Hello! My 08 TCH (121k miles) recently displayed Check Hybrid System, Check VSC, check engine light, and red triangle of death.
It would still drive on the gas engine only, would not engage traction battery.
Pulled codes and got the following: P0A80, C1259, C1310
I also measured the voltage across the 12V battery and got 12.57 when the car was off, and 14.20 when it was on. It is original to the vehicle.
Did some diagnosing via a bluetooth ODBII and Dr Prius and Hybrid Assistant - screenshots attached:
- Ran Hybrid Assistant and Dr Prius battery status, and interestingly the largest difference in voltage between modules was 0.20V (screenshots attached showing lower, but I watched it for 10mins or so).
- Decided to run the Life Expectancy check with Dr Prius and it was around 50% indicating its on its way out.
- Cleared the codes, and then car started up fine. Ran the Dr Prius Full Battery Test and everything checked out fine.

My thoughts:
- the codes set initially as one of the modules was > 0.30V different from the others but has since returned to "normal"
- 12V battery seems fine, likely not cause as didn't have a slew of other codes from low voltage to other systems. May be prudent to do an O'Reilly test if they can do the AGM correctly.
- Since I don't have an indication from either app that one specific module is low voltage I don't have faith in swapping a module or two, and others have indicated here previously that is a very short term solution as the others are likely set to fail in the near future.

Thinking about replacing the traction battery. Options:
- DC Battery Hub - 1yr, refurbished - $1452, 2yr, refurbished - $1626
- Falcon Hybrid Solutions - 1yr, refurbished - $1350, 2yr $1850
- Green Bean - 3yr, installed - $1894, +$275 for lifetime warranty
- Dorman - 2yr, refurbished - $2073
- Greentec - 2yr, refurbished - $1895, 4yr, new cells - $2295

I'm leaning towards the DC Battery Hub option with a 2year warranty, otherwise Greentec or Green Bean are about $200 more. Dorman seems to be hit or miss on here with reliability. Any thoughts?

 

Hybrid assistant will present a substantially different picture if you run it down to 25-40% SoC while in Neutral (so engine doesn't start).

THe 0.38% Delta SoC is an indication of problem. Delta SoC on a healthy battery is always 0.0%.

Dr. Hybrid, while lacking specifics, is likely the most meaningful. In my experience Gen 3 Toyota hybrids (includes 08 Camry) damage their batteries due to aggressive use and marginal cooling systems.

Absolutely, positively stay away from any "new cells" option. They are either Chinese made "D" cell kits or Chinese made prismatic modules. Both options are substantially inferior to a quality recondition.

I have had module level experience with Falcon. Horrid.
Dorman should be avoided like the plague.

 

Thank you S Keith for your informative reply, ill steer clear of the cheapo and Dorman products. Do you have any personal experience with the DC Battery Hub brand?

I ran the battery down (actually got to 20% and got the "shift to park" msg). See attached.






I recently did the piston soak procedure and initial results look promising in reducing its oil consumption. Given car prices lately this may be a good bet to try to get a few more years out of the car.

 

There you go. The dV increases as SoC decreases. It is very possible that you might get a lot more out of this pack if you simply periodically reset codes and drive conservatively. I would not recommend immediate replacement.

 

Most excellent. Thank you again!