I purchased and installed a HV battery from Reinvolt last May. My 2002 Prius has been running great, getting great gas mileage, and having no perceptible issues whatsoever. Until Friday. I had driven the car about 3 miles, was stopped at a red light, light turns green, I start to go and the triangle of death sudden shows up on my MFD. Took it to the dealer yesterday where they charged me $250 to tell me I need a new HV battery. I've attached the pic of the print out they gave me. Please help me decipher this mumbo-jumbo before I call Reinvolt tomorrow. Also, I really need to invest in a ScanGauge II. Tired of getting ripped off by the dealer. :/
The printout shows that your car's ECUs have logged DTC P3000 and P3006. Both of these indicate that you need a new traction battery. Further, you have some engine misfire activity on cylinders 3 and 4, indicated by DTC P0303 and P0304. This means that you need new iridium spark plugs to be installed, especially if this was not done in the last 60K miles. If the spark plugs have been recently replaced, look for water moisture that entered the spark plug wells for those two cylinders.
Not my car, you have a good plan, contacting ReInvolt. However, I would probably wait until the code that specifies the failing module shows up. It would also be helpful to have the lowest and highest voltage pairs. Bob Wilson
Yes, Reinvolt is now part of Dorman. The dealer didn't say anything to me about needing the spark plugs changed. Isn't that something they should have told me? I also had my oil changed and tires rotated at the same time. This makes me lose confidence in their service. What would your advice be? Can I change the spark plugs myself? Do I need a special tool? In terms of the warning codes, is the ScanGauge II sufficient to give me the code that specifies the failing module? I also want to clear the warning codes for the time being so I can see my MFD. Would the SGII do that?
The SGII can clear codes. It can read the battery module info but only after you program in the appropriate "XGAUGE" info, using info you can find in the "03 classic prius and scangauge" thread. XGAUGEs end up being long strings of letters and digits that you enter using the four buttons on the front of the SGII, a lot like texting on an old phone, only more so. You don't need anything special to change the plugs other than a 5/8" spark plug socket, a 6" or so extension, and a torque wrench for installing the new plugs to the proper torque. The kind of spark plug socket that grabs the plug in a rubber grip is good, as you'll be using it to lift the plug out of a deep well. -Chap
