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Is this part covered under the "Hybrid System" part of the warranty?

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by delrey, Oct 8, 2014.

  1. delrey

    delrey Member

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    I just had a major failure and two week trip to the dealer, finally resulting in this part being replaced:
    89681-47041 "Computer, Power Mana" the same as the "Hybrid control module (power management control module)"?

    I'm trying to double check what was done as I had a negative experience with the dealer I went to for service and therefor don't trust that they checked whether this should have been covered under warranty.

    I'm not clear whether the "Computer, Power Mana" is the same as the hybrid control ECU?
    Can anyone shed light?

    Also, I'm curious if anyone has had something similar happen to them? My car has 41k miles on it, it's a 2012 plugin (less that 2 years old, I got it at the end of 2012).

    Any comments or suggestions? Thanks! At least the car is fixed and back with me now, but it was a really big bill. They replaced the 12v battery (maybe not necessary?) and did $152 worth of diagnosis over a 1.5 week period to finally figure out that a new power management control unit was needed.

    What happened to me sounds very similar to the problem covered by a recall against regular prius but not against the plugin models. That recall says:

    "Toyota will update the motor/generator control ECU and hybrid control ECU software on certain Model Year 2010-2014 Prius vehicles. The software’s current settings could result in higher thermal stress in certain transistors, potentially causing them to become damaged. If this happens, various warning lights will illuminate and the vehicle can enter a failsafe mode. In rare circumstances, the hybrid system might shut down while the vehicle is being driven, resulting in the loss of power and the vehicle coming to a stop."
     
  2. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    The Computer, Power Management is the the same as the Hybrid ECU.

    The EOE safety recall was a software upgrade to reduce stress on the Inverter Power Module. This is not similar to your problem.

    Your Warranty Manual is very specific about what is covered by the different warranties including hybrid components. Read your manual and see what it says.
     
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I'm almost certain Toyota Corporate would cover this repair.......if it's not already covered. Your car is very new and the miles are very low.
     
  4. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    It's gonna be really tough for your dealer to look at you with a straight face and tell you that something called a "Hybrid Engine Control Unit" is not part of your car's "Hybrid System."
     
    rxlawdude likes this.
  5. rxlawdude

    rxlawdude Active Member

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    Clearly this is a CARB covered warranty item. They cannot charge you for the diagnosis of the failure of a covered item.
     
  6. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    From the warranty manual for my 2010 in a non-CARB state:

    Hybrid System Warranty


    This warranty covers repairs needed to
    correct defects in materials or
    workmanship of the components listed
    here and supplied by Toyota, subject to
    the exceptions indicated under “What Is
    Not Covered” on pages 14-15.

    • Battery control module (battery voltage sensor)

    • Hybrid battery

    Hybrid control module (power management control module)

    • Inverter with converter

    Coverage is for 96 months or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
     
  7. delrey

    delrey Member

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    @jdcollins5, the dealer is telling me that the "Computer, Power Mana" part is *NOT* the the same as the Hybrid ECU.

    I thought that I could look up the part numbers and figure it out, but I can't find a part number for something called the "Hybrid ECU".

    Good news: Toyota agreed to pay for 75% of the repair.
    Bad news: I still had to pay over $800 ... so I'm trying to be sure I understand what I got and what was done to my car.

    Update: I called back to ask Toyota corporate the same question. I got some very fuzzy information which I questioned. They just called back. After doing some research the person I talked to said that he found conflicting information on his end and that he would keep looking into it and get back to me in a couple days.
     
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    So basically you paid about $500 for the repair. The 12v battery replacement is not covered under warranty and should run you around $300 installed.....but I seriously doubt your 12v needed replacement in such a short time frame. oh well, 75% off is better than paying full price.
     
  9. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    How about contacting the CARB people and asking for clarification? If, as I suspect it is, the part is covered, I'm sure they will assist you in bringing the dealer and Toyota up to speed. Further, Toyota should pay for your 12v by way of apology. Good luck, and please keep us posted.
     
  10. delrey

    delrey Member

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    Right, the breakdown was something like
    --
    Actual repair (labor and part) -
    (total $1,440, toyota paid $1070): .... $360
    12v Battery: ........................................ $299
    Diagnostics: ........................................ $120

    I am sure I didn't need a new battery but they told me that they couldn't move ahead with diagnosing the problem without replacing the battery. So not much choice.

    I must say that contacting Toyota corporate was easy and they have been very professional and responsive. I don't think I should have to pay for any of this but if my interaction with the dealer had been better I would still walk away content. At this point I am just fascinated. There are all these different names for things so I'd love to get to part numbers as that seems more precise: part #12345 is covered, part #2341234 is not covered, type thing. Ah well. Thanks for the company as I recover from my car repair trauma.

    I should start a new thread, but I admit to being surprised that Toyota Connect didn't work when my car broke down. I guess that it is supposed to work even in a car crash (or especially then) so with enough power for headlights, hazard lights, and door locks to work I was sad that I couldn't make the safety connect call.
     
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    you could've kept the old battery for the price of the core charge $15 or less
     
  12. delrey

    delrey Member

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    I'll think about doing that if I don't hear anything conclusive from Toyota corp.
    At some point I should stop pursuing the repair cost and focus on writing letters and posting online reviews about the horrible experience at this particular dealer. Thank goodness all other dealers I've worked with have decent service departments!
     
  13. IMkenNY

    IMkenNY Im just being nosy

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    I believe the power mana is a body control computer (12 volt management) as opposed to the drivetrain control computer (hybrid control ECU).
    The power mana computer would be covered by the 3 year 36,000 mile warranty and should have lasted the life of the vehicle 200k+.
    Its nice to see Toyota helped out with the out of warranty repair but I feel the dealer overcharged you starting with the unlikely 12v battery need for replacement.
     
  14. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Can you give us some facts (part numbers, Repair Manual descriptions, etc.) to verify your claim that the power mana is a body control computer?
     
  15. IMkenNY

    IMkenNY Im just being nosy

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    "I believe", but I wont say that I am positive about my prior post based on:

    89681-47041 is power mana per delrays original post
    89661-47450 is drivetrain ECU as listed at www.car-parts.com

    The main reason I suspect the power mana computer is a body computer is because delray stated in a later post on this thread: " I should start a new thread, but I admit to being surprised that Toyota Connect didn't work when my car broke down. I guess that it is supposed to work even in a car crash (or especially then) so with enough power for headlights, hazard lights, and door locks to work I was sad that I couldn't make the safety connect call" suggest body control problems and not drivetrain.
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    delray, i agree with you completely. not that it helps, but they should have put your old battery back in and not charged you at all. toyota should have covered the rest of the expenses, period.
     
  17. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    When I search the 2010 Prius Repair Manual for "power mana" the only reference found is the Power Management ECU which is also referred to as the Hybrid System ECU or the HV CPU. I can find no reference for a power mana ECU. Of course this is something that may have been added to later models or even the PiP.

    My opinion is that the Toyota reference to "computer, power mana" is just a truncated reference to the "computer, power management". If someone can prove otherwise, please let us know.

    Unless someone can prove otherwise, it appears to me that the dealer may be using this truncated reference as a way to avoid a warranty replacement.
     
  18. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Per Toyota, the covered items are model specific and year specfic, so one needs the Toyota list for 2012 (which I have)

    HV control computer (power management control computer)*

    If that's the part, sounds like a sub-par service center, normally on a warranty item they are only so happy to fix it and charge Toyota.
     
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    warranty labor charge is not the same as non warranty labor charge. The rates are completely different.

    It's the same as having a home warranty. When the contractors come out, whatever they put on their report is how the claim will be paid. The tech has total control on how much is charged on your claim. Toyota in this case, is there to cover any warranty repair. But if the tech lists items that are not warranty items, Toyota has no obligation to pay.
     
  20. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    Which is why I suggested contacting CARB's enforcement dept. They would be the ones to take the dealer's technician by the ear and lead him to the warranty covering the hybrid system. And Toyota ought to be looking over the shoulders of these guys to keep them honest, instead of covering their butts by paying only what the technician tells them they have to pay? What, are these guys operating out of Washington, D.C? :mad: