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Potentially dead HV battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by THF, Apr 9, 2014.

  1. THF

    THF Junior Member

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    Today I hopped in my 04 prius just like normal, but when I turned it on, the big master warning light came on. The check engine light and sometimes the VSV and the brake light were also on. In a bit of a panic, I called in to work and called my dealership. They said since I had moved the car a bit with my door open, it threw some codes and it would be fine to drive. Wrong! The battery was charging and discharging rapidly. I got it to the dealership as they were snotty because I hadn't made an appointment. Well how so you make an appointment when your car is broken? Anyways, I took it to oreillys and they read a code of p0080, and their scanner said it was an overheated battery. Online, though, that code reads something else. Right now I have it parked at the dalership, and they are going to check on it later. I just had it in for a diagnostic, and the 12v battery is new. Any ideas? Also the battery has previously been worked on; one of the modules has been replaced.
     
    #1 THF, Apr 9, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    might be a clogged cooling fan, how many miles on her?
     
    #2 bisco, Apr 9, 2014
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    It's more likely another module has failed on the HV battery. That's the problem with changing out modules, the others that are not changed out can fail shortly afterwards.
     
    #3 JC91006, Apr 9, 2014
  4. THF

    THF Junior Member

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    I thought about that, and I told them to check on that. It has more than 193k, which really isn't that great if the battery fails.
     
    #4 THF, Apr 9, 2014
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    really? i would consider 193k excellent. at how many miles did it fail the first time?
     
    #5 bisco, Apr 9, 2014
  6. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    How was the battery rebalanced after the module swap?
     
    #6 nh7o, Apr 9, 2014
  7. THF

    THF Junior Member

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    I was hoping to at least join the the 200k club, by alas, not the battery. I have no clue what they did to the battery, only that it was partially rebuilt and I do not know by whom. I may contact the dealer I got it from an see if he knows. Otherwise I am hoping my dealership will find something basic wrong with it, but I am exploring options. What's an average price to have a battery rebuilt?
    Thanks,
    Ted
     
    #7 THF, Apr 10, 2014
  8. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    So I guess that means you're not the original owner Ted. I also bought my Prius secondhand, so yeah I'm interested not only in how many miles the battery makes it, but also in how many of those miles I get to drive.

    Just wondering, what was the approx odo mileage when you bought it with the patched up battery?
     
    #8 uart, Apr 10, 2014
  9. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    The whole battery rebuilding business is in its early days, so there is really no way to know what will work long term. Those that do the more thorough job probably will have better results. Check out these folks for a idea of what you are looking at:
    Dorman Hybrid Drive Batteries - About
     
    #9 nh7o, Apr 10, 2014
  10. THF

    THF Junior Member

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    The dealership called me today; they said the car was throwing a PA080 code - which, from reading around on this site, is definitely the dead battery code. Alas. Well, I have managed to find a good used battery with only 30k miles on it from a neat dealer guy in central MO - he apparently services many of St Louis and Columbias fleet Prii.
    One thing I find interesting is that, for all the Prii that my dealership looks at, they say thy have only ever replaced about 3batteries. I wonder why. My guess would be that people with new Prii take their car in the dealership, and then the used ones go - I don't know. The dealerships are usually the only local hybrid technicians!
    Thanks for your help, though guys.
     
    #10 THF, Apr 11, 2014
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