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3rd Gen Prius Won't start after Inverter replacement

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by wbw003, Jul 13, 2024.

  1. wbw003

    wbw003 New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2024
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    North Carolina
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    My wife was driving her 3rd Gen Prius when she got the " Check Hybrid system" trouble light. She was able to drive it home in limp mode.

    I used my bare bones Autel scan tool and got codes POA7A and P0A94. My dad did some research and said it could possibly be the water pump failing. Checked for movement in the reservoir when it was on and didn't see much so I ordered one and replaced it. Went to start the car and nothing. Would go into accessory mode but wouldn't crank. Checked the service plug 100 times, took the 12V to autozone for a charge, checked all the fuses. Nothing,

    I assumed Inverter must actually be toast and had read many posts about the extended warranty, so I had it towed to the local dealer. Toyota ran diagnostic and said the inverter would need replacing, I inquired about the warranty and was told it didn't apply. I pushed back for more information as to why it wouldn't be covered and was told the issue with my inverter was not covered in the warranty. Emailed Toyota Care and got pretty much the same response. Unfortunately, I don't really remember exactly what they said but something about the board that normally fails in the inverter was functional in mine.

    Everything online seemed to indicate that an inverter swap was plug ang play and shouldn't be much of an issue. So, I bought a used one online and had the car towed back to my house.

    The tow truck driver wasn't familiar with the shifter and accidentally started the car when attempting to put it into neutral. In udder bewilderment I said out loud " How'd that happen". The driver shrugged and finished unloading the car.

    The used Inverter came, and I installed it. Again, I checked my 12V, The Service Plug, the fuses, and when I tried to start it, accessory mode, no crank.

    After I replaced the water pump but before I had it towed to Toyota. I broke the clip on the wiring harness to the inverter. Similar to this: Help with Engine Wiring Harness | PriusChat

    I assume this had to be the issue and was dreading finding a solution but somehow the dealer managed to secure it in such a way that the car would crank. I keep thinking they must have some override or something.

    I'm totally at a loss for what I should even try next.

    TLDR: The car would crank, I pulled the service plug/battery/and inverter wiring harness, then it wouldn't crank, Toyota Dealer does magic to the wiring harness, car cranks, I unplug it and not it won't crank again.

    Additional Note: The Hybrid battery was replaced by the dealership less than a year ago.
     
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    24,722
    16,089
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Have you got a scan tool you can use to read trouble codes from the car?

    If not, you are working blind.
     
    Mr. F likes this.
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,103
    1,742
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    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    That's interesting what part of North Carolina are you in this car in I'm in Efland Orange county right up the road from the research triangle Park and Raleigh Is this over at Fred Anderson by chance yeah they play lots of games around North Carolina with auto work so it's easy to get taken really easy I have to sorry to say that. There are other places in the country that are susceptible to this kind of nonsense too If you don't know anything about what's going on you can be wooed into a bunch of nonsense real easily You know everybody's so nice and wears those stupid redneck slogans on their hats and all that stuff it's hard to not fall for the silliness I guess for some you'll get it I imagine You want to be careful with this model I know Mama probably likes it but it's getting time to probably rethink the thing I'm pretty sure if you look at marketplace you see hordes of these things in RTP Facebook marketplace and everywhere they can advertise they're all over the place broken just liked it or it's very similar No one wants to spend the money 10 12 years in or whatever they are now.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,280
    39,038
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Just for context, what's the miles on it?