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Oldest HV battery? also P3009 & transmission fluid

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by kbbpll, May 26, 2021.

  1. kbbpll

    kbbpll Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2008
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    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    I'm curious, in general what is the oldest / highest mileage HV battery? Our March 2002 is now over 19 years old with a bit over 276000 miles on it. The HV battery has never been replaced or "serviced".

    I had the dreaded red triangle last week and the shop pulled a P3009 code - high voltage leak detected. Subsequently they could not duplicate the issue. One of the things they asked me was whether I had recently had the transmission fluid replaced. I said no. I looked this up, and one site says that a short can occur through old transmission fluid because it can become conductive. (It turns out the shop asked me about this they said because fluid spills could cause the short).

    I'd have to look up my service records, but it's probably been 100k miles or more since I had the trans fluid flushed and replaced. So I had them do that. The problem has not repeated in the week since. How likely is it that the trans fluid was really the problem, or can I expect transmission failure or HV battery failure in the near future?

    Otherwise it still runs great. I had the inverter coolant pump replaced last year, and the ignition coils and plugs replaced last year as well, but no other big issues.
     
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  2. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    Location:
    Washington State, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Four Touring
    Out of curiosity, in what geographic location has the car spent most of its life? Garage kept or not? Letting a car sit regularly in the hot sun at a low latitude location is thought to reduce battery longevity.
     
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    The Gen 1 DTC is quite different from the Gen 2 with regard to P3009/P0AA6 codes.

    Gen 1 info here from a very reliable Prius source:

    2001-2003 Toyota Prius P3009
     
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  4. kbbpll

    kbbpll Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2008
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    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    Garage kept since purchase, Colorado (dry climate), 5500' altitude. I watched a DIY video and now I'm curious if the shop removed and cleaned the pan when they flushed it. In the video I saw, there was a lot of sludge in there. I'm mainly curious here whether the P3009 can actually occur because of a short through old transmission fluid.
     
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  5. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
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    N/A
    Do the test in the link TMR-JWAP posted in post #3. This will show you where to concentrate your efforts.
     
  6. kbbpll

    kbbpll Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    The issue has not recurred. If it does I will try to isolate it.
     
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