I've searched this forum and found similar situations, but mine seems a bit different. Let me describe in detail with questions at the end; please bear with me.

2007 TCH, 91450 miles, all OE just routine maintenance at nearest dealer in rural GA where purchased 8yr + 9mo ago, so 9mo past warranty period. Only car for me and wife.

Day 1 (Sat) - Short drive in town when following warnings come on. Alternating messages 'Check Hybrid System' and 'Check VSC System' plus these lights: red triangle, yellow ECB ((!)), Slip indicator and Check Engine. Parked at destination ~45 minutes then restarted and drove home. Felt normal except momentary hesitation when accelerating and apparently running on ICE only. Display shows tire and HV charge mostly full, but no engine symbol and no arrows moving during drive or braking. Started the car later without driving and saw the same alerts. Began searching forums for pertinent info.

Day 2 - Tried one suggestion in a post, reseating gas cap (had bought gas the day before Day 1). This helped, as VSC msg, ECB and Slip lights went off leaving constant Check Hybrid msg, red triangle and Check Engine lights. Had more errands to do so drove it anyway, total ~6 miles. Still just ICE with hesitation.

Day 3 - Wife gets in for another short trip and VSC, ECB and Slip show again, all the same warnings like Day 1, with same driving behavior. I call dealer who says bring it in, but I'm concerned about the risk of driving 40 miles to get there, so they say see if a local place can get codes from it and call back. When I get in to go do that I tried another suggestion in a post, starting & shutting off the car 3 times, and VSC, ECB and Slip disappear again. Car repair shop has a Snap-On scanner they say should work for the hybrid; came back and said it's code P0A80 with sometimes a reading of 16.34 instead of typical 17, and dealer has to handle that. They reset it and I drove away. Now it feels completely normal and display shows tire, HV and engine with arrows moving back and forth as usual. HV charge shows low but soon goes back up.

At this point have put on 19 miles since original alerts, all within several short trips in town no faster than 35 mph. Do you think it's ok to wait and just keep driving until warnings return, if they do, then go to dealer? Could a longer/faster outing help the HV battery (got a 150 mile trip coming up)? Or do you figure P0A80 is inevitable and I should just go get the work done to eliminate chance of breakdown? Any other suggestions?
Thanks.

 

You are likely falling into brake actuator recall situation. Very similar symptoms. Check with your dealer via the phone, if your VIN is under recall.

 

I would be pleased if it is the actuator, because that's indeed covered by the extended warranty. However, given the code and sub-par reading that the scan found, how can I be sure they distinguish the problem is not battery pack but really actuator?

 

'Check VSC System' plus these lights: red triangle, yellow ECB

Those are actuator lights. That they went away don't hold your breath on that. I had them come and go for several months, till I logged into ABS system with a decent scanner and cleared them. The other lights - you need to be scanned.