Clarification on P0A93 Inverter Cooling Pump issues

You are not the only 2008 owner with this issue.

Perhaps the pump was not operating with a normal flow rate. For now, I would assume the dealer tech has correctly diagnosed the problem (the Toyota dealers certainly have plenty of experience with Prius inverters overheating for this reason).

I suggest that you authorize the repair, pay the bill, then write to the Toyota Customer Experience Center, provide a copy of your repair invoice, cite the LSC which covered earlier 2G models (do a search on PriusChat for details), and ask for a refund of your payment.

 

We seem to be hearing more and more inverter coolant pump failures on 2008/2009 gen2's. It is becoming increasingly obvious that these later vehicles should be included in the LSC up to 2007. I have a 2008 myself at 84,000 miles and feel it only a matter of time before the pump on my vehicle fails.

Come on Toyota if you wan't to keep customers include all gen2's.

 

Glad to hear it did not cost you anything and the dealer did inform you of the extended warranty.

I feel this issue is going to come back and bite Toyota as if the new pumps are already installed in 2008/9 vehicles they are proving to be just as unreliable as the old pump.

 

As a matter of interest what pump is fitted to the 2010 gen3 vehicles, and is it possible or reasonable to fit that pump. Have gen3's had pump failures in any quantity.

 

I would say that the serpentine belt should be replaced next year as a preventive maintenance measure, after you've logged 60K+ miles and the belt is five years old. At that point, when the belt is removed, there will be plenty of cracks visible on the inner surface; while the outer surface will be shiny due to minor slipping against the engine coolant pump pulley which contacts the outer surface of the belt.

 

You'll need to monitor the G3 forums, but my prediction is that as those vehicles age, you will see more than a handful of owners reporting failure of not just the inverter coolant pump but also the engine coolant pump. The latter of course will be a more significant failure.

 

While the 2G engine coolant pump eventually will fail, you don't have to worry about replacing it as a preventive measure. It will give plenty of warning before it fails.

The typical failure mode of a mechanical coolant pump is a leaking shaft bearing. This can be seen (if you look) as a pinkish stain on the inside of the coolant pump pulley and on the top of the air conditioner compressor housing below the coolant pump. The coolant reservoir mounted behind the radiator will also show a drop in coolant level. In extremely leaky situations, enough fluid leaks so that a stain is thrown up on the underside of the hood.

On the other hand, the problem with electric engine coolant pumps (such as is found in 3G Prius) is that the typical failure mode is the motor seizing up. Hence there is no warning. One day the pump is working fine, the next it is totally dead and whatever was supposed to be cooled by that system will overheat.

 

Even if you have a 2007 that is included in the recall, just hope and pray that the VIN is included. My 2007 Prius check engine light came on last Sunday. The vehicle only has 49,000 miles on it and is less than 2 months outside of warranty. Toyota "graciously" has comped the pump, but I am having to pay for the repair for them putting a knowingly defective part in this vehicle. I guess their accountants told them what VIN's they would have to cut off of the recall in order to maximize profit.

 

Please help me out i have a prius 2004 in which runs good no problem on it, recently around 3 months i replace the P0A93 code the inverter pump the electric one in the fender with a new dealer one and 6 months earlier i replace the other pump down the fuse box the car. my car runs well but after all day using it long tris around town the vsc lights and red triangle lights up, i scan the car and no codes on it, then next day still the same and after driving it a little lights get off if i drive the car in short trips no problem but then after driving long ones lights come on again, then also get the car scan and the code P0A93 return but the part already replace recently, also i try to purge the system but the same problem can someone help me out on getting this solve????

 

Caroline at Luscious Garage reports that the invertor pumps on the Gen 3's are just as susceptible to failure as they are in the Gen 2's.

Miguel what type of scanner are you using to retrieve your DTC's. If its not a compatible scanner for the Prius you may not be doing yourself enough good. If the VSC and red triangle lights are illuminated then one or more DTC's are logged in the ECUs. Get those codes and report back. Are you confident you were able to successfully purge the are air out of both cooling systems when both pumps were replaced?