Replacing the blower motor

I wonder if @dolj might have some ideas

 

That's weird. A centrifugal blower generally will push air the same way (in at the center, out at the periphery) whichever direction it spins. Because of the blade shape, it will push less air if spinning in the unintended direction, but it's never going to reverse the direction of airflow.

Often, the blade shape will fool you as to what the intended rotation direction is. Shaping those blades is complicated.

How did you verify the air was "sucked"?

 

Given you are in Australia, there is a good chance your blower is different than ours based on "the old motor [number] is 272700-8074."

That number is known as a housing number and is not the part number. However the housing number for a US Prius v is different which means our part number is also different.

Some used sellers think the housing number is the part number and therefore a buyer can sometimes find that number on ebay. I found your part on ebay in the UK and other locations outside of the US.

The thing to do is to ask for a part number from a local Toyota dealer, ideally in person, using your vin or vehicle serial number. With a part number, generally in this format (87103-0xxxx) you can then look for used blower assemblies or possibly aftermarket blowers and compare to a dealer price.

I found a few on ebay in Europe including the UK. Again this is not the part number.

The shipping and import charges are for a US address due to our current trade war. Your charges may be far less.

This blower has electronics in it to take a pulse train from the AC Amplifier ecu as control for the blower's variable speed power electronics.

From a wiring standpoint it is simple:

Constant power, ground and a signal line.

Finally, I would make sure the newer blower wheel has the same fin orientation as the original.