It's new traction battery time, right?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Nedsled, May 11, 2020.

  1. Nedsled

    Nedsled Junior Member

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    I own a 09 Prius, about 90K miles.

    Traction battery has shown some signs of weakening (gas engine seemed to run more recently, etc, although mileage has generally been ok) as of late. Also, the 12v battery has been troublesome, requiring some jumping.

    All has been well, however, this weekend things seemed to go bad fast.

    First, due to Covid, car sat for about a week. I went out on Saturday to run an errand and it needed a jump.
    Jumped it and drove away. Made it about 1/3 mile before it died. Red triangle / VSC / ABS, etc.

    OK, I figured that the 12v battery might have bricked completely and could be causing the issue so I walked over to Pep Boys and got a new one and installed it (which was a FAR more painful process than it had to be). Same thing. Drive a few blocks, dies. Wait a few minutes, start, drive a few blocks, dies, warning lights, etc. Traction battery has maybe 1 bar.

    Before I tow this over to a dealer or independent Prius shop, where I figure they are gonna tell me "yeah you need a new main battery" [at which point I start the painful process of deciding between Green Bean or new car entirely and so on], is there anything else I should try? I've seen talk of blown fuzes and so on... anything like that I should look into first?

    No, I don't have a code reader unfortunately.
     
    #1 Nedsled, May 11, 2020
  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Have the codes read. Shouldn't guess on such a big ticket item.

    It's most likely the HV battery has coded but since yours is only 10ish years old, you should also look into "grid-charging" aka Prolong chargers.

    GOOD LUCK!
     
    #2 fotomoto, May 11, 2020
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  3. Nedsled

    Nedsled Junior Member

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    Yeah I am figuring whatever shop I take it to will read codes... just wondering if there is something else to try in the meantime. I've read of fuses blowing when 12v gets jumped (I know how to jump a car but you never know) and figured if there is a small chance that might be the case, best to start there.

    Thanks!
     
    #3 Nedsled, May 11, 2020
  4. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    FIRST.....make SURE that new battery is fully charged......and that it will HOLD a charge.

    Often batteries sold "mail order" and "off the shelf" are NOT fully charged and the car won't make up for that very quickly.
    Sometimes new batteries are bad too.
     
    #4 sam spade 2, May 11, 2020
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    2009 with 90k, i would put a new battery in it. even if you were to sell or trade, that's a valuable car.

    a bit premature for the battery, but it happens
     
    #5 bisco, May 11, 2020
  6. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    He ALREADY put in a new 12 V.
    Are you really suggesting that he blindly get a new hybrid battery ??
     
    #6 sam spade 2, May 13, 2020
  7. Andrew_Ph

    Andrew_Ph Junior Member

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    Well, if your getting an ABS code, it is not related to traction battery.
    Also check , there is an auxiliary wire connected to 12v battery, not the main one, but a smaller one. if that wire got broken or isnt making contact, the VSC and ABS stuff wont work, or at least the lights come on, and no indication that its just that.
    last time something like that happened to me, it was a hot day, and the traction battery was not charging properly, and the engine shut off or wasnt kicking in correctly. At this point it just refuses to restart, so its just driving on whats left of the battery power.
    Just shut off, wait a few minutes, and restart, let the engine idle to recharge the battery pack, without driving.
    If there is an engine problem it could create these symptoms. needs a code scan.
     
    #7 Andrew_Ph, May 23, 2020
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