Signs/hints that your hybrid battery was on its last legs

Did anyone tell you before that this is the internet and that you are not entitled to anything? People on here are doing the best they can to help you. But your tone is rather disappointing.

 

Get yourself one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/265484403768

It allows you to connect your phone to your car and use apps like Dr. Prius app to test and monitor hybrid battery health. It also helps you clear error codes, which at some point may mean the difference between clearing those codes and continuing to drive rather than waiting for a tow truck.

As for us being utterly useless... There's lots if good information in this thread. Perhaps if you have some specific questions or need for clarification, we'd be less useless to you?

 

Thanks for your participation on PriusChat... We always encourage people to search and learn from all the threads on PriusChat BEFORE starting a new thread. There's decades of conversations on here that can answer almost any question, but if you start a new thread without doing your homework first you're going to be dissapointed with the cluster uck nature of our community.

 

I will try again.

Step 1
Fast discharge is a sign of a weak battery and was one I saw when my oem pack was going bad. As it progresses you can get to the point where the engine won't stay off during a traffic light stop. That is weaker yet. When it further loses capacity it might be noticeably slower accelerating from a stop. Truly weak results in lower mpg of at least 5 mpg - sometimes 10 mpg.

All the above without throwing a code or "the red triangle of death".

Step 2
Even when it throws a code and lights up the dash, the car will normally still run for a month or more. Your time is short.

Step 3
The real problem is when the hybrid battery is so weak (after coding in 95% of the cases) that it can not supply the nominal 201 vdc long enough to spin the engine to a start.

I elected to change the hv battery after Step 1 had been a concern for two months. I did not want to tear it down and replace bad modules and spend days or weeks of effort.

 

Fast discharge: I don't know what this means - not in this case. What is it in plain terms, how do I spot it, where is it noted, if at all, does it feel or look a certain way, etc?

Watch the battery state of charge bar graph on the fisplays. In the user manual.

OEM - no idea what this is without googling.

First you have one of the most complex car's ever made with 20 plus networked computers and a conventional gas engine plus all the elements of an electric vehicle (ev).

Many mechanics have big shops and are prosperous but still do not understand or work on hybrid related issues. So don't feel bad.

You could pay $175 an hour for a dealers diagnosis. Without codes they would tell you the battery is fine. They are often the only hybrid mechanics in many areas. Even then, there may be only one or teo top guys at a dealer that truly understand and can repair them.

Here you are getting free advice but obviously you are not experienced in a hybrid vehicle's terminology.

OEM is a common word that is an abbreviation for original equipment manufacturer; eg oem factory battery in this case.

Pack - no idea. Battery pack, maybe? But I have no frame of reference for this. If it's not something I can see or check without additional effort or apps or equipment, it's not what I'm seeking in this line of questioning - because I am not there yet, not because it isn't relevant.

Battery pack is right! There are 28 battery modules bolted together which makes it dangerous to work on and makes it expensive to replace.

Slow acceleration - yes, this is happening. But also, it's freezing outside, which is why I asked about temps. Is the cold a mitigating factor? It feels like it is.

No, cold is not a factor. The hybrid battery warms up quickly as it charges and discharges.

As for MPG, I don't even track it so I have nothing to go on at this point.

All you have to do is read it on the trip display. Instructions in the User Manual. Simply reporting it would be diagnostic.

(As for the rest, I can't address it because again, it's not where I'm at. Engine starts. No codes. All seems well but for a sinking feeling I have that might not be real.)

I believe you have a weak battery which is normal for a 13 year old hybrid. Most are replaced earlier than 13 years; Toyota only guarantees them for ten years.

I would start saving for the time it needs one. That time is not now but could be next March or a year from March.

 

We both have 2012 Prius vehicles. Mine is 14 years old since I bought it in Nov 2011. Hybrids batteries do wear out but Toyota can't accurately predict the doa (dead on arrival) date. Neither can an app or a scanner.

Yes, watch the battery state of charge bar graph on the displays. The engine running at stoplights is a sign of a weak battery. As is abnormally poor acceleration and degraded mpg.

As an electrician you know house wiring, meters and breakers. That is Model T stuff compared to modern hybrid power electronics, batteries and controls.



Top tip (UK term for best advice) to maximize free input:

Start with the problems you are experiencing. "It shudders and makes horrible noises on startup it did not used to do" perhaps or "a mechanic said it was ok but I don't believe him" or whatever.

List how many miles the car has and how long you have had it.

How much longer does it need to last?

What work has been done in the past?

Its ok to say I read or heard something about hybrid problems like the battery and now I am worried.

https://insideevs.com/news/782820/prius-battery-engine-trouble/

 

It might be better to say (and think of it as) “the software I used said it was” such-an-such. Different test methods might give varying results, test conditions might be less than optimum.

 

That’s often the case. But not necessarily “utterly useless”.

 

For my pre-purchase inspection, I specifically asked the dealer to inspect the battery health and EGR system parameters. This was their response, taken directly from the toyota owner's service log for the vehicle:

"CUSTOMER STATES ~|~CHECK EGR AND HYBRID BATTERY ~|~ ~|~BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE WAS WITHIN SPECIFIED RANGE, EGR SYSTEM WAS FUNCTIONING AS INTENED, NO FAULTS PRESENT"

Which means, they didn't do diddly squat other than scan the ECU for codes. When I called in to ask why, they told me they don't have the equipment. They still took $200 for the inspection though. A $13.99 purchase within the Dr. Prius app told me more than the dealership could. A dealership has no vested interest in taking the time to diagnosing the issue. The business is entirely based upon making bank as fast as possible by throwing parts at the car. I am sure if PA080 shows up, they would instantly jump to replacing the pack for $3299 plus $1200 in labor.

 

If you had simply said it was too much information and asked for something more specifc/re-phrased your question... But instead you told us our efforts to help were useless and then got surprised that some people might take offense to that. For me personally, I've got no issue with you or anything you said, just need some feedback on what I offered so I can do better when it comes to helping people on here in the future.

 

Perhaps if you used google or chatGPT to understand these?

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacture, which means the exact same part that was made for the car when it was brand new as opposed to a usually cheaper aftermarket part that works but is not made by the same manufacture.

As for fast discharge, that's literally a display on your dashboard that shows how charged up or discharged your hybrid battery pack is. Check your owner's manual for more details.

Battery Pack / pack = hybrid battery

 

Ok, to drag this topic a little more astray, how does it charge and discharge so quickly? My laptop takes hours!