Another inverter question...in need of a primer!

Wondering if someone might be able to give me a quick-and-dirty primer on inverter replacement in a 2001 Prius---basically, enough to talk intelligently with the dealer servicing the car to ensure that they've checked everything small before making this big and costly repair.

Here's our situation:

We have a 2001 Prius and had it on a road trip when the death trio of lights came on to indicate a major problem. At the same time, the cruise control stopped working, but otherwise the car drove normally---no strange sounds or feel. Since we were in the middle of nowhere and we'd had the same lights come on last winter for what turned out to be a very minor problem, we decided to push on to the next city to try to get it to a dealer. After about 10 miles, the car quit and we were dead on the side of the road. This is not a car that generally goes on long drives (though it's made this same trek 4-5 times over its lifetime---just not more than once every couple of years) and this was the first time in 5+ years that we had driven it in temperatures over 80 and run the air conditioning (we live in a very mild climate).

We got the car towed to the nearest Toyota service center an hour away, and they diagnosed an inverter coolant pump problem that then fried the inverter itself, possibly because we continued to drive it---with a big price tag to fix. (I don't know the codes, unfortunately.) After sitting for a bit the car does run, but then fails again after short periods. At home, we would get a second opinion on any major repair from our local independent hybrid shop just to be sure the work is the right thing to fix the problem, but obviously we're not in a position to do this here (and towing it home on the off chance that the diagnosis is wrong or we could get a used inverter is not worth the cost). We know nothing about the dealer it's currently at, except that they've been super nice and helpful (so that gets them many bonus points!)---but no real sense of how often they work on the Gen I cars or what their expertise is like. I did talk briefly with our service center at home who confirmed that a problem with the coolant pump might well not appear until the car was in hot weather, and could cause damage to the inverter if left unchecked.

We left the car with them since they can't do anything till next week anyway---parts have to be ordered. Between now and then, I'm basically trying to get a handle on what kinds of questions, if any, we should ask to doublecheck the costly diagnosis---or if it sounds like a certainty based on the car's symptoms so we should just grin and bear it. (The car is pretty low mileage and had a new hybrid battery a few years ago with no other major problems, so no real reason not to repair it and get more mileage out of it---but the cost is about half of the KBB value so we want to be sure it's going to fix the problem and be a necessary repair!)

Any basics on this issue---how it manifests itself, what we should ask the dealer about as far as affirming the diagnosis, etc.---would be much appreciated---thanks!

 

As I read and learn more about this, I should clarify one question...is there a way for the dealer to confirm that the inverter is dead before replacing the pump, or is that something they won't know with certainty until they replace the pump? Is a dealer likely to be willing to order a costly part (the inverter) and then not use it and/or return it if it's not needed? (At home we would be fine with ordering one part, trying it, and then leaving the car for a few more days to order a second part in this situation...but here, the goal is to get the car back on the road as soon as possible so we can get home.)

 

Thanks...location is CA Central Valley, too far to tow home (SF East Bay, where we would take it to Art's!) or to the LA area for any reasonable amount of money. We were hard pressed to even find a Toyota service center within 100 miles, so I think our options for independent shops or hybrid salvage yards are pretty much nil. Our only nearby repair option appears to be a Toyota service center and time is critical (plus we are no longer nearby---we left the car there and continued on our trip), so we aren't inclined to try to find a used inverter and get it there in under a day---in normal circumstances I'd feel comfortable researching it and hunting for one even if it took some time, but in this case there are a lot of question marks involved. If someone does know of a salvage yard in this vicinity, though, we can give it a go.

We did ask the service center to replace the pump and test the car first to see if it does work, which they agreed to do. However, I also learned that in testing the inverter, they bypassed the pump (which we knew for sure was not functioning) and were still getting the inverter warnings even with coolant---not a great sign. So, fingers crossed! The car did drive about 10 miles after the first warning lights before powering itself down, but we have not tried to drive it more than a few feet since then---it started and they were able to drive it around the parking lot and into the shop area, but I doubt that's far enough to really test much (and the theory is that those last 10 miles with no coolant may have been what fried the inverter).

Thanks!

 

Thanks! Yep, we discovered the lonely breakdown aspect...especially in mid-summer heat when you hadn't yet stopped to refill water or get lunch!

I didn't ask for details on how they bypassed the pump so not clear on that, but he did specifically refer to getting the coolant moving through the inverter again so it sounds as if they had some way of doing this---but it's also possible that it wouldn't have cleared the code without the car itself having a good pump. (I was just glad to learn they hadn't diagnosed on the codes alone.) We'll see...we're flying a little in the dark on this one given that we're not physically there, which is never something I'm a fan of (I prefer to actually see the car and observe what it's doing), so we just have to trust that we're getting good information from the techs.

It also occurred to me that we don't necessarily need to find an inverter close to the car, since we're in the San Diego area now and will be driving back through LA to get to the car---so there's a possibility that we can stop somewhere en route to try to get an inverter. The main challenge is whether the dealer will install a salvaged inverter for us (especially given that they'll have ordered a new one!) I'll run this by my other half and give them a call tomorrow to test the waters if we want to try that route. My experience at home is that our local Toyota service center is extremely reluctant to work with salvaged parts, but the independent shops usually will. May be a different ball game here, though!

 

Thanks, that is exactly what I needed!