How far / long can a Prius be driven with P0A80?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by PriusII&C, Jul 12, 2025.

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  1. PriusII&C

    PriusII&C Active Member

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    My 2012 Prius with 144k miles suddenly shows dashboard warning lights of yellow triangle (master warning), check engine, TCS, and brake trouble. A scanner shows a P0A80 code.

    I'm thinking to get the traction battery reconditioned by myeslf. The problem is the car is about 200 miles away from home. How far / long can I still drive it? What kind of potential damage could happen if I drive it home?

    Your knowledge / experience / insight is greatly appreciated.
     
    #1 PriusII&C, Jul 12, 2025
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Probably none I drove a generation 3 with a dying battery in it for about 90 days . Didn't bother a thing change battery wen got to it and it worked like sposed to until engine failed
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Jul 13, 2025 at 12:53 AM
  3. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Reposting from an existing thread, you’ll be taken to alligator alcatraz!
     
    #3 Grit, Jul 13, 2025 at 4:26 AM
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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    shouldn't be a problem, the more highway, the better
     
    #4 bisco, Jul 13, 2025 at 1:45 PM
  5. CatNinja

    CatNinja Member

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    @PriusII&C, my Prius Gen3 was throwing p0a80 code, and I had to drive it for months before I got around to reconditioning and eventually replacing some of the modules.

    I just want to give you a quick warning about reseting and continuing to drive. This works, but what happens is that the SOC gets reset to 20%, so for the next few miles, the BMC will try to recharge the battery to 80%. Since most of the cells are actually >20% charged, it will cause them to be overcharged. The excess charge will be dumped as heat.

    So make sure to watch your battery temps. Pull off and let them rest if they start to approach 110F. You can keep the HV battery fan running by leaving the car on, and keeping Dr Prius connected and set the fan threshold temp low.
     
    #5 CatNinja, Jul 18, 2025 at 5:38 PM
  6. PriusII&C

    PriusII&C Active Member

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    @CatNinja Thank you very much for the timely information. I have a 500+ miles trip coming in about 2 weeks. I was planning to drive my Prius for the trip. It looks like I'd better to leave my Prius in my garage, and drive my Prius C for the trip.
     
    #6 PriusII&C, Jul 18, 2025 at 5:46 PM
  7. CatNinja

    CatNinja Member

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    @PriusII&C Yeah, I wouldn't take such a long trip in any car with a known issue.

    Getting a hybrid error 10 miles from home just means you hit reset, wait for the battery to cool down, then limp home.

    Getting the same error 250 miles away may mean thousands of dollars in repair bills before you can make it home.
     
    #7 CatNinja, Jul 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
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