Prius v: Multiple Warning Lights, Hybrid Battery Code, but 12v Disconnect Fixes it. Huh?!

Merv wants to fix it Himself

 

Its pretty clear you are not reading the posts or we are not communicating well because of a lack of a common vocabulary. I suggest an obd2 reader with the apps needed and you say maybe if its not too expensive. The post shows its $28 from Amazon. Others recommend the same app and explain how codes are not instantly set after a reset. One suggests a $75 diagnostic. Around here that is a dealer price for a half hour. Another gives you a contact for a priuschat member that has the factory scanning ability. Probably free. But you act like we are failing to read your question. “Hi all. I'm trying to avoid a trip to the stealership. Any help would be much appreciated.” Not sure its really appreciated.

So maybe we should say check the battery fan. Wait we did suggest that, even though that $28 scanner will tell you the exact temperature in real time if your knowledge base is there. Without spending an hour to get to it. I am sorry if some us suspect that the “most likely” problem is the battery. But that is the only code you provided.

When you get a bill from us for three hours of diagnosis time on your car with our tools, then I might complain if no pathforward is obvious. In the meantime I believe you are getting first class advice from people who have been there with the exact same concerns.

 

I'm not seeing as much of a mystery. You're being given a trouble code that tells you your traction battery is not long for this world. The mystery "how can I be getting that code when I don't think that's the case?" seems like more of a self-created sort of mystery. It seems you think that can't be the case, because your car drives like a car without a failing battery, every time you force it to it forget that it has a failing battery and should be driving protectively.

Chances are you will be succeeding at making it forget that for shorter and shorter periods of time, and you may or may not have one of those periods of time end with a pop, bad smells, and a tow.

A dealer visit is optional, but it would probably be a good use of time to research what you're going to do about the battery. A simple and good option is to replace it. A much more complicated and usually shorter-term option is to take it apart and whac-a-mole individual problems. All of the options are discussed at length here on PriusChat.

In any event, having a working Techstream rig so that you can avail yourself of all the information the car is trying to give you will make a lot of things easier.

The reason other dash lights come on at the same time is that the different computers in the car talk to each other, and some will set trouble codes and light dash lights because they know of a problem detected by another ECU. For example, the brake ECU has to know about issues detected by the power control ECU, because it needs to count on the latter to make regen braking happen. When it becomes aware of a problem, it will set codes of its own accordingly, and light the brake/slip lights on the dash, which it is responsible for.

 

The repair manual for the Prius is 1000 + documents. It's much easier to take advantage of the built in diagnostics than to figure out the problem without it. Battery or not, get the codes read and call us in the morning...

moto g(7) power ?

 

Are you assuming I haven't thought about it? Or just not seriously?

 

Merv, people who have given you suggestions are frustrated because you have not indicated that you have followed or plan to follow the advice given including low cost ones like getting an OBDII bluetooth adapter from Amazon and running the Dr. Prius app. So, please indicate what you plan to do now that people have made several suggestions other than go to the dealer.

 

There is a difference between an OBD2 reader and a OEM diagnostic computer. It all starts with the law that said that non-dealers must be able to diagnose ICE problems and emissions troubles. And so the generic code readers can. But modern cars are far more complex and the dealers computer not only reads lots of codes that a generic code reader doesn't relating to systems beyond those covered by the generic OBD2 reader but also has links to recommended diagnostic sequences, parts numbers, TSBs, etc that help the tech efficiently troubleshoot. And shotgunning gets really expensive.

In my garage I have a generic OBD2 cose reader (Actron). For my last car (a 2001) it would read less than 25% of the possible error codes that car could emit. Now fast forward to your car and its hybrid nature.

My suggestion would be to post your location and see if someone can point you to a trusted hybrid mechanic or battery replacement place. Sometimes you just have to spend the money to shorten the time between problem to fix.

 

One reads a lot about people here setting up an old Windows laptop to run the same magical software used at the dealership, which is called Techstream.

 

Dr. Prius recommends the Carista adapter. Hybrid Assistant App recommends the OBDLink LX and also says Carista is OK. I have the OBDLink LX and it works well.

 

I think some people have run it on Mac under virtualization.

 

Merv, The answer to that question is 100% yes. Up until the point where the battery totally fails and puts you in limp mode at all times.

The P0A80 code merely is giving you a warning and car drivability remains the same. Once a module fails badly enough to trigger a P30xx code to indicate a specific module, the car will go to limp mode.

The car is not lying to you. You're just failing to listen to it right now.

 

Although I specialize in Gen 2 batteries, I have worked on some Gen 3s. The ecu's in a Prius are not isolated from each other. Many ecu's will trigger additional codes once a hybrid code triggers. Basically, if a battery triggers a HV code, other ecus linked to the HV system will also trigger codes saying, "OMG..there's something going on with the HV system"

 

This thread shows some info that may help explain what's going on with your battery..it also shows the dash indicators that light up on a Gen 2

Just Another HV Battery Thread and Experiments | PriusChat