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Need help with hybrid battery options

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by PapaMurphysLaw, Feb 3, 2024.

  1. PapaMurphysLaw

    PapaMurphysLaw Junior Member

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    2008 Prius
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    This is an update from my previous post.

    I took the car to the Toyota dealership. The car is giving codes in the HV system: P3000 and P0A80.

    What are my options?

    TLDR; What are my options for hiring someone else to do the install while not buying a battery that is salvaged/rebuilt or from the site newpriusbatteries?

    I feel like mine are a bit more limited. Due to the areas an amateur (me) could seemingly ruin the car and my lack of time for troubleshooting, I’d rather have someone else do the install
    • I’m in dental school and have very little time I can be at home doing DIY repairs.
    • I also do not have the skill set or any tools outside of the basic household wrenches, screwdrivers, drills, etc.
    • I’ve seen posts of people doing DIY cell / full battery replacements and them balancing or running a parallel circuit or something to prevent ruining things. prefer to stay away from handling things like this

    Additionally, my options for a battery seem limited. The site newpriusbatteries appears to have dramatically increased in unreliability over the last year so I won’t consider them as an option. I will also be avoiding any salvaged batteries as I don’t want to spend money then have this problem come back in the next few years. I need a long-term, reliable solution.

    The dealer recommends battery replacement and a few other related services. Are these actually necessary/useful or just dealer up-charge items?
    • “HY Filter Clean 1.5” to clean a blocked/partially clogged filter that prevents battery cooling
    • “Fuel Induction Clean” to clean and relearn throttle body post hv battery replacement
    • Electric P/S PCV (may not be hv system related)

    Thank you for any help you can provide

    edit: I live in the Chicago suburbs and the Toyota quote is $4188 USD with the technician note of “quote hv battery pack and hv battery pack cables (if they are not included)”
     
    #1 PapaMurphysLaw, Feb 3, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2024
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    The best answer to that scenario is a new Toyota battery.

    A DIY rebuilt battery can be extremely reliable when done correctly by a knowledgeable person such as myself and a few other forum members. If you were local to me, and wanted YOUR specific battery repaired, I would do it for around $350, but would need 3-4 days to do it right due to the testing. Rebuild companies have a very wide range of quality and reliability. A decent warranty is rare, but if you need to use the warranty, that means you were potentially left stranded somewhere. A Toyota pack, professionally installed will last as long as the original and be as reliable as the original. It will also have a 3 year warranty, which you will likely never need to use, even after 10 years.
     
    #2 TMR-JWAP, Feb 3, 2024
  3. PapaMurphysLaw

    PapaMurphysLaw Junior Member

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    Thank you for the information. That’s roughly what I suspected based off other threads I could find. I know it’s a long shot but do you happen to live near Chicago, USA?

    I updated my post with the initial Toyota quote I received for the full battery replacement ($4188 USD). Do you happen to have any up-to-date knowledge of what is a fair dealer price nowadays?
     
    #3 PapaMurphysLaw, Feb 3, 2024
  4. Aloe

    Aloe Junior Member

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    Where does he live? Look at his name and under it, it states city and state (not sure why yours states Utah but you are in Chicago). As for fair price, are you willing to take it to California for a dealer there to do it? So, basically you need to call around your dealers as far as you are willing to travel to and ask them for a quote. Is it possible to find the OEM batteries from online dealers? I've seen some names of sites mention on here. Another option is to buy the battery from the dealer of your choice and find someone local to you to do the install.
     
    #4 Aloe, Feb 3, 2024
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    How many miles on her?
    It is difficult to find techs who will install a new battery.
    If you can make it to Madison Wisconsin, we have @ericbecky who can put a new battery in for you.
    If not, call a few more dealers for quotes.
     
    #5 bisco, Feb 3, 2024
  6. PapaMurphysLaw

    PapaMurphysLaw Junior Member

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    Oops, I forgot to put that on the initial post. Just a couple hundred miles shy of 170k.

    I’ve been calling around dealerships for some quotes. So far I’ve gotten a quote for ~$4300 and two for ~$3260. Two others sell the battery for $1950 but I’m still waiting to hear back for labor cost and the final quote
     
    #6 PapaMurphysLaw, Feb 3, 2024
    bisco likes this.
  7. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Umm... Why jump to that conclusion so quickly? It's possible that battery pack is fine and corrosion in the voltage sensor harness has made its way into the pins in the ECU and you clean that up with new "Wire, Frame, No.2" and clean or swap out ECU and problem is solved for less than $200 and 2hours of work.
     
    #7 PriusCamper, Feb 3, 2024
  8. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Before replacing the battery, have a look under the car and verify that it isn't rusted out. Silly to spend ~$3k to fix a car which is going to break in half in 6 months.

    Do you know anybody else who drives a Prius? Find out where they have it serviced and if they are happy with that service. Looking quickly on Yelp and searching Google Maps there are several shops in that area with "hybrid" in the name. But mostly very few ratings.

    In another thread found this post:

    Chicago Prius Mechanics - Where do you go? | Page 2 | PriusChat

    which suggested a shop Chicago area run by a guy who has a youtube channel. Not the same as actual references, but if the videos look OK maybe give them a call?
     
    #8 pasadena_commut, Feb 3, 2024
  9. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Why did I state that? Because of the information provided by the poster. 2008 with 170k miles. No real time for DIY.

    Op Stated: I took the car to the Toyota dealership. The car is giving codes in the HV system: P3000 and P0A80.

    I need a long-term, reliable solution    .-------I interpret this as being a pretty important thing for him.
     
    #9 TMR-JWAP, Feb 4, 2024
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2024
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