2006 with 102.4K miles battery failure

The dreaded P0A80 code reared it's nasty head today. I purchased my 06 new in Mckinney, TX Aug 14th, 2006 and it has been trouble free for the last 6 years of commuting. I was over my 6y/100k warranty by 2.4k miles of course. My gas mileage has been worse than normal over the last week 43 vs 48 typical. Then I noticed the battery gauge was erratic yesterday, but the car was driving normal. The gauge would show regen recharging while braking and go from two bars to full in about 100 yards.

I left work to go get some lunch and I didn't even get out of the parking lot before the warning lights trigger for the first time. I went to Autozone to have them scan the codes and they confirmed my gut feeling. I limped to the dealer and the service guy winced as I told him the code. He knew the P0A80 by heart somehow without looking it up. Surprisingly they had the battery in-stock and unsurprisingly quoted $3100 for repair. I asked if they would do some good faith warranty extension, so the guy went to ask the service director. He said they would split it with me which is good for my wallet, but still a kick in my hybrid confidence. I was hoping for the 200k+ battery everyone else seems to have.

The service guy said they had quite a few failures recently and they seem to be more age related than high mileage related. I just wish it would have went bad 2500 miles ago. They gave me a loaded Prius V for a loaner and it is much quieter than my 06, but I am pretty sure this is my last Prius.

 

If I had time and an extra car, I would have definitely fixed it myself. I have worked on electronics my whole career, but I am going out of town Sunday and my schedule doesn't permit any fiddling. My Prius A/C stays set on 70-72 year round due to my ability to sweat like it is a sanctioned sport. Maybe the Texas heat accelerated the battery's demise or something. It spends a lot of time in the airport covered parking when I am traveling. It did feel very sluggish while accelerating up the exit ramp, when I picked it up last Friday night at DFW.

 

Mckinney is pretty free of significant hills except for the man-made ramps and flyovers. I took the split without argument. I figured the offer could only get worse if I pushed them, because they did not even offer the split until I asked for a good faith warranty extension. They did offer to sell me a throttle body cleaning and serpentine belt replacement for an additional $400+. I did agree to the belt replacement for $130, because the new belt I have been driving around with for the last 10k or so hasn't installed itself yet. I had ambitions of swapping the serpentine belt myself, but it is difficult due to my incessant and un-scheduled plane rides.

 

It has been pretty reliable. The only other ongoing issue is occasionally the cruise control quits working until you restart the car. One morning about two months ago, the car was acting very strangely and would decelerate quickly and not glide when you let off the throttle. I pulled over and restarted the car and it never did it again. No codes or check engine lights ever showed up.

I just picked up the car and left $1683 at the dealer. They swapped the battery and serpentine belt in under 3 hours. All of the trip odometers and radio presets are gone, so something must have reset the OBC. Strangely enough my original 12V battery is still going strong after almost 6 years, but the traction battery did not make it. The car is much snappier on throttle response now, so my traction battery must have been on the way out for quite a while. I guess I didn't notice the gradual sluggishness the car exhibited over time. When I bought the car I got 55MPG regularly in the summer, but then the 10% ethanol was introduced and my mileage has been about 48 in the summer since then.

 

I have never used the B-mode. On the day the weird deceleration thing was going on, I actually put the car in park and back into drive at a couple of lights. I will check the battery with my Fluke tomorrow.

 

I am aggravated that I just forked over that much cash for a battery 2400 miles out of the 6/100 non-CARB warranty that I was expecting to get me 200k+ life, but I am not complaining about not having to pay the original $3100+ the service guy quoted.

It really feels like the old "as soon as the warranty is out it will break down" story we have all heard over the years.

The service guy did not even offer the "good will" warranty extension. I had to ask him about it and then he went and asked the service director. I guess he didn't think my car being narrowly within the 6 year window and 2.4k out of the mileage warranty put me in the goodwill window. I did buy my Prius at the dealership and a RAV4. When he came back from talking with the service manager, he said he was surprised the director approved half and that was only because I bought the car there.

 

The color is the light silver one with tinted windows.