Third Time Triangle and Total System Failure

Sounds to me that Toyota has yet to find the problem with your car, what they're finding is pieces that got damaged by the problem and replaced those damaged pieces without investigating further. Unknown what your problem is but its probably something very small to the point of allowing the car to work, but the long haul it adds up and damages something. I'd get them to give that car a total inspection on everything if they can, or just tell them "if you want to keep replacing parts at $8k a pop out of your pocket then by all means, or you can spend a few extra bucks now and find out what keeps doing this"

 

the thing about the inverter is, most of the inner workings are "toyota's intellectual property" and most inverter codes are not even described in the repair manual- they just state that the inverter needs to be replaced. pretty much any time there's an inverter problem (which is indeed rare), they consult with tech assist and determine whether or not it needs to be replaced and then do the job. there is no fixing the inner workings and seeing how protective they are of the actual codes, i doubt they will tell you what's wrong with the inverter when they send it back to toyota for analysis.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scout @ Apr 25 2006, 10:22 AM) [snapback]244901[/snapback]</div>

This is the second inverter failure I have heard about. If they cant tell you what failed in the inverter (intellectual property and such), they should at least be able to tell you why it failed. If it was simply a bad part out of the factory, I would like to know that. But if there was a lot of load on the system because of aftermarket parts, it might be understandable. As I remember, the other inverter failure was out in the desert also...heat related? Air Conditioner? (WAGs) :huh:

 

Did you ever wash your engine?

 

P0AA6/526 I show in the '05 manual as "hybrid battery voltage
isolation system fault", i.e. a leak from one side or the other
to ground somewhere. But you probably knew that already. [Very
interestingly, this isn't in the '04 manual at all.] It could be
anywhere in the inverter, MGs, battery box and wiring ... which
if it's consistently present, *can* be localized by disconnecting
major modules and using a meter. The other sub-codes do try to
isolate smaller areas -- 613 is supposedly the MGs and 614 is the
"high voltage direct current area", including almost everything
downstream of the SMR 1/2/3 in the battery box. [Which latter is
sort of silly, given that you can easily disconnect the battery
leads from the back of the inverter and then figure out if it's the
under-frame wires or the inverter itself.]
.
When they checked MG winding resistance, did they also test leakage
to *ground*? Including trying to shake the drivetrain around a
little to see if it's intermittent?
.
In that same manual section there are a bunch of other tests listed
in the flowchart [pages 05-783 thru 05-796] to manually localize the
fault. [ileaf/05toyrm/05toypdf/05rmsour/2005/05priusr/05/21j25/cip0aa65.pdf]
After doing that, the techs should know *exactly* where the leak is.
Toyota really, really wants 10 megohms of isolation between all that
stuff and ground... and includes fairly delicate circuitry that's
always testing for drift one way or the other. The ECU logic permits
continued driving during the trip in which the fault is discovered,
but then won't power back up to READY until it is cleared.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scout @ Apr 25 2006, 01:22 PM) [snapback]244901[/snapback]</div>

Hey, my wife's prius just had the inverter replaced about a week and a half ago. It too was a 2005 package 4, bought December 3rd and had about 4000 miles at the the time of repair.

She's driven it at least 1000 miles since with no problems.

 

Just experienced a nearly identical failure (first event only) on my 04 package 4 (49,000 miles) as jeanlouise described. Had it towed to the nearest dealer (not my normal one) and got the phone call from maintenance indicating an inverter failure. After reading the thread I phoned this dealership to request more details regarding any codes etc, but did not get much cooperation. I hope to learn more when I can interview the mechanic face-to-face. I really want to avoid the cycle of events that poor jeanlouise suffered, so I would be greatful for any additional follow up info ,recomendations and/or questions I can ask the dealer. BTW, it was hot 92F, but this is my 5th summer with the car.

 

You need to make sure they find and fix the source of the problem not just the symptoms. In IBM we called it Easter Egging. Who pays for the 8k a pop when the warranty expires. You may be testing the lemon laws sooner than you think.

Gool luck! And be sure to keep all documentation of repairs and communications, including telephone coversations with Toyota.