2007 Toyota Prius broke down with several hybrid system codes, but shops says it's actually fine?

I have a 2007 Prius with about 114k miles. It recently had all of the check engine and dashboard lights come on during a long drive but continued to run. I drove it back home and when I tried it again, the dash lights weren't on anymore. I took it to a local shop. I had them check for stored codes and get an overdue oil change while it was there, anyway. They came up with the P0A7A code but wanted to charge a lot to look into it since it was just some little shop and they didn't have whatever hybrid system tools they needed.

So, I continued to drive it for a few days, planning to take it to a certified Toyota service center when I had a day off. It broke down before I could take it somewhere. After driving for about an hour and parking, when I came back to the car to drive back home, it wouldn't start. It was towed to the closest Toyota service center.

I just picked it up from the shop. They had additional codes. Here are all of the codes they found: P0A7A, P0AA6, P0607, C2318, and C2121. They said they then ran a complete health check and everything was fine! They ran it again and all was well. They did over 80 miles worth of road tests to see if anything would happen. The car drove fine. I asked if they specifically checked the transmission and inverter (because of the P0A7A)and they said they did, and that they were fine.

Since they couldn't find anything actually wrong, they had me come pick up the car today.

Now I'm still worried that it will break down on me and need very costly repairs since a lot of those codes seem like they involve the hybrid system. Is it possible the codes came on in error? What could cause this? Someone suggested it could be an electrical issue. I had the 12v battery replaced less than a year ago when I accidentally killed it.

Should I take it somewhere else? Should I just try to get rid of this car ASAP by trading it in? If it passed all the health checks, I'm thinking a dealership would still offer okay money for it...

I really don't know a lot about cars and don't think I could repair it myself. I'm just looking for advice on what to do next. Thanks so much!

(I posted this on Reddit as well so I apologize if anyone has already read this there)

 

Thanks for the reply! I will try to take a look at the inverter coolant flow. I'm really ignorant with anything car related, but this seems easy enough.

I read about the inverter pump recall, but when I put my VIN in that website, it does not say I am due for replacement. I don't remember getting it replaced but the shop it was just at said I already had it replaced in my car. I'm not sure that I believe them, though. Do you know if all 2007 Priuses were part of this recall? I can start finding all of my old maintenance paperwork to see if I did have that replaced, but I really don't remember doing it.

The dealership I had it towed to was DARCARS Toyota in Silver Spring, Maryland. It broke down near there which was the only reason I had it towed to that particular shop. I've had maintenece done at several Baltimore area Toyota service centers but I haven't really found one that seems any better than the others. Maybe Brown's in Glen Burnie - which is a bit out of the way, but I remember them seeming pretty honest. If anyone has suggestions for a service center in the Baltimore area, I'd love to know! I live in north Baltimore.

I made an appointment for a Carmax appraisal tomorrow just to see what they say. Since I'm under no obligation to actually sell, if they do give me a very low appraisal, I'll just leave.

 

Hi!
The 12v battery was replaced last September. It died during a camping trip when a friend of mine left his phone charging too long in my car.

 

Thank you for the advice! I personally don't know how to check the 12v battery voltage but I can probably find a friend who can.

 

Wow, that would actually be a huge relief! I wonder if there is a warranty on the replacement battery I had put in since it was less than a year ago. I'll start looking into that and finding someone to help me test it.

 

Is this what you all mean by turbulence in the inverter coolant? I uploaded a little video of my reservoir after a 5 minute drive while still in ready mode: https://vidd.me/NgE

I found out that I can get my battery checked at Advance Auto Part or AutoZone so I will try to get it checked tonight. I called the service center that replaced my battery last year to see if it is under warranty and it is. So, if the battery is bad I should be able to get it replaced for free.

Thanks again for everyone's input! I am so ignorant with cars but I feel like I am learning a lot and I really appreciate the help.

 

I was going to take it to AutoZone or Advance Auto Parts tonight to get the battery checked. I just saw on the AutoZone website that they can also do a quick charge. Should I ask them to do this? Is there anything specific I should be looking out for?

I would maybe buy that tool and do it myself, but I live in Baltimore city without a garage. I'm pretty sure I'd come back to my car to find nothing left under the hood!

 

Oh yeah, the car has been running ever since I got it back yesterday afternoon. I've driven it to and from work, which is only about 12 miles each way. No dash lights are on. I am just terrified that it is going to break down again since the service center didn't actually do anything.

I could probably leave it running for 3 hours in the parking pad behind my house as long as I hang out in the backyard near it.

 

So tonight I did a couple of things. First, I got a Carmax appraisal just to keep the idea of a trade-in as an option. They appraised it at $5000. Which is lower than KBB value, but I have had a couple of accidents and some cosmetic damage. They didn't find anything mechanically wrong with the car.

Secondly I got my battery tested at autozone. It came up as 12.3v with 83% charge, so I think it's good? Although, I had done some driving today. I think I will still leave it running for 3 hours.

 

Heh, I don't want to trade it in or sell it all for that low. I just wanted to see if trading it in would even been an option. Since the appraisal is so low I am not going to go that route. But I think it's a good sign that Carmax didn't find anything mechanically wrong. Now I just need to decide if I should get a 2nd opinion from another Toyota service center as to why it broke down since I still don't know.