"Check Hybrid System" Error right out of the dealership

Michael, since you've discovered the latest recall on your car is still open, it might be wise to contact the Toyota dealership again and ask if they have a 2010 inverter in their parts department. If they don't (and if the worst is true), how long would they anticipate in getting that part.

 

It should be covered no matter what it is by your Chevy dealership, but you are going to need to develop a relationship with your nearest Toyota dealership too. Get the recall done and find a service advisor at the Toyota dealer you trust. Usually, they are pretty good about that, but you do have 70k miles on this new car so some warranties are running thin. Good luck and let us know how it all went.

 

Sorry to hear about this. It went into safe mode it sounds like so I am guessing a substantial issue. The good thing is, the power train is warranted to 100 or 150K depending on state. I suspect the dealer will be eager to do what is right too since you just bought it. Will pray it all goes smoothly.

 

the power train is not 100k, just hybrid. didn't chevvy give you 30 day warranty or anything?

 

isn't connecticutt a carb state? if so, it's 10 years 150k.

 

drive train is pretty bulletproof anyway.

 

look at my edited post.

 

Mike, the CARB states use California-style warranties, which, in general, are much longer than those of non-CARB states. Like over 100,000 miles on the hybrid drive train.

Just to finish up on this recall: As a WAG (wild-assed guess), your failure sounds like the reason the recall was made. Turns out that there's an array of high-power, high current transistors built into the inverter in what appears to have been a clean-room environment. (We've seen disassembled pictures.. They're impressive.)

Toyota's explanation for the recall states that four of these transistors, used to boost the voltage to the transistors driving the two electric motors, have been Caught In The Act of popping off of the heat sink to which they were soldered. When this happens one of two things happen: 1) If it just cracks free, and one is lucky, the car goes into safe mode and one can stumble to the side of the road. 2) It it cracks free and throws sparks (possible) then the inverter electronics (there's some really impressive circuit boards in there loaded with parts) can get corrupted, in which case the car stops dead. Not a good nor safe thing in traffic, hence the recall.

Near as the bunch of us can figure and based upon some numbers in testing, Toyota's solution to the problem is to reprogram the inverter electronics to cut down on abrupt changes in the boost voltage, thus cutting down on peak rate of change of temperature between the transistors and their attached heat sink. This doesn't seem to directly affect max acceleration, although it does appear to reduce the snap/jerk that occurs when one goes to wide-open throttle. One member who reports what appears to have been this issue states that, at the time, the car was being driven as if it was stolen.

Some people claim to notice a difference in the way car drives before and after the update; some claim not to notice. Numbers collected from scan gauges (a popular tool amongst the cognoscenti) show slower changes between boost and non-boost, so there it is.

If this happened to you, there's no repairing that inverter. Like I said, clean room techniques, bond wires and all. In which case your car will need a new one. One fellow whose 2010 inverter failed under CARB-style warranty had to wait a few weeks (!) for a new one, possibly because they had to run out and smelt metal for a new cover, but more likely because (a) they've been replacing these as a result of the recall inspection (there's some suspicion that they can catch incipient failures with an electrical diagnostic) and (b) they ran out.. The 2010's were the first year that the Gen III's were made, after all, so it's a good guess that a 2010 might have a failing inverter as compared to a later car.

But, just so we're clear: Every GEN III Prius is getting this recall. They even stopped ships on cars on the dealers' lots in order to get this recall in. So it's not surprising that a Chevy dealer with a used car didn't get the recall, and just blame bad luck that it happened to you with your new (used) car chugging down the road right after you got it.

Since Toyota has promised to pay for any failed inverters with this problem, in the end, it's not really going to cost you (well, you won't have any cost!) or the Chevy dealer much to get this fixed. And, if you're lucky, the stock of 2010 inverters will have been replenished, and you'll be on the road before the week is out. And once the new inverter and proper software is in there, you'll have as reliable a 2010 as mine, which also is running around with something just north of 70K miles.

Good luck!

KBeck

 

That's why my previous post said WAG. There's a lot of electronics and mechanical hardware under that there hood. If a lifetime of debugging recalcitrant broken hardware has taught me anything, it's never to ascribe a failure mode to something concrete until one has the broken, burned parts laid out in front of you.

It kinda sounds like the inverter failures we've all been having fun talking about, but a good solid nickel says that there's other faults that can do the same thing, from a blown fuse, bad 12V battery, and mice loose in the wiring harnesses. (Reports state that rodents find Prius wires tasty for some reason.)

Toyota will suss it out, never fear.

KBeck

 

I would make sure to get the codes before taking the car back.
This will hone in on what the issue is.

Depending on what they are, I might not even take the car and instead get my money back.