2010 Prius w/ NexCell Lithium Throwing Codes

Hi everyone!

First, y'all are wildly supportive and thank you for all the information provided so far. I've read through posts that I won't link because frankly, I'm too stressed about this decision to go through a long post. I can edit with details later if folks want more data. I live in the Northeast.

--Short Version--

2010 Prius w/ NexCell Battery V2 (16k 1yr 7mo) throwing P0A80 code every ~5 - 10 min now; was a gradual decline and now trying to decide next steps.

--Long Version--
I have a 2010 Prius with 96k miles that was dealer serviced until 80k when I bought it. Since the car was driven so few miles per year, the hybrid battery wasn't doing so great but it was definitely working fine and we got 49 - 57 MPG depending on driving conditions. One week we went on vacation and when we got back the battery significantly decreased in local/EV driving ability. I checked Dr.Prius and it's lifespan went from 62% to 43%.

I had an opportunity to buy a used NexCell battery from a fellow PriusChat member who is a Toyota Master Technician with the hybrid certification. We met up and he swapped the cells - great experience. He told me the NexCell Lithium had 10k miles and 1 yr on it and with my rose colored glasses I thought it was a great buy. When I used it for the 6k miles/7 months I've had it, it's been great.

Now the car consistently has the red triangle and even when I reset it, it will throw P0A80 even after 5 minutes of driving. The first time it threw the code was in 12F weather so I reset it and figured it was the cold since I'd read about it before. The reset helped for 2 weeks, then 1, then 1 again, then 3 days, and now it's 5 - 10 minute. Dr.Prius does recommend clearing the code then resetting the 12V so I did that yesterday and took it for a 1.5h test drive and no code came up with mixed highway (65mph) and local (30 - 40mph). I read yesterday that driving the Prius with the Check Hybrid Battery warning on is not great - it wasn't in limp mode and my wife and I drove it around with that warning for about 4 hours total over the course of a week. I'm worried this will happen again and while I am handy, I am also an anxious person so picking a solution is worth more to me than mulling it over until it's too late.

--Question/Ask--
Now I'm trying to decide the FAQ:

• How much time do I have before I need to swap so I don't kill the engine?
• Swap back to original NiMH and just drive it until it throws its own code
  • Prolong/MaxxVolt (I don't want to DIY a charger/discharger) to try to restore it?
• Cylindrical Cells
• Remanufactured NiMH
• Sodium-Ion
• Toyota Shop Swap
• Who do I go to for these options?

 

Unfortunately I believe this effort was discontinued when I got the battery.

I couldn't find a number on their website sodiumhybrid @ contact-dr-prius so I emailed them again. The last time I emailed them was Jan 9th but I never got a reply. The code clearing worked until now, I guess! I think it might be a cell that needs to be balanced but I'm not sure how to do it without a tool. I know there are tons of posts here on how to balance but I have other priorities I want to take care of besides taking on the new hobby of rebalancing batteries.

If anyone is in the Northeast and winning to do it to my NiMH cells I will happily negotiate a reasonable rate while I can still use the NexCell!

 

Thanks Jack! I sent over a request with some pictures.