Check engine light question

Can you tell us the exact code numbers that they read from the car?

I am assuming that you bought used from a private party - If so, I would consider using a salvage (used) inverter.

Also, if you are willing to transport to the Bay Area, you may want to take the car to Art's Automotive in Berkeley or Luscious Garage in SF. They both seem more willing to try to reduce repair costs for their customers.

Art's Automotive

Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists

 

devoeyd,

If you bought from a used car lot or "used" from a branded new car dealer, then most of them are required to provide a warranty of a certain length or # of miles [usually based on the selling price--- in CT I think it is one month or 1,000 miles for a car bought for at least $5,000 & 3 months or 3,000 miles for a car bought for $10,000 or higher (I may be wrong on these figures)] unless the window sticker has the "as is" box checked off, then there is no warranty.

If you bought from a dealer (rather than a private party) & DO have a warranty, I would make the dealer pay for the repairs or ask him to take the car back & refund your purchase price. Otherwise, I recommend you take the advice of the previous poster, but try to get the codes first from the dealer & post them here for the more knowledgeable people here to investigate (it may not be the inverter after all---your dealer may be either dumber or slicker than he looks).

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

what is the cost of a inverter?

 

Just found this on one of the above links

All hybrids have “inverters"—assemblies that translate high voltage direct current (DC) of the battery into alternating current (AC) for the motor/generator(s) and into low voltage DC to charge the accessory (12v) batttery. The chopping and reconstituting of current creates heat, which must be dissipated for the components to last. Honda hybrids are relatively light duty and can get by cooling the inverter with air, tucking it back near the trunk alongside the battery. Toyota “hybrid synergy drive” style hybrids are heavier duty and require water-cooled inverters, which is why they are located under the hood (for proximity to the radiator). On the water-cooled varieties, the “inverter water pump” circulates the coolant from the inverter to the radiator whenever the car is on. Circulation is confirmed by removing the cap on the inverter coolant reservoir and checking for turbulence (see video below). If turbulence is missing, one of the following is true:
1.) The inverter water pump has failed
2.) The pump circuit is open (no power e.g.)
3.) The cooling system is blocked (kinked hose, e.g.)
4.) The cooling system has an air pocket
Regardless of the reason, the lack of circulation will cause the inverter to overheat, setting a trouble code. On the second generation Prius (model year 2004-2009) that code is P0A93, information subcode 346: “Inverter Cooling System Performance.” Diagnosis commonly leads to a seized water pump, a problem we’ve seen multiple times on Prius as young as 55,000 miles.
Toyota has updated the design of the replacement pump (part number G9020-47031) to solve the problem. You can tell the updated design from the original by the color of the mounting base (black is original, silver is updated). Toyota has also issued a Technical Service Bulletin outlining the failure on 2004, 2005, and 2006 Prius: TSB EG001-07.
The pump can be replaced from above in just over an hour (LG bills 75 minutes), with a cost breakdown as follows:
Toyota Inverter Water Pump G9020-47031 = $124.40
Quart of Super Long Life Coolant = $5
Sales Tax = $11
1.5 Hours Labor = $150
Total = $290.40

 

Yes, both Art's and Luscious Garage have web info on common hybrid repairs - they are very gracious to share the info.

The reason that I asked for the exact codes is that we could then look up the info in the service manual to see what the likely causes are for the code(s).

 

Sticker shock time: Champion ToyotaWorld states that the MSRP for an inverter is $3,636.75, although they will sell it to you for $2,763.93. The job isn't particularly straightforward as you have to drain the HV (inverter and transaxle) coolant and be careful with the HV power leads, then refill the coolant when done. I'd guess it would take a couple of hours.

 

It would be very useful to get the exact failure codes from the dealer. There is some hope that the inverter is not actually dead but only suffering from a problem in the inverter cooling system (as Ken wrote), which would be far cheaper to fix (as Sandy detailed above). In any case it would be very risky to drive the car before repair. One might get away with a few miles at street speeds in cool weather, but I don't dare advise it.