Originally Posted by tlditku

My HV battery nightmare….

OK, here we go. I can’t get help from any national Toyota rep so I need the support OF customers.

I bought my 2001 Classic from Carmax on March 31st, 2007 and drove it over 500 miles in 3 days. It easily averaged 50 mpg overall, up to 60 mpg at times, with no problems or warning symbols that I could detect. Then I took it to a the largest Toyota dealer in the state for a full checkup, and now it’s been in their shop ever since.

They said they found a stored trouble code and it needed new spark plugs, gasket, injectors, and a new computer, all for free under Toyota warranty. They did the work, and replaced the aux battery, too, and now it won’t start. So they loaned me a new free Camry and I’m still driving it, but I can hardly afford the doubled fuel cost.

I’ve talked with 4 levels of the dealer’s mechanics and managers, and they say the HV battery is basically dead, and they’ve been trying to start it every day, but the ICE won’t start. They’ve been trying to get hold of the only HV battery charger in the region to try charging it, and if it can’t be, they’ll replace it free. But they may not get the charger until May 2nd, because it has to be accompanied by a trained technician.

I trust this dealer because a friend has been satisfied with their service on her Corolla for 15 years, but I need my Prius back and running, and the dealer isn’t making any progress. They don’t know, or won’t say, if the HV battery was drained during their work. I want to be driving my Prius when I’m making loan payments and buying an extended warranty this month. The Carmax 30-day warranty runs out soon, but Toyota doesn’t seem to be following through on its responsibility to fix the hybrid system. They just say, “We’ll make it right. Keep driving that free Camry. You’re going to have a great car.” But WHEN?

I have a document of the crankshaft position sensor recall repair, but from reading internet posts, I think it has missed out on a number of recalls, such as the steering box.

Here is data from a live laptop printout of the car’s computer that the mechanic did for me April 19th. The printout says “2003 Prius 1NZ-FXE” and I don’t know why it says 2003. Some values were cleared when disconnecting and connecting the 12V battery. The charge indicator on the Energy touch screen shows maybe ¼ charge. He showed me that it would not go from Ready to ICE mode. He expects the ICE will start once the HV battery is charged. He says he has charged several on other cars. I guess all I can do is trust them to do what they say they will do, and fix it right, for free.

Battery SOC 0.0 %
WIN -20.0 KW
WOUT 0.0 KW
Delta SOC 20.0 %
IB Main Battery 0.00 A
Battery Blck Min Voltage 8.07 V
Min Battery Block No 8 #
Battery Block Max Voltage 14.06 V
Max Battery Block No 19 #
Battery Temperature 1 68 F
Battery Temperature 2 64.4 F
Battery Temperature 3 66.2 F
Battery Temperature 4 68 F
Battery Inside Air Temp 66.2 F
Normal Status Yes
Pre Onboard Charge No
Onboard Charge Status No
Outer Charge Status No
Cooling Fan Lo OFF
Cooling Fan Mid OFF
Cooling Fan Hi OFF
VMF Fan Voltage 0.000 V
SBL Fan Stop Request OFF
Auxiliary Battery Voltage 10.937 V
EQTR Charge Start Sig OFF
EQCO Front Relay OFF
CCTL ON
Estimat of Ex Charg Hour 0.0 Hr
Battery Blck Voltage 1 13.48 V
Battery Blck Voltage 2 12.11 V
Battery Blck Voltage 3 10.31 V
Battery Blck Voltage 4 9.70 V
Battery Blck Voltage 5 9.21 V
Battery Blck Voltage 6 8.56 V
Battery Blck Voltage 7 8.63 V
Battery Blck Voltage 8 8.09 V
Battery Blck Voltage 9 9.14 V
Battery Blck Voltage 10 8.51 V
Battery Blck Voltage 11 8.73 V
Battery Blck Voltage 12 10.12 V
Battery Blck Voltage 13 10.47 V
Battery Blck Voltage 14 10.80 V
Battery Blck Voltage 15 11.65 V
Battery Blck Voltage 16 12.72 V
Battery Blck Voltage 17 12.76 V
Battery Blck Voltage 18 13.51 V
Battery Blck Voltage 19 14.06 V
Inside Resist 1 0.024 ohm
Inside Resist 2 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 3 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 4 0.023 ohm
Inside Resist 5 0.023 ohm
Inside Resist 6 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 7 0.023 ohm
Inside Resist 8 0.021 ohm
Inside Resist 9 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 10 0.023 ohm
Inside Resist 11 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 12 0.024 ohm
Inside Resist 13 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 14 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 15 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 16 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 17 0.022 ohm
Inside Resist 18 0.021 ohm
Inside Resist 19 0.022 ohm
Onboard Charge Time 0 times
Battery Low Time 0 times
BC Inhibit Time 0 times
Battery HI Time 0 times
IG OFF Hour 0 Hr
IG ON Hour 0.04 Hr
The Stored DTC Num 0
ECU Code 47030A

The mechanic says he’s charging the small battery, and Toyota won’t let him replace the HV battery without trying the charger, even though the pack charges range from 8 to 14V. He says he’s employed the charger on a few Prii, and he expects it to level out the voltages, and if it doesn’t, they can get a new HV battery overnight. He is scheduled to get the charger May 2nd. He says he will let them know their delivery date for the charger is unacceptable and will try to get it sooner. He says he’s doing everything he can to go to bat for me, but still no theory on what happened to the HV battery.

I hope this isn’t the beginning of the end of the 2001 Prius. I’d appreciate any advice you guys can provide, and I’ll keep you posted.