So my little brother has been daily driving our 2002 Prius, and told me that the car all of a sudden became very sluggish, enough that he had to use the hazard lights at every stop due to lack of acceleration. He said that both the instrument cluster and display began to flicker, that the engine became much louder even at idle, that the AC or fan blower quieted, and that a rear blower, I'm assuming the hybrid battery blower, became louder or more apparent. I only have your basic OBD2 scanner and the Torque app, and pulled the following. Dr. Prius used to show basic hybrid battery info, but does not seem to want connect any longer. Would these codes be the only thing responsible? The seem to indicate three failing battery blocks in the hybrid battery. The hybrid battery was replaced with a Greentec Auto 12-month warranty remanufactured hybrid battery back in February 2021. It seems that their $2000 option with 3-year warranty is the only option that uses "new cells". If the current hybrid battery was serviced five years ago, and if I'm going to have to remove the battery anyway, should I try to replace the three failing battery blocks, or just cough up another $1400, $1900, or $2050 for one of their replacement hybrid batteries?
Sounds like problems in battery blocks 1, 4, and 13. You've gotten five years of service out of this battery, with cells that are probably at least 20 years old---not bad. I had greentec install the "newer cells" battery (as their web page then described it; now they say "new cells") in my 2002 a year ago August. So far, so good.. I had them do a mobile install, which was accomplished in my driveway in about three hours. They sent a tech out from their service facility in Livingston, NJ , about 75 miles from my house in Allentown. It was well worth the extra $75 for the install! I'd spend the money again if this battery poops out beyond the three-year warranty period, provided there are no other issues with the car. I recently replaced the 12V battery as well as the failing coolant pump in the inverter/converter after it set a DTC P3130 (twice!). Car runs like a charm now. Good luck with your car, and let us know what you decide to do.
