I'm a new Prius owner, well 4 months ago i purchased a 2005 Prius with 146k. Drove awesome and got great mileage from it till i got the red triangle and check engine lights come on. I did alot of research on here and purchased a MVCI cable and downloaded techstream. I pulled the codes and they came up as P0A80 and P3011 which to me seems like one of the cells voltage is reading too low in block 1. There is a mechanic that charges $55 per Module plus $300 Assembly fee or $899 for a refurbished battery with 12 month warranty. I guess my question would be how long can i drive like this for? The electric motor does shut off sometimes and i have to shut off the car and turn it back on and it works again. Second question would be would a replacement battery be the better option?
For me, considering the mileage on the car, its still not too bad to have the module replaced, if you choose to. But have you checked on PC here, you've got guys with tested modules or even pack for sale. You could get them off eBay too, but you're at a risks. If you've got the resources, a new pack from Toyota would be cool. But I think there's someone also on here, that offers new packs with cylindrical modules in them. Try those out. It seems your mechanic's modules are expensive.
@jeff652 at Hybrid Automotive now sells modules for $45 with a 1 year warranty. They ask the miles on your current pack in order to better match the module. Replacement Toyota Prius Module - Hybrid Automotive
All the P0A80 codes, like any repair are a time and money proposition. Replacing failed modules in a 12 year old battery may buy you a few more months only to have the next weak module fail and then it's lather, rinse and repeat again. Everyone's situation is different, I get it but if you plan to keep the vehicle in your fleet a new HV battery from Mother-Toyota is the only way to go. Hooray for you for doing your research and buying the Mini VCI cable!
I believe @ericbecky here would agree that 2K1Toaster's new cell kit is also a good choice for DIY. 2K1Toaster knows rechargeable batteries. Details in my signature.
Drive as little as possible until you get the module fixed. It's hard on the electric motors to drive on a "failed" pack. Sounds like you already have it narrowed down to one of two modules. If you are handy, you can rebuild the pack yourself and then continue maintaining the hybrid battery cells (so the reconditioning repair will last) for under $500 with our products: Prolong® Value Reconditioning Package - Hybrid Automotive
Thanks everyone for the quick replies!! I don’t have much money for a brand new battery. But I’m considering the $1600 kit. I appreciate all the help. iPhone ?
Here is a quick experience from somebody who just installed one. Peoples experiences with oem replacement battery from toyota? | Page 3 | PriusChat
So I thought I would do an update, for now I just replaced the dead cell which was the very first one when you open it up, which was a big convenience for me. Took me about 3ish hours to complete. No errors and seemed like everything is running fine now, I’ve read that replacing 1 cell will result in another cell failing at some point so I’m currently saving up for $1600 battery for a permanent fix. Now that I know how to take the battery out, next time will be a lot quicker. Thanks again to the forum and everyone who replied!!
