Early Signs of Potential Gen 2 Prius Issues?

RE: P0AA6, the TSB applies to 04-07 and part of 08. I wish Caroline would include a statement regarding transaxle fluid changes, whether or not the cabs have had changes. I think the cars reported in the 299,999 club have had at least 1 fluid change (brownsnoutuk 2005, 2 fas 4 u 2009)

RE: HV battery, there was an improvement in the module construction -- no electrolyte leaks here. But the fundamental limitation of the chemistry is still the same. And there's not much that they can do to mitigate the abuse that American drivers do to these things. Reconditioning is possible, but the expected lifetime is maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a brand new one. The bottom line is this: if you can hear your battery fan running on high, the battery has overheated, and there are a limited number of times that this can happen. I believe the battery is susceptible to overcharging (beyond 80%) as it ages. With NiMH, as the battery nears full charge, it begins to heat due to oxygen formation and absorption on the electrodes. This process continues for a while after charging current has been removed, which explains why the fan may kick on to high after a car has been sitting for an hour or two, if it was shut off with 7 or 8 bars. Finally, every time I hear someone say they force charged the battery to 8 green bars and the fan kicked on, AND THEN THEY TURN THE CAR OFF, I want to start screaming.

 

So, what do you suggest in that situation. Turn the headlights on to drain the battery, and turn on the AC to cool the compartment and sit until it gets back to 6 bars?

 

+1 on the need to know whether the taxis had transaxle fluid changes. There were posts about finding moisture inside the transaxle, presumably due to a vent got stuck open.

The only time I force charged the HV battery was for an MPG rally to boost the numbers. During normal commute with lots of pulse and glide the SOC ends up somewhere between 50 and 60%.

PS. Looks like LG expanded to a much larger place. Good for them!

 

That, and leave the car in Ready until the battery fan goes back down to a lower setting. It is a design flaw, not letting the battery fan continue to run when the car is turned off, if the battery is too hot.

On the transaxle fluid, if none of these cabs had it changed due to the "lifetime" spec, then I guess we pretty much know that lifetime is 150K - 250K miles. Change your fluid every 60000.

 

I usually suggest a first ATF refresh at 30000 miles, then each 60000 thereafter.

JeffD

A simple reconnection of the cooling fan supply to an unswitched 12v source and replacing the fan control with a separate thermostat would fix this "bug".

In hot climates I would look at installing a thermoelectric cooling module in the HV battery cooling duct and have it turn on with the cooling fan.

JeffD