Gen2 Slip Indicator, CEL, Hybrid Malfunction and ABS All On

My 2007 Prius with 138,000 miles gave me the red triangle last week. I remember the (!) was also on. Car did not charge traction battery. Drove the 10 miles back home and checked codes.

P0A80
Replace Hybrid battery pack

And

P3013
Unknown diagnostic code

I surmised the battery was done. Fuel efficiency has been declining. I am in Texas and temperatures were in the high 90s. I had observed that I could park car (even in cool weather) with 3 or 4 blue bands showing on MFD. When I started the car the next day, it would frequently be down to 1 or 2 purple bands.

I read that (!) error could be false code due to the hybrid failure. 12v battery is relatively new. Even after charging 12V to 100% there is no change in situation. I ordered the Prolong Deluxe Reconditioning Package. After receiving and installing, I started the reconditioning.

June 30 9:22pm Initial hybrid battery voltage during charging was 226V at .358A. Temp below 90 degrees.
June 30 11:44pm 235V at .359A Charge
June 31 7:45pm 237V at .359A Charge
June 31 11:43pm 238V at .359A Charge
July 1 12:52 234V at 1.474A Discharge set to 134V
July 1 11:20am 161V System idle. I do not understand why the discharge cycle stopped early.
July 1 12:50pm 164V at.001 to .497A Charge Fluctuations seem odd tomme.
July 1 2:26pm 168V at .001 to .526A Charge Still fluctuating.
July 1 3:14pm 213V at .360A Charge
July 1 8:35pm 229V at .359A Charge
July 1 10:46pm 232V at .359A Charge
July 2 9:40am 236V at .359A Charge
July 2 3:20pm 232V at .359A Charge
July 2 3:23pm 229V at .359A Discharge set to 134V
July 2 4:55pm 202V at 1.458A Discharge
July 2 5:34pm 190V at 1.455A Discharge
July 2 7:39pm 168V System idle.
July 2 7:39pm 163V at .466A Discharge set to 84V
July 3 10:14pm 122V System Idle
July 3 10:15pm 127V at .475A Charge
July 4 11:23am 236V at .359A Charge
July 4 2:27pm 234V at .359A Charge
July 4 4:36pm 231V at 1.471A Discharge set to 17V
July 4 9.02pm 23V at .221A Discharge
July 4 9:38pm 79V System idle
July 4 10:20pm 99V at .122A Charge
July 4 11:40pm 213V at .360A Charge
July 5 12:43pm 222V at .360A Charge
July 5 11:17am 234V at .359A Charge
July 5 8:37 237V at .359A Charge
July 6 6:18pm 233V at .360A Charge
July 7 1:59pm 220V static voltage.

Computer starts up but no ICE and transmission will only go into neutral. MFD showing 1 purple band. Had been showing 2 blue bands earlier. No codes but lights still on with the Slip Indicator, CEL, Hybrid Malfunction and ABS All On.

Put charger on 12V and trying to charge hybrid battery again to see if it will ever actually balance. Never did see voltage floating during charging. Charging Current never varied except immediately after turning charger on.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
Martin

 

I waited a couple of hours after disconnecting from charger before attempting to start.

Today I removed and reinserted the safety disconnect. Attempted to start again with same errors showing. I decided to disconnect both the 12V and the traction battery for a couple of hours. I allso got my old Android phone out so I could use Torque. Connected both batteries and pressed power. Same thing. This time there was a P3014 error but no P0A80. I reset the codes and power cycled the car. The red triangle of death was gone. The ICE fired up, running really roughly for the first 3 or 4 minutes. Eventually smoothed out. Let it run for a total of about 25 minutes. At one point the ICE would stop and almost immediately fire up again. The red triangle of death came on again. During all this the traction battery did get out of the purple to mid-scale a couple of times but quickly discharged while the ICE was running. I removed the Prolong pigtail and put the car back together. I will take to a dealer tomorrow and see what their diagnostics reveal. I fear that if the dealer saw the Prolong pigtail, they would say that was the cause of the premature failure of the traction battery.

I assume that I have two bad battery packs. If I cannot get a good deal on a replacement from Toyota, I will probably try to salvage the battery by replacing bad packs and further my education. Fortunately, I have a digital VOM with a USB data port. Should make going through the testing and logging the data much easier. Unfortunately it will still be time consuming. Would really prefer to get a deal from a dealer and move forward with my life, meaning driving my little electric car. It is a running joke, because I drive all over DFW on CraigsList quests. With a car that you can drive for cheap, there is no reason to not go where you want. Factoring in the cost of a new battery at full price will mean it is no cheaper to drive than the Chevrolet Impala I replaced.

Unfortunately, the nearest dealer is not someone I care to deal with. Had bad experience on an evap code on a Camry. They insisted on replacing the exact parts I had already replaced since I had used aftermarket parts. They were all Japanese parts, not stuff from China. After forking over nearly $600, which included a $30 Toyota gas cap which had been replaced and tested, the code reappeared within 30 miles. I persuaded them to do a free smoke test on the car. They did the test (I am being really generous here) and the Service Representative (again being generous) said that the shop filled with smoke. Would I like to come look. They had no clue about how to cycle the evap system during the test to see what state the system was in when the leak appeared. They were happy to report there was a leak. Fortunately that test was free or there would have probably been a loud noise when my head exploded.

I appreciate the help. Please notice that there was virtually no fluctuation in the amperage while charging. The exception is when the charge cycle was initiated for the first hour of charge the rate was higher. After that there was virtually no variance in the charge current. Seems odd to me.

Thanks to TMR-JWAP and Raytheeagle. I had high hopes that I had not gotten the safety disconnect properly seated. I would have gladly taken the fall for it not working.

 

Where is a good source for buying the needed modules and how do I get a match for the capacity and voltage?

Thanks for the information. The reason I was going to try a dealer was in the hopes I could convince them to give me a break on the replacement battery. I am retired and living on fixed income. Figuring in the typical full cost of a battery the cost of operation on the Prius will be very close to the cost of operating my previous car which only got about 23 mpg. Not quite the outcome I envisioned when I purchased the used car from a Toyota dealership with 66,000 on the clock.

Overall cost of ownership will be far above expectations unless there is some sort of loyalty incentive. With a new battery, at the right price, it could well be my last car purchased.

 

Thank you. Nice to have a recommendation.

 

I appreciate all the help from everyone. I tried to get Toyota to offer some assistance. They said no. I should go to the dealer and try to get help from them. I went to my least favorite dealer and paid for a diagnostic which Toyota said was required before they would make any decision. Dealer did diagnostics for less than $60. Remarkably they determined that the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. Oh, and one tail light is out.

After getting the official diagnostic, I called Toyota again and tried to see what they would do. The response was that the car was too old to warrant their offering any assistance. Since the car is a 2007 with 136,000 miles in good condition it is only listed in KBB as being worth a little over $4,000 assuming I had the battery repaired. I can buy a battery from dealer for $2588.67. I can get a 15% percent through Costco that brings the battery down to $2200. With Texas sales tax comes to $2376.

In the DFW due to air quality problems, there is a program where I can let the state crush the car and receive $3500 towards the purchase of a 2014-2018 hybrid. That is the route I will probably go. Seems a shame to crush a car with only 138,000. I have calculated the depreciation on the Prius. With the battery failure factored in for the miles driven, my previous full sized American car cost about the same to operate when depreciation is included. I drove it till 170,000 miles. The full size car was much more comfortable and quieter.

I am seriously considering switching to Honda for my next hybrid. My grandson has had excellent experience with his Honda Element. Of course he has no idea what his fuel consumption is.

I realize I could change out the 2 bad modules in the battery and balance it with the grid charger. Just seems too much like a temporary fix with a pretty significant time investment.

I will post my final decision soon.

 

bisco,

I think it is the knee jerk reaction to the thought of crushing a car with only 136,000 miles. Leaves a real bitter taste in my mouth. The unfortunate part is the car is in pretty good condition. No wrecks. Oil always changed with Mobil one with extended life filters. All I have done to the car other than routing maintenance is an O2 sensor and replaced all the coil packs, plugs and nothing else stands out. I have almost worn out my Michelin tires. Still have some tread left before hitting the wear bars. Overall not too bad from the reliability standpoint. But the hybrid battery is just over the top.

 

It still means I have $3500 + $2600 in the car. That is $6100 in a car with a market value of $4000. Seems upside down to me. Looking to see if there are any deal on used. My window of opportunity for crushing the car will close ar the end of the year. It is tied to income and this year, I have very little, which is good for this situation.

If I put the $6100 towards a newer car, I have a reliable battery and hopefully less repair cost down the road. I can buy a 2014 low mileage car for around $13,000-14,000.

 

My math is not erroneous. The state will pay me $3500 to take the 2007 off the road. To keep the 2007 will require the new battery at $2600. It will,also need a new set of tires which will run $4-500. Those are all real expenses associated with keeping that car. The price of the new Toyota battery is a discounted price with self install. Also, my car is 10 years old but it is far from being a beater. The good condition of my car is why I hate to see it crushed. If I put more money into the car than market value and it gets stolen or wrecked, the bean counting insurance company will pay book value and not one cent more.

Market value tells me that if I do put the new battery in, it is unlikely to offer me good return on the investment. The value through KBB is pretty close to what I am observing in dealer and CraigsList ads.

Do not confuse low income with lack of financial resources. I can afford a new plug in Prius or a Tesla for that matter. I prefer to purchase cars where someone else has eatten the initial depreciation. All cars suffer significant depreciation as soon as they roll off the showroom floor.

If I keep the 2007 for another 5 years the depreciation will accelerate. In all likelyhood repair expenses will increase as well. It will depreciate at a higher now that it has exceeded 10 year age.

If I use the opportunity to get rid of this car for a value that is $1,000 less than current market value, it subsidizes the cost of the newer car. The money for a new hybrid battery and tires are hard foreseeable expenses that I have the option of diverting for a different, newer car. If I buy a 2014 or 2015, I pay $9,500 out of pocket for a newer model. That plus the $2600 battery and $4-500 tires expenses effectively reduce the purchase price by diverting the ill spent money to the replacement car. The cars in the price range I am looking at have less than 30.000 miles and offer a better, more reliable hybrid battery.

I have not decided for sure what I will do. My understanding of finance, ecconomics and failure prediction due to ageing mechanics are things that I understand very well. I manage my personal finances just as I managed business finances. I make judgements based on math not gut feelings. I mentioned earlier that I was considering a Honda Element. That was more of a shot at Toyota and their lopsided warranty where CARB states operate under a different warranty from the rest of the country.

I appreciate your spin on the situation.