Gen2 Prius Randomly Died!

Hey everyone- longtime fan of these boards, first-time poster. (I was hoping that my first post would be about reaching 300,000 miles, but I'm not quite there yet.)

Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with a problem I'm experiencing with my Gen2 Prius (2006): one week ago, as I pulled into my driveway (thankfully it didn't happen on the hightway), the car just completely shut off with no warning. The engine turned off, all of the consoles went black, power steering died, and the car was completely immobilized.

First of all, I thought it could be a 12V battery issue. The weird thing is, though, is that the headlights still work, the dome lights still work, and the power locks still work. It's only the center screen and the speedometer console that are black. And, of course, the power button won't restart the car. I tried some 2A trickle charging of the 12V battery over the past few days, but it made no difference- the car still won't start up.

I've had issues in the past with this car when it stopped in a similar fashion, but the difference was that the master warning light came on (along with numerous other warning lights) as the car stopped, and the center console screen and the speedometer cluster remained on.

I've also replaced the hybrid battery before (GreenBean), but never did the car die in this fashion- it's very mysterious.

As of today, when I once again attempt to start the car by pressing the start button, you can hear some faint, normal mechanical whirring as if it's going to start, but it never does (and the screens remain black).

Any idea as to what the problem might be?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

I've been replying on the duplicate thread, but it seems indeed to be the inverter coolant pump!

 

Just to follow up, I was able to drive the car a couple miles to a local mechanic after disconnecting the pump's electrical cable and replacing the blown fuse.

I brought him a genuine Toyota pump that I bought online and he installed it for me for $280.

The car is now back on the road! Thanks to everyone for your help.

 

Yeah, it's not the best price, but based on estimates for other repairs, I'm pretty sure my local Toyota dealer would've charged twice that, believe it or not.