P0AA6 code, Combo Meter, MFD Replacement, Reconditioning questions

ok I replaced the 12V battery, but I'm still having some issues with my car. I'm getting the P0AA6 code. I used the Dr. Prius app to test the life of the battery and it said 35% which I know is not good at all. I may run another test later tonight, and run the more detailed test to see what I can come up with. The car was sitting for a while in the Florida heat, so I know the battery doesn't like that. I hope driving it around a few times might revive it a bit.

On top of that, my dash lights have gone out. This happened once before a few years ago and somehow it turned back on again, but now they are out again. I know it's related to the Combo Meter, and I'm aware I can get one from Texas Hybrids online. I also found a repair service here in Fl that can do it for $40 + shipping so I might go that route to save some dough.

Also my MFD is out and has been out for a while so that has been driving me crazy and I've been wanting to replace it for a while. I think it's the sunburst issue. I can see it barely at night sometimes, but during the day it's impossible to see anything. If I have to do the Combo Meter I might as well do them both at the same time. What is the best source for MFDs? When I researched it a few years ago I found a few people you could ship them to and they will repair and ship back, but I'm also open to either getting a new one if possible or used on Ebay. I have the touring edition so I know I have to make sure I get the right MFD for my car. 86110-47220 7 keys, US version with navigation and Bluetooth. Or I heard 86110-47260 also works.

So yeah I'm hoping the hybrid battery will last until I can get my hands on the new sodium batteries. Do you think I should attempt a reconditioning on the hybrid battery before then? If so what is the best method for this? I've been wanting to learn how to do this for a while. If I can invest in conditioning tools that will also be compatible with my new sodium battery that would be ideal.

 

UPDATE: I drove the car today and the dash lights came back on just like last time so that's at least some good news

 

When I did my quick research on this code I found that it's somewhat difficult to diagnose because it could be pointing to one of several potential issues, so unless I take it to a mechanic with a better scanner it will be hard for me to know with certainty what the exact issue is. Also I recall seeing this code before several years ago around 4 years ago when I first had issues with the 12V battery, and once I got the new battery in there the code went away and never came back. My car has been driving relatively problem free for 4 years so that's why I'm slow to rush it over to a mechanic who might suggest all sorts of repairs that may not actually be needed. Do you have any other insight on this code you could share?

 

Thanks, yeah I looked into doing this years ago, so I'm familiar with the product. I thought maybe there would be something better on the market by now, and I know there's a better one out there that is more expensive but I forget the name. I would want to install it in the car with the battery so I could trickle charge it every so often, or take a weekend and do my own reconditioning from time to time. I was actually going to upgrade to the lithium battery a few years ago and I've just been procrastinating on it, and now that they have a new tech coming out soon I want to wait for it. My thought is to keep my old hybrid battery around as a backup if needed, and replace any bad cells if I can learn how to do all of this. Or maybe just replace bad cells and recondition / rebalance it and sell it for cheap with a full disclosure and disclaimer. What would you do?

 

What would I be looking for in regards to the isolation problem?

 

UPDATE! I performed another Dr. Prius Life Expectancy test last night and it came up with 58% so that has relieved my stress about the hybrid battery a bit, and all other signs point that the battery still has some life in her yet. When I ran the test the first time it seemed to glitch out prematurely and gave me the 35% result. Maybe this glitch has something to do with the P0AA6 code? If that code does show up again I will immediately take it to my mechanic to check the codes.

 

150K miles. I bought it about 5 years ago with 120k miles for a steal of $3800 from a used dealership that doesn't usually sell priuses and he just wanted to get rid of it off the lot. The previous owner was a heavy cigarette or cigar smoker, so the interior had an awful smell, so I bought an ozone generator for $60 and after two treatments the smell was barely detectable and after another it was totally gone. I love my car and am perfectly happy to invest some $$$ into it at this point. I did all the research at the time and wanted a 2009 touring with the dark leather seats and JBL. The local used Prius dealership here in Tampa would've sold this car for $9-10K so I figured even if I have to replace the ABS module and get a new hybrid battery it was still worth it. The 12V (twice), inverter pump, and headlights are the only repairs I've had to do in this time.

 

Thank you so much for this VERY helpful reply. If the code pops up again I will certainty take it to my mechanic to read the code in more depth.

 

I noticed that no one had any input on my idea of keeping the original battery as a backup if I get the new sodium battery. Is this a feasible idea? How often do you think I would have to recondition / recharge it to keep it in viable shape? I'm thinking once a month. Do the same chargers such as the Prolong mentioned earlier also work on the new Sodium battery? I would assume so...

Also what's the 411 on the Lithium project? I know it's been a hot topic here in the past. I heard at least one car caught fire from it, but other than that has it been generally reliable? It seems like they are discontinuing them in favor of the new Sodium variant. I'm just curious to get some general feedback here.

 

Regarding the MFD, I realized I can just buy the replacement digitizer for about $16 on EBAY and do the repair myself. WOW

EDIT: NEVERMIND, I think this won't work because I need to replace the entire LCD and not just the digitizer. LCD is a $200+ part so I might as well replace the entire MFD unit