Dealership transaxle fluid change nightmare

Yeah that must have looked like a volcano on wheels. Did you by chance notice the inverter coolant level before it was brought back to the dealer? Trying to superglue the pieces together.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Something got damaged as you saw smoke and you to know what burning electronics smell like so I think it was the Inverter.

For anyone reading this and having bad things happen to there car post service you must get the codes the car threw.
It will tell you exactly what went wrong.

Without the codes (and the car threw a bunch) its just a guessing game where the smoke came from.
If the codes reported overheated Inverter then there replacing my Inverter. If it reported overheated trans I'm getting a new trans.
I would not have left the dealer until the codes were pulled and I would have watched them pull them in case this ends in court. Courts want paperwork not supposition. I guarantee you they pulled the codes first thing. They didn't list them like they should because its probably damning.

Having replaced the trans fluid in my g2 three times since I bought it new you really can't overfill the trans much by casual bottle fill as it just runs out of the fill hole UNLESS the fluid was installed by a pneumatic pump from a vat and they guy had the pump in the fill hole nice and tight sealing it off and just dumped a shit load of fluid in it till it sprayed out of the fill hole and then quickly put the fill bolt in.
Btw, the trans on a G2 will take 4 quarts of fluid till it starts dripping out.

Or they severely under filled it and the trans overheated and the fluid boiled out.

I would sneakily inquire if there using trans fluid from a vat hence the pump........start asking questions at the parts counter first real cool like your a dope because if you start asking at the service desk they will clam up to protect themselves.

But bottom line if your sure it was the Inverter that was smoking demand a new Inverter because if it got so hot it was smoking it greatly shortened its life. Car does not run well like it used too. Replace it. They will not do anything till you demand.

Man, I would have thrown a hissy.

 

Smoking tranny fluid has some similarities to smelling burned plastic.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

It doesn't seem like your inverter overheated to me - it would've boiled over i think and the coolant reservoir evacuated. The electric motors could've handled 280F easily for that brief moment because I'm assuming they're all metal IMHO. So I'm hoping nothing was damaged in your car.

Pictures might tell a different story.

Definitely be pissed at the dealer for doing a half a$$ job.
Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

You tell that dealership to fix your car right now or else you'll hire an attorney. They obviously did something wrong.

 

If I can't watch them, I don't trust them.

 

hidden cams everywhere.

 

Or the tech could have used Toyota ATF and somehow it screwed up something. But in that short timeframe, I can't imagine anything overheating....unless there was no fluid in there

 

I'm a DIY guy. Sorry about your issues. Half of these places just hire anyone with experience or no experience, non certified or not. Esp oil change shops with these inexperienced young kids they seem to hire these days.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Emans right. When I bought my 07 new I had the first oil change done at the dealer.
Instead of sitting in the waiting room I walked around the building and found my car in one of the bays up on a rack.
Wanted to look under the car to see how bad it was to DYI. Started to talk to the guy doing the change. He didn't speak a bit of English. Didn't seem to know his way around under there and had a vat oil pump in his hand. Filth vats.. Checked it carefully later at home and it was overfilled a lot. Dumped it out and put in M1.
They never saw my car again.

 

Hey the Toyota dealer got rewarded. At least you have yourself a worry free new car now

 

Corporate can't help you on a car you don't own anymore.

You would need to contact them before you traded in

 

You shouldn't have had requested the transaxle fluid change at 30k miles. It's not required, and not necessary. And most likely they weren't aware how to do it correctly.

When you start messing with the things dealer's aren't knowledgeable about, you're better off learning how to perform it yourself or just leave it alone.

 

Are you the mechanic that filled his transmission?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.