Cleaning the Prius Hybrid Fan for Preventative Maintenence

Cleaning it is nothing. Most small fans die because of lack of lubrication. Lube it like any other dc fan. Peel the label off the back bearing and squirt some oil in it.
3M makes oil for just this application. Lowes sells it. 3M oil for electric motors. I used it on the fan on my ac compressor too.

If that fan dies you will never know it.

 

mostly beard hair from a cab driver or did it suck in a ferret?

 

Quick bit of troubleshooting for any future folks who run into this. If you forget to reattach the fan electrical connection you will get these error codes;
p3191, P0aOf and the red triangle and other lights. The engine also seems to run very roughly on start.

Hope this helps someone else and speeds your troubleshooting!