POA80 Diagnostic - Hybrid Battery issue
 

Hey all - been following this forum for some time but this is my first post. It's a long one, but I will greatly appreciate any help you folks can give me.

I was in a very serious rear end crash and brought my 09 TCH (165,000 miles) to the body shop to be fixed by the insurance company. The car was in the shop (Body Shop that is on the site of a Toyota Dealership) for over a month - during which they replaced the 12V battery (of which I paid 1/2 of the replacement cost) and completely repaired the rear end. The amount of damage was very close to the threshold for "totaling" the car. I had a few other small issues which required me to bring the car back to the shop 1 week after getting it back, but before that I got a "Hybrid System Check" message on the dash along with a "VSC" message. The VSC message went away, but my battery was basically toast and the car ran solely on the gas engine.

When I brought the car in that day, they ran a diagnostic check and the POA80 code showed up (which I understand from other posts in this forum to mean the battery is faulty). The guy at the shop (who I trust) told me he would put a claim in for me, but that they would usually total a car that had hybrid battery issues based on repair costs. The insurance company ultimately insisted on doing a visual check of the battery instead of relying on the diagnostic check.

When I called yesterday to check on the status of the battery, I was told that they "charged the battery" and that there was no issue with the Hybrid System anymore.

Obviously - I am happy that I won't be out of pocket any more money, though I would've gladly split the cost of a new hybrid battery as opposed to buying a new one all by myself down the road. My concern is that the insurance company is putting a band aid on this situation to appease me and save themselves the cost of a new hybrid battery. I've read that the Hybrid System needs to be activated regularly and wonder if the issue with the battery is there because of the extended time in the shop (which, in my mind, would make the battery issue the responsibility of the insurance company).

Any thoughts or sage advice is much appreciated.... Thanks in advance.