2011 Prius with 180,000 miles. My Check Hybrid System light came on a few minutes into driving. Was able to drive car fine to non-Toyota service but hybrid system was not connecting. Code is PD880 and the mechanic says this means hybrid battery is bad. Estimate is $3500- $4K. Want to verify what this code means. Anyone able to help me confirm this code please? Thanks
Get away from that mechanic... There's no such thing as a PD880 code, or at least I can't find any reference of it. This mechanic is using diagnostic equipment not compatible with Toyota hybrid or he has really sloppy handwriting. If it was a hybrid system error it's usually P0A80 and then there are subcodes that point to the specific problem. You need the subcodes! I've seen people get ripped of for $4K for new battery pack only to later realize the subcode was pointing to a minor electrical glitch that can be fixed in 5 minutes...
The second character of a trouble code can only be 0, 1, 2, or 3. Won't ever be D. Probably a mechanic scrawled a 0 there and it looked flat on the side like a D. That said, I'm not familiar with any P0880 code in a Prius, either. It could be P0A80 (not PA080, second character can't be an A either). Probably best to just go check it again.
Well, you won't get a "P0880" from a Prius, but if you could, we know it would be Powertrain-related (you can tell from the P), and because it's in the P0 range (standardized by SAE), it would mean the same thing it means in other cars, that there is a Transmission Control Module not getting electrical power. A Prius doesn't have that code because it hasn't really got that module. (There is something in the Prius called the "transmission control ECU", but it's a glorified name for a box responsible for spinning one small motor to move the transmission in and out of Park.)
