter coolant control valve," or just "coolant control valve." I admit to breaking my cardinal rule by assuming. Best to be sure we're all talking about the same thing since there is no such thing as battery coolant, at least in my Prius.
Perhaps the 3 way valve? That is not an urgent issue. And if trading it in I'd be tempted to skip it.
Hard to know without any codes to work with.. could it be : Prius P1121: Coolant Flow Control Valve Position Sensor Stuck - Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists Looking at the linked image... how safe is it to lift up on the inverter when doing the R+R, is it just 2 bolts, lift it and wedge it ??
We'll be picking the car up tomorrow and expect to get the full report with codes. Are you guys telling me there is no "cooling system" specifically for the hybrid battery? My wife is quite sure that was what they told her the stuck valve was for. I'll check in again after we get the codes. Thanks for all the replies.
Just to be clear, not all DTC(s) have INF(s). Don't worry if after inquiring you are told there aren't any INFs documented for a particular DTC, just roll with it and your invoice (containing the codes), while feeling happy this stealership ordeal only cost $60
Stuck valve is usually for the thermos that recovers and stores hot coolant. By saving the hot coolant in a thermos, it can be used later at engine startup. This reduces engine warmup time which helps lower tailpipe emissions.
When I saw "hybrid battery coolant control valve" I was going to say something snarky about muffler bearings and blinker fluid, but then I wondered if maybe a word got missed and they meant "hybrid battery" and "coolant control valve", just two different things, one in back, one under the hood. After all, the next sentence says they suggested replacing both things. I'm just speculating, but the codes will clear it up. -Chap
Almost feels like a bait and switch, $60 for a diagnostic, then because you didn't complain about not having your car for 5 days (or not being offered a loaner) they stick you with a $6k estimate thinking you have all the time and money in the world. Reminds me of the "Local Stealer", they wanted $168 for a diagnostic when I inquired about being covered under the brake actuator warranty enhancement (received the letter), to which he added if it was found defective there would be *no charge*. Not to fault the service adviser, at least he told me to save the letter (just in case) and said of all the of Prii serviced not one has qualified (they must make $$$$ off others and had no interest in a paltry invoice). Granted this is the same stealer that sends glossy postcards offering to "Replace your cabin air filter (with Genuine!!) for only $69". Really? like Wth. But if you go 7 miles to the other dealership (yes, I said it) they offer all kinds of freebies... brake inspections, flat repair (even if purchased elsewhere), diagnostics (even supplying the codes), multi-point Inspection, battery check, espresso and bagels, etc.. Which all just makes it feel like some sad kind of good cop bad cop routine, except you never really know who's who in franchise land do you?
Back again. I didn't believe the dealer's diagnosis since there had been zero indications of anything having been wrong prior to the warning lights all coming on together the first time. I tried disconnecting the aux battery and restarting. No lights came on and the hybrid monitor screen showed everything working as normal. I drove around our parking lot at a crawl to see how far it would go on just the electric motor. It went about 6 laps (5-10 minutes) before engine started. Then went for a 10 minute drive on and off the highway with all accessories including AC running. Still no lights. Came home and shut down one thing at a time, shut car off. Then stared again...All lights back on! So finally, I reset again by disconnecting the aux battery and decided to go for a longer drive. Was getting pretty cocky 'cause everything seemed good. Was about to go to dealer to ask "How do you explain this?" 30 minutes and 18 miles later they all did come back on, and when I parked it I heard (first time ever) the fan by the back seat come on. So I shut it down and have no idea what to do. We do not have the resources to trade it in. I'll scan the diagnostics and post later. Thanks all.
So what codes did the dealer pull? Clearing the codes doesn't make the problem(s) go away. It'll just take longer to discover the source. From the last post it sounds like the traction battery was pushed long enough and hard enough to "completely" fail. My guess is that you'll find you are down to two options: Buy a new battery from a dealer with a 3 year warranty that should last at least 10 years. Buy a refurb battery elsewhere with questionable reliability and warranty. Do it right and do it once. Do it cheap and you'll do it again.
So many codes that I would go back and start with 12v to be sure 100% that it is OK. After I confirmed that was good I'd look closely at the hybrid battery. Checking the voltages of the blocks under load while charging and while discharging. If there was a problem it would show up there. Would be nice to see the block voltage screen from the scan. Or get an OBDII reader and take a screenshot for us to go over with you. If it is truly the hybrid battery, then you will need to decide what is best for you. If you'd like to talk through ways you can do some more diagnostics yourself and really confirm for yourself what is happening, feel free to call me. I can walk you through some ideas.
