Prius breaks down 20 days after purchase... help!

I removed those bolts when I removed the inverter and had to reinstall them. I was not aware of the specification to do them at 71 in.lbf at the time. I agree that it may be a slim chance but I am hoping that it is just one small step like this that I I can correct and it fixes the internal short. Maybe the replacement inverter was DOA but from my understanding inverter failure is few and far between.

 

So I was (finally) able to get back out and work on this last weekend (I wish I had more time to commit to this). I followed the troubleshooting tree as prescribed and was able to complete step 6. The results were acceptable per the specified condition. I moved on to step 7 & 8 and was not able to complete the steps because I got the error code "ECU cannot perform the requested Active Test" on my laptop and it advised me to "verify that all vehicle conditions are met."

Is this pointing me towards an ECU problem or is this just a shortfall of not having the "real" Toyota software?

I am also still concerned that I have only 20.3% charge on the hybrid battery. Should I even be worried about that at this point? It just seems to me if I am with such a low state of charge then the systems may not be communicating correctly. Then again, I know very little about the power requirements to start the Prius and so let me know if I am barking up the wrong tree here.

 

Hey guys,

I wanted to give everyone a resolution to my story. It turned out that it was the worst-case scenario... I had to get a new transaxle. After replacing the inverter myself and with the problem still not solved I towed it to a hybrid specialty place in Atlanta. I highly recommend Kenny at Atlanta Hybrid Repair

I am thankful that I learned so much about my car and hope that it will last many years and many more miles. I am glad that I tried to fix it myself and didn't pay the dealer to fix the inverter which would not have solved the problem.

The lessons I learned:
1) Be wary about buying used hybrids. The codes on these vehicles can be very easily reset and you will have no idea during a test drive or inspection. Only when the occurrence happens again will the codes show, which can be days or weeks apart.
2) Despite all the warnings, you can work on these cars. I commonly say that if you can install a ceiling fan in your home than you can safely work on a Prius. The biggest safety tip: "flip the breaker" (aka the hybrid battery plug) and you have almost completely eliminated any chance of injury from electricity. Of course you should always observe safe electrical practices.
3) Stay away from the dealers for service. Based on my experience, they had the diagnosis wrong and would have charged me an ungodly amount to replace the wrong part.

I hope each of you enjoy your hybrids and I hope that anyone thinks twice the next time they get the P0A7A code and blame it on the inverter.

Cheers!