2010 Prius...Replaced transaxle & inverter in 2015, got "Check Hybrid System" message AGAIN!

Hey guys, hoping someone has some insight on this issue. I have a 2010 Prius, currently at around 69,000 miles. Back in Feb 2015 (when it was just under 60,000) I was driving on a city street and hit the accelerator once a stoplight turned green - immediately as I took off (at a normal rate of acceleration) my 2010 Prius made a loud noise and I got the red triangle of death, with a "Check Hybrid System" message. The car quickly shifted into "limp home" mode and I was able to make it back home as I was only about a mile away.

Got towed to the nearest dealer the next morning and after tons of testing and going back and forth, they replaced the transmission and inverter (was able to get it covered under powertrain warranty), and I was on my merry way. No issues until last night.

Yesterday evening, I am on a city street and get a warning beep. I look at my dashboard and this time I have a yellow exclamation mark with the "Check Hybrid System" message yet AGAIN. Towed the car to the nearest dealer and am now waiting on next steps. Only update I've gotten so far is that they are still trying to diagnose the issue, and are getting 4 error codes in this process, 2 of which are new. I am waiting on the technician to tell me what the actual codes are - hopefully should get them tomorrow.

I would hope if it's another issue with transmission or inverter, it's covered under warranty given I replaced both less than a year ago. However I'm not sure and am worried that it's going to be $$$ in case it's something else that failed. Plus I'm getting serious doubts as to the safety of my car - what if I had been moving at a high speed on the highway during either of these situations?

Has anyone here been in a situation like this before? Any thoughts as to what the issue could be? Really frustrated that I'm now carless again for the second time in less than a year.

 

I thought as much too but here we are. I will update as soon as I find out more, hopefully in the morning.

 

No changes at all as far as I could tell from a driving standpoint. I have been driving it a lot less than usual over the last 3 months or so, but still make sure I take it out at least once a week and noticed no obvious changes in that time. It did not go into limp home mode this time - in fact it seemed to drive just fine, but I didn't want to risk it and further damage anything, so opted for the tow as soon as I got the message. I'll need to use it more frequently again soon so hopefully it's a minor fix but it seems doubtful.

 

I wish I had more news to report today. It sounds like the dealer is getting somewhere around 9 codes but says they cannot tell me what the codes are as they differ from read to read, and they have engaged Corporate Toyota to assess how to proceed - so while they continue to test and diagnose, they can't disrupt the process to give me the codes. Not sure how to proceed from here as this is sounding quite major.

They also mentioned that most of the codes are logged in history so aren't always active, and at least 1 code is related to the transmission issue I had last year!

What a nightmare. No estimates at all on how much longer to expect this process to take, no clue what the issue is or how much it will cost. Just stuck in a holding pattern for now.

 

Update! Just heard from technician. The new error code that comes up is P0A7A. The codes I got last time were P0A94, P324E, P0A4C, and P0A4D. They are still going back and forth with Toyota Corporate, including some the technicians who were on my car's case last year when this happened last. They are not sure if there is an overarching electrical issue related to last time, or if it's a new issue. Any insight from the experts here? Is there anything else I should be pushing on? Thanks.

 

I'll ask, thanks! Will be good to isolate the issue, though it's concerning that both transaxle and inverter were replaced in 2015 and this same issue is coming again.