P0A94 Inverter Warranty in Canada

This is the story of my inverter failure and warranty fix. It’s a bit long.

2010 Prius that we bought off a 3 year lease from a dealer. We have 230,000 km on it and pretty much trouble free.
Got the warning light on the dash to check or service hybrid system so I scanned the car and found the code to be P0A49.
Did a search and quickly found this to be the inverter failure and also that there is an extended warranty. So I made an appointment at my closest a Toyota dealer, which is Granville Toyota in Vancouver.
I told the advisor that the code is P0A49 and that it looks like the inverter has failed but not sure if they noted this. I had to wait about a week to get in and I wasn’t able to drop the car but my wife dropped it off. The advisor informed her that there would be a $150 diagnosis charge.
Got a call after a few hours and was informed about the “bad news” that indeed my inverter has failed and that the repair is $4,300. I quickly replied that I think there is an extended warranty on the inverter. The adviser was not aware of this and asked where I saw it and suggested that it could be only applying in the USA since I saw it online. The advisor would investigate and get back to me. I will also investigate.
I immediately called Toyota Canada and talked to a very nice person who was able to confirm that there is a 15 year inverter warranty on 2010 to 2014 Toyota Prius and that my VIN seemed to be eligible. She also gave me the reference number R66 or X66 in case anyone in Canada has this issue and the dealership is not aware of the warranty.

The advisor texted me during my call with Toyota Canada and said that he found the warranty info but needed to confirm my car had the proper software update to make sure it is eligible. I replied and informed him I spoke to Toyota Canada and gave him the Ref#R66.
After a couple hours I finally got a response saying that the software was updated so my car should be eligible. I just went to check the exact wording in the text but they all seem to be gone. I also tried to call that number after receiving the text and it isn’t a number you can call. Does Toyota have a system where they can text from a random number and the text auto deletes?
At this point I am getting a bit frustrated. I want to know that I am covered for sure. Eventually I get another text saying the part can be ordered and work done next week. They asked if we wanted to take the car or leave it. I said leave it because it does not seem drivable.

The day of the job o got another text with slightly ambiguous wording as to whether the work will be covered and I responded with “Do not proceed with this job before confirming it is covered under warranty. I will not be able to pay for this job if it is not covered.”.

The next text I get is the car is ready to be picked up.

The fix was done and I wasn’t able to pick up the car in person but thankfully I was NOT charged anything not even the diagnosis.

My question or concern is around the warranty awareness of the dealer. Does this seem normal that I would be given an estimate of $4300 and if I agreed I think I would have just paid it and the warranty wouldn’t have covered it. Also the uncertainty of the coverage was so frustrating to deal with. This was potentially a very expensive repair.

I feel a bit suspect of the dealership. Can they really not be aware of this warranty? How many Prius’ are in Canada? Is this a wide spread problem? I find it hard to believe they didn’t know. Am I off base here?

I got a text asking if I was satisfied with the service. I responded NO and the response is that someone from the dealer will contact me.

Ultimately I am happy my car is fixed and it cost me nothing except time and some aggravation. But I plan to provide feedback regarding the warranty awareness. Should I mention anything else?

 

My EGR is due to be cleaned and I had tried to get it done about 6 months ago. I don’t feel like doing it myself and my trusted independent mechanic has been going through some personal issues so it’s been delayed.
It will get done.

I also have the extra filter ordered for the battery vent in the rear seat.

 

I am very happy with the outcome but the process to get there wasn’t great.

Where do you get a spare inverter? Is this a used part from a wrecker?