Newly replaced battery failing?

P0A80, I clear them and they are gone for 2 months then magically reappear. Funny thing is that the battery seems totally fine when it happens. Getting 45.4 mpg and almost 500 miles a tank. My guess is the seasonal heat and being parked in the sun.

 

He is really unsure. I talked and he said it could honestly just be a sensitivity fluke from the heat. He said if it drives totally fine and gets good MPG's to not freak out. Clear the codes, go along on my merry day. He said if it gets really frequent that it could be an indication that something is major. He made a remark that "if it comes on, it is sensing something is off, but there is a small possibility that it is just a fluke or the 12v is just really old and is sucking the life out of the HV battery". And with the windshield washer cowl TSB that only plagued a smaller amount of 2005 models, I wouldn't be surprised if this is just a fluke. I am going to clean the ventilation fan and go from there. It does move air, I have tested it with the smoke of a match and it sucked it right in. My guess is that it isn't moving enough air.


I'd also like to note that the car sat for 10 days about two weeks ago, and it was HOT when it sat. I know these cars are better being driven often rather than the former. So it sitting may have set a pending code and it finally came up. Who knows! Ill get to the bottom it.

 

I think I am probably going to drive it down to the guy in Annapolis. He is highly recommended and has a service where he will dismantle and re-balance the entire battery after finding the bad module and replacing it with one that will balance correctly with the battery. He has hundreds of good reviews from verified people, so I am going to probably going to get an opinion from him and go from there. I know hybrid battery "repair" is usually a bunch of BS and done by quacks, but I would like to see what his thought is since his reviews seem really promising. I did check the voltage and it did look fine to me, so maybe there is a failing module that I am missing. I'll check and see what he says.

 

Welp, it is the battery. Came back on over thanksgiving as I expected. Did a life expectancy test with Dr. Prius, battery is done. 35%. That's BAD! My Annapolis guy seems to be busy, so I might go to greenbean. They're local and from what I have read, their warranties are pretty good. Seems like a good setup. I drove my friend's prius the other day and it definitely is a difference from my partner's, it seems to drive a little power and has a little more pep, and my friend has 275k on it.

 

I don't have the money. Broke college student here. I am planning on picking a few batteries from junkyard prii and rebuilding/reselling them. I just don't have the time to do it with my particular situation. So I am going with greentech since they have an office nearby and have a good warranty and stellar reviews. Greenbean is overpriced.

 

I really want to do it, but I am likely going to buy myself two batteries from junkers and the supplies and do it myself, then resell them, I really would like to do this for work, but to fix my current situation I would need way more time that I do not have at the moment. My partner needs the car every day. He works a lot and doesn't have much alternative. Luckily the one I found is reasonable and has a warranty.

 

UPDATE!!!!!

Ended up being the HV battery. It was a Falcon Hybrid Battery. Horrible company. They recently went out of business from what I presume their terrible build quality and possibly people going after them. After being angry for so long I forked the money out to have GreenTec Auto do the swap out and can I say, they are absolutely wonderful. They even came in on a Sunday to install the rebuilt unit when they're usually closed. All in all, it was $1,000. I did not trust the quack that was screwing around with me that originally did the Falcon Battery. GreenTec was not only super easy to work with, but they have 4.9 stars across the board. I now know why. They told me that Dorman, GreenBean and Falcon batteries are junk. The guy told me that they just don't have the best knack for rebuilding HV Prius batteries. I was originally going to go with Jack with Prius Repair in Annapolis, MD, but he was swamped and would've had to rebuild the existing unit, which I did not have any time for. His prices are extremely competitive though at $895 for a full rebuild or swap out.

GreenTec gave me a very nicely detailed 12-month warranty that is clear and easy to use if there are any issues. The installer from pulling the car into the shop and out with a new battery was less than 45 minutes. Amazed. He flashed the car's computer and said that the Falcon Hybrid battery was a mess, voltages all over the place, resistances through the roof, temps a mess also. He said he was surprised at how bad it was and that the car was definitely working more to keep up with the rapidly discharging battery. He said my odd symptoms made sense, from the battery almost always staying full then for a few days going from dead to full super fast and constantly and the sporadic codes being out for months then coming back on within hours of resetting. I did a life expectancy test with Dr. Prius with the old battery, which rendered around 34%...aka JUNK! Just did a test with the new GreenTec battery, 98.10% life left in the battery, which not only makes me happy, but absolutely exceeds my expectations by an amazing amount. I was seeing from others around 75-95% after a rebuilt replacement, 98% is even better. The car drives so much better than before. I got it down to Chestertown, MD last night, drove to Bowie for the battery, then to Alexandria, VA with the new battery. Average mileage climbed quickly and is probably much higher since it is still factoring in the mileage from the previous unit. More power, more use of all electric and the motor cycles much much smoother than before. Battery stays nice and cool, the voltages stay nice and even with little variation, resistances are nice and even and the SOC holds wonderfully. Bravo to GreenTec and their exceptional service and being picky with the product that they rebuild and sell. That said, Prius Hybrid Repair in Annapolis is also still amazing, and both companies know of each other and neither have issues with each other's products. Once Jack from PHR in Annapolis told me GreenTec was good, I knew they were awesome and they definitely lived up to their claims and promises.

 

I am planning on that! So far the mileage is significantly increased, and other battery stats I’ve seen this one is performing better than pretty much all rebuilds I’ve seen. Who knows?