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Number of inverter pumps?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Prius Fleet Owner, Aug 14, 2018.

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  1. Prius Fleet Owner

    Prius Fleet Owner Junior Member

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    Hello all.

    I went to a local garage today to inquire about the cost of changing the inverter pump as there seems to be a consensus about them failing around 80,000 miles or so.

    Anyway, according to a mechanic who works there it appears there are 3 pumps that are part of the inverter. 2 behind it and one in front apparantly.

    I was not aware of this so my question is which is the pump that is prone to failure and is there a specific name for it?
     
    #1 Prius Fleet Owner, Aug 14, 2018
  2. Kal Of The Rathi

    Kal Of The Rathi Junior Member

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    One inverter pump in the coolant circuit.
    It switches between the coolant storage canister and the engine.
    One very expensive pump for the heater.
    Never found another, but one in the inverter would surprise me.

    The coolant one is the normal failure mode from what I understand.
     
    #2 Kal Of The Rathi, Aug 14, 2018
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    oh my..................

    There is only ONE inverter cooling pump. It is located directly behind the driver side headlight. It has one hose connected on the engine side and one hose connected at the top. One electrical connector with 2 wires.

    Replacing it yourself can be done for about $100-125....
    Last dealer quote I saw from a friend was $550.
     
    #3 TMR-JWAP, Aug 14, 2018
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  4. Kal Of The Rathi

    Kal Of The Rathi Junior Member

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    Also, I paid $65 from Amazon for a pump. Zero additional cost, no shipping and I replaced it myself. Wasn't difficult. I do recommend being ready to deal with the coolant and removing the driver's side headlight (which I was doing because I was changing the HID bulbs) did make it quite a bit simpler.

    Do you have a front loader washing machine? Just so you know, there are no TV tubes in it. ;-)
     
    #4 Kal Of The Rathi, Aug 14, 2018
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  5. ShahGAutos

    ShahGAutos Junior Member

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    I just replaced my inverter pump ( located behind the driver side headlight) this morning. Car has 251k miles and I purchased the car in May of 2018. Order $90 OEM pump off amazon and it worked perfectly.
     
    #5 ShahGAutos, Aug 14, 2018
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    run from that garage, and run fast.
     
    #6 bisco, Aug 14, 2018
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  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Just for clarity for any future readers who might come along here...

    The answer is one. There is one cooling pump that has anything to do with the inverter, and it has nothing to do with anything else: not the engine, not the heater, not the storage thermos. Just the inverter. And that's the answer to the original post.

    Moving away from the inverter, there are other pumps around, but they are all for other things. There is one for the engine coolant storage thermos. There is one to keep supplying hot water for the heater when the engine is off. And of course there is the one on the engine.

    None of those have got anything to do with the inverter. The inverter just hums along happily, with its one pump, unconnected to any of that other stuff.

    -Chap
     
    #7 ChapmanF, Aug 14, 2018
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  8. golfmk681

    golfmk681 Active Member

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    Wow $500 big ones.
     
    #8 golfmk681, Aug 15, 2018
  9. golfmk681

    golfmk681 Active Member

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    Mine was $65 Plus Toyota coolant lol so under $100 for everything
     
    #9 golfmk681, Aug 15, 2018
  10. Prius Fleet Owner

    Prius Fleet Owner Junior Member

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    Yes. Got the part number for it now so I can take that to the garage to clarify things.

    Despite him being a good mechanic as I do know him he maybe not understood me as he is Polish and I maybe did not understand him.

    He has taken Toyota Prius courses so he is familiar with hybrids so I think It was probably me not explaining myself properly.

    Anyway, thanks for the information. It is amazing the knowledge on these forums by Prius owners. For some reason not many mechanics around in the UK seem to show any interest in them and do not seem to be keeping up with modern car technology with many focusing on ICE only. The ignorance is astounding at times when it comes to hybrids. What is it about owning a Prius and wanting to learn more about them? I never had the same enthusiasm with any other ICE car but these hybrids do seem to provoke curiosity.

    Is it the same with mechanics in the USA? My presumption with it being a huge country that the knowledge is probably more prevalent.
     
    #10 Prius Fleet Owner, Aug 15, 2018
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    that explains it. yes, same here. most have not even taken courses and would prefer not to work on hybrids. even many dealer mechanics are clueless.

    all the best.(y)
     
    #11 bisco, Aug 15, 2018
  12. Prius Fleet Owner

    Prius Fleet Owner Junior Member

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    I have found that with main dealers too. I have never used them in the past anyway even with ICE vehicles but you would think with Toyota being world leaders in Hybrid technology that they would ensure their dealerships are given world class training & knowlege on them. Bit of a paradox really when you understand The Toyota Way and their company ethos.
     
    #12 Prius Fleet Owner, Aug 15, 2018
  13. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    For the complete newb, the answer is there are TWO coolants pumps in the prius: one inverter pump (for the electronics) and one (conventional) gasoline engine water pump.

    The garage could have been thinking about other plug-in hybrids like the Volt that have 3 pumps. Their third pump is for a battery coolant loop.
     
    #13 fotomoto, Aug 15, 2018
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    but the question was 'number of inverter pumps'. not coolant pumps or inverter coolant pumps.
     
    #14 bisco, Aug 15, 2018
  15. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Yes, hence my qualifier that I underlined:

    Never over estimate the knowledge of the newb. That's something I constantly need to remind myself of. For example, when I first asked my son to point to where to check the oil, he pointed to the brake master cylinder. o_O He now knows both how to check and change it.(y)

    Also, the odds of a current gen 2 owner being either a new hybrid owner or even first time car owner are very high given current pricing and reputation.
     
    #15 fotomoto, Aug 15, 2018
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  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    right. that's why i mentioned that the o/p wasn't specifically asking about 'coolant' pumps.
     
    #16 bisco, Aug 15, 2018
  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Um, the correct answer varies by Prius generation, but I don't think "two" is correct for any of them.

    Gen 1 has three (belt-driven on the engine, electric for the inverter, electric to supply the cabin heater when the engine is stopped).

    Gen 2 has four (those three, plus the one for the thermos).

    Gen 3 has two, with the one on the engine changed from belt-driven to electric. Refer to post 37 of this thread.

    etc....

    But in all generations I know about, only one of those is for the inverter.

    -Chap
     
    #17 ChapmanF, Aug 15, 2018
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  18. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Totally agree but didn't want to go there! Let's not forget the brake pump too. What's next in the Gen 5? Electric oil pump? Hyundai is doing it in the Sonata.
     
    #18 fotomoto, Aug 15, 2018
  19. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I've never seen any Prius generation where the brake pump would be implicated in a question about coolant.

    -Chap
     
    #19 ChapmanF, Aug 15, 2018
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  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and yet, there is no question about coolant.(n)
     
    #20 bisco, Aug 15, 2018
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