2005 prius, how far can you go on a dying hybrid battery

Are you handy enough to locate the bad cells and replace them? Takes a lot of time and diligence, buts theres tons of information out there on it. That could buy her some more time to save up for a new battery. I am assuming she wouldnt want to sell the car, because she has only had it for a little while

i think you can disconnect the 12 v battery for a short while to bypass those codes when you reconnect, but that would be very short term

 

This person is willing to trade their working cells for your friends dying cells it looks like! Could be the perfect swap for your friend to get by!

 

I live in Tahoe now, I haven’t updated my profile. I have two target dealers to buy from, one near LA and one near San Francisco if I swap battery so not sure that would be convenient for someone in Portland. Im like 75% for battery swap currently. If all of the stated repairs go well and all of the noises and codes are gone is when I’ll make decision to to battery swap.

 

Welcome to PriusChat!!

Have you had a chance to look up any of the retrieved OBD2 codes (DTCs) ??

Here is the workup for DTC P0037 : https://share.qclt.com/%E4%B8%B0%E7%94%B0%E6%99%AE%E7%91%9E%E6%96%AF%E5%8E%9F%E5%8E%82%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8Cpdf%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F/repair%20manual/04pruisr/05/2054m/cip0037.pdf (was the sensor replaced with an OEM or Denso?)

Below are the nine workups for DTC P0A7A, notice how each one has a 3 digit subcode (aka INF or detailed code), knowing the subcode may help in diagnosing or fixing the problem without wasting excess time or money. Many here use a mini-vci cable and techstream (dealer technician diagnostic software) installed on a winblows device (can emulate) to retrieve the subcodes.

DTC P0A7A/309 Generator Inverter Performance
DTC P0A7A/321, 323 Generator Inverter Performance
DTC P0A7A/322 Generator Inverter Performance
DTC P0A7A/324 Generator Inverter Performance
DTC P0A7A/325, 517, 518 Generator Inverter Performance
DTC P0A7A/342, 343, 519 Generator Inverter Performance
DTC P0A7A/344 Generator Inverter Performance
DTC P0A7A/520 Generator Inverter Performance
DTC P0A7A/522 Generator Inverter Gate Malfunction

Given the situation, and location, you might reach out to @PriusCamper - not super close, but he does make it down the I-5 at times.

FYI : you're moderated until you've posted 5 times.

 

I only got 2 days (100mi) after the triangle of death. Using Torque app i could see the 14 module voltages and yup, #2 was low. I would drive most of the way on side roads to avoid steep hills, and occasionally reset the codes at a stop light. I did manage a limp home mode on day 2 going to work. Freaked me out since the RPM's went to around 3500, and letting off the gas, the car kept going! Finding a parking lot i pulled in, shut it down, waited a few minutes, started it up and did a reset. Didn't go back into limp mode for the rest of the trip. Before all that, the car sat for over 2 weeks waiting for State Farm to see daylight to get my cat replaced...

The key is driving it so the pack isn't being hit hard, very soft accelerations...avoid hills if at all possible. Monitoring the pack and being able to reset the codes helps stay out of limp home mode.

On a previous pack rebuild, the earliest indication of a problem is rapid swings on the bargraph (like empty to near full in a mile traveled)...another indicator is the car keeps idling at a light while playing with pack charge/discharge cycles... the triangle is primed to ignite since the cell voltages are getting further apart..