AMAZING mileage....but the battery says otherwise...

So....I am in a bit of a super duper annoying dilemma. I wrote about this in a different forum and I did a pretty big hack job explaining my issues.

SO! Back in January my partner went from a gas guzzling jeep to a Prius until he graduates college, just a car that is not horrible to maintain and cheap on gas. The Jeep he was putting $60-100 week in gas into, the Prius ranges from $20-30...awesome!

In July on a super hot day the RED TRIANGLE OF DEATH came on. P0A80....replace hybrid battery. Sh*t! His Prius is a 2005, currently 210k on it (204k at the first incident). The battery was replaced with a reconditioned one at around 195k by the previous owner who took pretty good care of it. It was his family's shop car (they owned a detailing shop) and they did a really nice job keeping the interior practically new. Previous owner spent about $2500 on the battery and installation with 6 month (apparently) warranty.

Funny thing is that the entire christmas tree of lights enjoys coming on sometimes. It is driving me INSANE because I am the designated car nut in this relationship. I encouraged him to get this car for the sheer reason that it was a killer price and it would be somewhat reliable....well she has been....finicky. Had the major TSB repaired from Toyota where the spark plugs corrode and the engine misfires. That was terrifying. Currently submitting for Toyota to send a reimbursement but I doubt we will get it.

So the death triangle has come up a few times, my partner has my little handy dandy backup code reader to clear it because I will lose my mind if it stays on. I enjoy driving his car a lot, so the lights drive me insane. First time they came on, no issues at all until about two months later, reset, came back on a week later, reset, came on today (threeish weeks to a month later). Recently, his battery holds charge REALLY well. Almost always green bars, but staying within the blue range is usually best. The first two times this happened the fuel economy was really crummy, maybe 38MPG on a good day. The past two times....46+ no matter what. I calculated it by hand, the readout in the car is on the dot accurate. Now sometimes the battery does this little dance with the battery charge. Full, empty, back up for two days. Christmas tree, reset, Won't die like that for two weeks. mileage is amazing, the weather has also been quite pleasant, no super hot days here on the east coast, most days are anywhere from 65-80 at this time of the year. The first three times the red triangle of death/christmas tree came on, the days were 90-95+ outside. This last time, we had been driving all over the Maryland area (Annapolis) looking at boats/etc. GREAT mileage. Never fell below 46.6MPG, with him driving, 47.0MPG. My partner has also gotten the pulse-and-glide down really well. When he first got the car, we got about 56.0MPG on a cruise up I-95 from Baltimore to Philadelphia, but I was also driving like a total pap. No faster than 55...on that road was a bit of a risk I probably shouldn't have taken for some silly numbers.

So I think we have a bad cell in this refurbished pack...does anyone know of someone who can re-balance the pack and swap out that faulty cell? Because there is no way in hell I am putting another battery in that car...unless it is the Annapolis Prius specialist. He is awesome...my roommate has a 2006 with just shy of 300k, he put a bad pack in there a few years ago and swapped it immediately at no charge in less than an hour. considering having him just put a refurb unit in for $500. The guy who put the current refurb in really jacked me around, won't honor his warranty which has crazy stipulations and is really unclear.

Does anybody know anyone from DC to Philly who may be able to swap out the bad cell and re-balance the pack? Or should we just keep clearing the codes since the mileage is still doing really well?

 

I can guarantee it is the same code. My partner checks it every time and it is only P0A80. The battery does exhibit some weird behavior sometimes in regard to the meter fluctuating a lot. I have taken the covers off in the trunk to see if the fan maybe was not cooling it correctly. The case is only warm to the touch, which is as expected. The fan never runs very loud and i have check numerous times, it runs smoothly and never operates loud. I maybe one time have heard it and it was a very hot day. Never has it done that again. That day it was 104 out and the car had been in the sun, so I don{t see that out of the ordinary. I did speak with a prius specialist and he said clearing if it is the same code should not hurt. He did say there is a strong possibility that the 12v battery is finally going bad. I have noticed the interior lights are a tad dimmer than usual and the smart key has a tendency to take a moment compared to about 6 months ago. The 12v is original or very close to it....toyota OEM battery is in there. It still looks brand new, and undisturbed. The prius guy in annapolis told me that the 12v is a strong possibility and I have also checked it a few times, when in accessory mode, it drop below 12v or just at 12v. Maybe 11.5-11.9. I forgot to add that. He said that he has seen it trigger the christmas tree several times since the traction battery is desperately trying to keep the 12v full thus draining the traction battery quicker than usual. When sitting without the air on, the traction battery rarely loses charge, maybe one bar with the headlights on.....very rarely 2 bars. Motor may kick in for 30 seconds, cycle off and not cycle on until driving begins.

 

It was replaced in Dec 2020, Bought the car in January. Symptoms in July, apparently the battery has a base 6 month warranty and the previous owner got a 6 month extention. So 6+6=12/1 year.

 

I just talked to the previous owner. He said he had all the bad cells replaced and the entire pack rebalanced. I tried calling the company in July and the guy jerked me around for $500 to "replace" the bad unit. I found some reviews of the company that did it and there are several horror stories similar to mine. Previous owner thinks that with my symptoms there is a possibility of a loose terminal on the bus bar, since the actual charge holds fine and the mileage is right around EPA +- 2mpg or so. Sometimes battery drops to completely dead and it hops back up to a green bar or last blue bar and is fine for several days.

Expert I asked in Maryland thinks that the 12v might be taking a crap. Hovers around 11.8v when idle and 11.2 when starting then jumps to 14 when car is turned on. I believe the 12v is original, yes, original from 2005. I have someone who can also get me a Dorman HV battery, possibly cheap. If I can get it for really cheap then I might just get that and put it in.

 

I am a super BROKE college student, as well as my partner. I am suspect that the original 12v is still in there. I am going to test it tomorrow with my voltmeter and I am getting a new bluetooth code reader (as recommended by the Dr. Prius app) and go through that to check the block voltages. I guess I'll update from there.

 

I am going with that first. Cheapest repair, haha. The fact that we still get killer mileage suggests to me that the HV battery is fine. 12v is definitely tired to say in the least. The first time this happened, was the first time that he took a trip with all kinds of accessories plugged in....and had the music going pretty loud. That could probably suck the 12v down enough to cause some issues. Good thing is that pretty much all other repairs are done. All recalls are done (as per the toyota dealer), new struts in the back, new front brakes (September), new rear drums and shoes soon (we still have about 1/3 left), new tires (July), and a new taillight (brake light array went bad in passenger side) (September). This is really my only big issue, but i try to stay on top of everything since I am the car savvy one. Which reminds me, I need to change the oil! (I do it every 5k just for good measure, burns very little, always clean!)

 

If it comes to that I think that will be the best option. I called them and lightly "scolded" them about their crappy practices and putting their customers in a bad position. I got a weird call this morning regarding the warranty, the guy on the other end said some slurs then hung up. Not wasting my time with those buggers. Why do you recommend greentec?

 

Just looked at the greentec prices, they're actually pretty good and their rebuilt unit is only $800. I know it is kicking the can down the road, but I am broke broke. I also have my guy in Annapolis who will install with a 18 month guarantee for $800, and my friend has used him several times. He put one in her 06 and it went bad, replaced it next day for free. he honors his work and apparently the DC and Baltimore Prius people all go to him.

 

Yes and yes! We are either in the Philly area or Annapolis area, not far from either. Car still drives totally fine and I did lower the threshold of the battery fan on the Dr. Prius app to help the battery stay cool and hopefully prevent any further damage. I also have the guy in Annapolis who is actually extremely friendly. He has put two batteries in my one really close friend’s 06 and she has about 300k and still going strong. He offers a 12 month guarantee or if I pay $25 a month, he covers any inverter or hybrid battery repairs/replacements as long as I pay that. He even is willing to help on price and payment since we are broke college students. He is mobile and his $895 price includes either one of his rebuilt units (he has killer reviews and my friend’s family LOVES him) or to give us a loaner, rebuild our current dud and return it. Either way he goes with a battery in need it rebuilding. I’m probably just going to go to him because he is very nice, provides quality product that he stands behind, and will honor his product if it fails prematurely or if we are paying the monthly $25 for a service contract in which there is no deductible and he comes out the minute we have a problem. My friend had one of his units go bad, and he replaced it the next day. Hearing that and the fact that only he services their Prius and has nearly 5 stars across the board, I think we’re going to go to him.