Hybrid battery -- Warning lights - Brake, Hybrid, Master, and Check Engine

It absolutely is the hybrid battery.

Try calling the people at ACDC, who run Up Your Voltage, a hybrid repair training class for pro mechanics in Worcester. Auto-Careers.org: Hybrid Training Resources Since 2000. They may be able to recommend a local installer, if not a local battery rebuilder.

There are two sensible options available to you: install a junkyard battery (must not have been sitting for more than several months) or install a reconditioned one from an online reseller, such as reinvolt or battery boy (ebay). Rebuilding the battery by yourself is a very time consuming process if you are just doing it as a one-off project and have no experience.

 

^^^
Good to hear the news and it's annoying to hear that dealers folks in CARB states are giving out bad info. I did ask about your warranty situation and what might be in your 05 booklet at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...raction-battery-experience-2.html#post1320075.

 

That's great news indeed!

 

Last Wednesday, May 11th this happened to my 2006 Prius. All the dash warning lights on and the little car with the line through it on the screen also. Toyota of Seattle service said it was the hybrid cell battery, but since I only had 86k miles, Toyota would pay and the car would be ready on Friday. Then Sat as battery was being overnighted from Portland. Then battery "in transient" from Japan and 300+ back ordered. This could mean on a boat and who knows where or when it would show up. With some very polite persuasion Toyota of Seattle is paying for a rental car for me from Enterprise. all went smoothly in picking up the rental. So my suggestion is to push a little and get a rental car too whenever part is in unknown transient. At this point they have called everywhere in USA without success so who knows when I will get my beloved pruis back.

 

The battery is probably "in transit" (as a transient refers to a temporary occurrence of some sort), and it is interesting to see this figure of 300+ in back order status. I'm surprised that we aren't seeing more posts from 2G members with failed traction batteries.

 

Does this mean that there are 300 out of 900,000 cars in US currently having HV battery problems? That's 1 in 3,000 currently, would be higher cumulatively. Seems scarily high.

 

300 does sound unusual. It'd be interesting to hear if that's for all Toyota hybrids or just for Priuses. Also, it'd be interesting to know how many are for failure vs. accidents.

 

My 2003 has rarely had any issues. I maintain it according to manufactures recommendations. It's got 180k miles on it.

For the first time since I drove it off the lot, the warning lights came on. An "SP", a picture of a battery and a red icon w a car and "!" going through it. I pulled the manual and the first two say, "see dealer", the third one says, "take to dealer immediately".

1. What could it be?
2. What kind of questions can I ask the dealer?
3. if it's the battery, are there any suggestions for experienced Prius mechanics in Phoenix?

Thanks a ton!

 

Usually, only one of the three icons will be highlighted in red. That is the one to be concerned about. Also, the one icon should be "PS" which relates to a fault in the electric power steering system.

 

should I check a fuse for the power steering? Now that you say that, the only one lit up in red was the ! but the manual doesn't say what that could be.

The car actually drives ok, not much difference in the ride, but did notice the steering is different. Does the Prius take PS fluid?

I just had the oil changed and all the fluids checked. They mentioned changing out the air filter, could that be effecting anything? Where do I get a new air filter?

Thank you for your help.

 

Also, I see you are local. I am in Deer Valley/Arrowhead area, can you tell me where might be a good place to take my car to get looked at?

 

If the only icon in red is the ! superimposed on the outline of a car, then that is the one to be worried about. That is telling you that the hybrid vehicle system has a problem.

The Prius has an electric power steering system and no PS fluid or hydraulic pump is involved.

You can buy air filters at your local Toyota dealer but that is not why the warning icon is on. I usually buy my Toyota parts "in bulk" from Champion Toyota in Houston, since they offer a good discount from MSRP and have excellent order fulfillment. toyotaworld.com

I do not know of any Phoenix-area Toyota dealers to recommend for service. If you were in Tucson I would recommend Precision Toyota.

I suggest you do a search to see whether that topic has been previously addressed. Good luck.

 

Wow deja-vu. I have the same car with the almost the same mileage as the original poster here - TommyG. It have a 2005 prius with 115k miles. On May 6 I started having the same problem lights and took the car to the dealer and was told the same thing (need a new hybrid battery). Same error codes even - P0A80 and P3022.

Dealer told me the battery warranty is only valid for 80K miles. I did some research and it seems to that only CARB states (California Air Resource Board) get the 10 year 150K warranty. So that would apply to these

California
New Jersey
Connecticut
Oregon
Washington
Rhode Island
New York
Maine
Massachusetts
Pennsylvania
New Mexico
Florida
Colorado
Arizona
Utah

Is that correct? So, the rest of us are just screwed!

 

As far as I know, CARB warranty does not cover Gen II sold in New Mexico, as it was not scheduled to go into effect until the 2011 model year here.

Buying a new battery from your dealer ought to be the last option. There was a story recently about someone else from Houston that was able to get a junkyard hybrid battery installed, for about $1000.

 

I posted this in another thread and it may help some here:

Regarding the price for a new Gen 2 traction battery, I see that it has now dropped below $2000.

Champion ToyotaWorld

Also I assume California was inadvertently left off the list of extended warranty states above.

 

Word on the street is that Gen II traction batteries are currently on national backorder due to the natural disaster. Also, cbourque is looking at paying >$3,000 to have the job done at a dealership ($2500 MSRP + 3-5 hours labor + tax), unless the service department can be talked down closer to the wholesale price of $1941.

I should have mentioned, that with the error code of 3022, it is probably just one single cell in one single module that has gone bad. It is a non-trivial job to replace modules, but it can be done.

 

I had a Re-InVolt rebuilt battery drop shipped to my Toyota dealer for $1600 and the dealer charged me 4 hours of labor for the install.

Some of the states in the CARB list came onto it later so it also depends on when you bought your Prius. My 2004 HV battery had a 8yr/100k mile warranty in CT.

JeffD

 

This is great information. The battery in this link is $1000 less than the dealer. Is this OEM?