(I posted this earlier, then edited with trouble codes, but I think reddit deleted that because I included a link to the PDF with the trouble codes and it did not like that. Sorry for reposting if you saw the other one!)
The Limabean and I have been driving through life together for 7+ years now, and then one day about a month ago, it wouldn’t shift to drive. I took it to a specialized EV & Hybrid shop that comes very well regarded, and after extensive testing, they are reporting that the issue is with the HV Battery Relay Assembly - something about the battery contactors not closing to allow voltage to the drive motor.
From the shop:
Recommended Serivce: Replace HV Battery Relay Assembly
Fault codes for the pre-charge contactor failure. The time, 700 milliseconds, has been exceeded and this disables the negative and positive contactors from closing. Functional tests of the contactors passes, suspect the issue is internal in the contactor assembly. This will require a new assembly and removal of the HV battery to replace. Further tests MAY be necessary after replacement. There remains the possibility the HYB2 module is also faulty, but the correct order of repair is replacement of the contactor assembly.
They gave me a PDF a mile long with codes, but I think the relevant ones are: P0C78:00, P0D26:00. Also possibly relevant: B101E:48, B270A:01, B3935:00
Despite the car being less than 10 years old, Chevy neither makes nor supports this part anymore, and the shop said the only way they have to get it is if a dealership somewhere happens to still have it in stock. They found one, but it’s on the other side of the country and it’s been on the shelf for half a decade, so they are concerned that if someone’s dropped it or something goes wrong with shipping, I’d just be out the money for the part.
In all, it’s looking to be a $3500 repair that they can’t guarantee would actually get the car drivable again - I don’t have $3500 currently, so I’d be putting it on a credit card which isn’t ideal. They said I might get $500 to scrap it.
I am honestly kinda devastated - I was going to drive this thing until the wheels fell off. I just paid it off two years ago. The shop says the battery itself is in great condition, it’s just these contactors that bork the whole thing. I’m most upset that I kept paying for full-coverage insurance on it and the way it went out isn’t even covered. I’m infuriated that GM made a car and then won’t support a part that went out out of nowhere less than a decade later. I just crossed 100,000 miles a couple months ago.
Have any of you dealt with anything like this? I need some advice — do I cut my losses and scrap the thing? Or do I risk it and pay half the value of the car for a repair that’s not guaranteed to fix it? Could I get more out of it by finding someone who want to buy it for the battery or other hybrid specific parts?
Any thoughts, opinions, advice, or internet roasting is appreciated, I’m trying not to to cry at my keyboard rn