The inverter failed on my 2010 Prius. Toyota had recalled this on previous models, but not the 2010 Gen III.. When it fails the car shuts itself off while you are driving. Luckily I was not on the freeway but was still nearly rear ended and was lucky to get off the road with no power.
View 10 RepliesWhat happens when a power inverter fails while driving?
View 2 Replies2010 Toyota Prius III with just under 60,000 miles. The car has been serviced at Toyota from day one (by us and by the previous owners) and runs like a champ. Well, did.
Last week while driving home from running errands the Check Hybrid System light came on for my wife. The car was still running so she drove it home for me to look at. I hopped in and noticed the gasoline engine wasn't turning on. I took it for a spin and even when I floored the car the gas engine wouldn't turn on. Since the nearest dealership is 15 highway miles away I knew we weren't going to make it there on electric power so I had it towed.
The Toyota dealership called me the next day saying when they started the car the light was gone and the car ran fine. They did some troubleshooting and found nothing wrong. They said it might have been a glitch and to come get the car. Not even 3 hours later the light turns on again. Again the gasoline engine goes silent, but this time I didn't even make it a mile and the electric power shuts off as well! We coasted to a stop and had to have the car towed again. This happened out of nowhere and could have been a very serious safety situation had it not happened on the road we were on.
This time the Toyota dealership had a little more to say. They said that their diagnosis has determined that the inverter is shot and they will have to order a new one. They said this failure is extremely rare (the service guy I spoke with had never seen this issue).
While driving home last night the Red Triangle, CEL and the Hybrid Warning lamp, (on the MFD) all lit up. The cruise control also shut down. We stopped and checked the manual to identify what the symbols meant. We were approximately 90 miles from home, drizzling rain and it was about 60 degrees.
View 18 RepliesPrius 2009 inverter coolant pump failure 51,300 miles....
View 8 RepliesMy 2007 Prius with 162k miles had an Inverter Coolant Pump Failure Monday 6.5 hours from home when my wife was driving it home from a trip. Red Triangle, (!), vsc, and check engine light. She was able to make it about 20 minutes to a dealer where it was diagnosed. Luckily no further damage was done to vehicle. Yes, she should have stopped but continued on since car was driving OK.
View 7 RepliesI own a 2006 JDM prius with 323,000 km. The inverter coolant pump failed recently (got P0A93 code and no agitation in coolant reservoir). I ordered a replacement on eBay and am awaiting arrival. I may need to do some light driving in the in the interim and am thinking about installing a 10 inch fan in the space between the inverter/transmission and radiator to keep things cool. Is this wise or should I just let the car sit until the new pump gets here?
Also, I am burning oil...I usually have to top up 1 to 2 quarts in between changes. Is there anything I can do without tearing down the engine? A friend of mine suggested using Lucas oil stabilizer the next time I change oil...could this have any negative implications?
My 2008 Prius (111,000 miles) had all the panel alarm lights go on and lost power while I was driving on the freeway. After turning off the vehicle and letting it “rest” for 10 minutes, it restarted with only the red triangle alert light remaining on and was able to drive to my dealer service (about 40 miles) with no incident. The diagnostic code indicates that the inverter has failed, but the technicians are not able to confirm that this is the problem, since the system is now running. I was able to drive it home with no problems or warning lights. As this is a $4,000 part, I would like to know if this is a likely, or even possible, scenario for an inverter failing, or could it be another problem? Note: 3 months ago the auxiliary battery was replaced following the same circumstances.
View 13 RepliesI just noticed my 2010 Prius doesn't have the plastic piece/cover that goes across the inverter. I posted a picture of the black plastic/metal? piece/cover. Would any service require the removal of that piece? Only thing I can think of is the Dealer replacing the recalled brake pump assembly.
View 5 RepliesI just received the Scangauge II and wonder if it can display the inverter temperature?
View 13 RepliesAfter the car shut down and had to be towed to the dealer,the inverter was replaced (fortunately we were just under the 80k mile hybrid warranty). The problem now is that the headlights and parking lights are not working. We took the car back to the dealer who said it was no doubt burnt out headlight bulbs. I told them that the parking lights were also not working and they insisted it is the headlight bulbs.
View 3 RepliesIn service manual doesn't show the limit time to change the water pump of inverter unit. What is the limit time or limit mileage for change it?
Example, engine's water pump has the limit around 200,000 Km(125,000Mile). But why inverter water pump no limit using time?
I have seen a ton of threads about using your Prius as a generator for the house. However, I haven't found any threads about plugging the inverter into a manual transfer switch. What I have installed now is Reliance 30 Amp transfer switch which has an outlet on the outside of the house to connect the NEMA L14-20 generator cable.
View 14 RepliesRecently we have had heat wave conditions with the equivalent of plus 110 degree F weather. I noticed that for the first time my inverter coolant temperature reached 140 degrees F. I have had some weird messages and the yellow triangle pop up when the physical brakes cut in. The message comes and goes so quickly all we could read was something about "ID Block". No codes were thrown up. I believe this is due to heat "stress".
I am considering obtaining a small radiator/heat exchanger, installing it in the space before the radiator and diverting the inverter coolant to it for extra cooling. Is there any impediment or down side to this?
My 12 volt battery is flat. I attached my CTEK MXS 5.0 and started on the Normal setting. I figured (wrongly it seems) that having the battery charger attached would support in starting the car. The green light displayed when I depressed the brake pedal and I pressed the Start button, but everything went dim and the brake pump slowly wound into life. The Start button glowed was on but no other functions started.
I pressed Start again and the light went out. Now when I connect the battery charger, a whining noise starts from near the inverter. The speed varies; dropping from a peak and rising again, and there's probably a pattern to it.
I've disconnected the charger a few times and the noise stops immediately. I wonder if the car has not switched itself off. I've disconnected the charger and I'm waiting some period of time before connecting it again to see if something will fall asleep. If not, I'll just have to climb over the back and disconnect the battery from the car before I charge it.
Our van shuts off while driving. This means I have no power to brakes or steering. The only warning light that comes on is the traction control light. Therefore when hooked up to diagnostics there is no information. We have had it to 3 different places with no results or answers. We did have the ignition switch recall performed. We have filed claims with Chrysler with no answers other than arbitration and with the NHTSA.
View 4 RepliesI 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?
This morning I realized that there is a pattern to our Prius incidents. What Sarah experienced last week is the same that Amy experienced when she drove the car the first day we bought it.
1. January: Amy had driven 20 highway miles with no problem. Park for 10 minutes. Started and crossed to the median of a two-lane Highway. stopped to wait. When tried to go, nothing. Will not move. 10 minutes later tried again and car worked fine for a long time after that.
1a. The car still had the original auxiliary battery. tested and found 12V battery weak. Replaced original battery with Duracell AGM vented battery for Prius. Car drove fine for weeks after this.
2. May: car sat all day. Turn on. Drove across parking lot. then noticed red triangle, VSC, brake warning lights all on. Lots of codes including high-voltage battery, transmission, and others.
3. drove fine for one week. Then going 60 miles per hour up a slight hill. heard the internal combustion engine shutdown. Red triangle, VSC, brake warning light came on. Reduced or no power steering or brakes. Coasted off the road. After 10 minutes, it drove fine again.
3a. I cleaned high voltage battery cooling fan. Drove fine for 10 days.
4. June: Sarah drove 10 minutes. Drove to stop sign. Had to wait 5 minutes for lots of traffic. When ready to pull out, push the accelerator, internal combustion engine shut down and the car would not move. Would not go into reverse. Put in neutral, and enough slope to roll backward to side of road. waited a few minutes, and it drove fine again.
Codes WERE P0A0F engine failed to start and c1300 anti-lock brake. the same codes were thrown in the previous incident. Noticed engine coolant a little low and added more.
I've been experimenting with 'B' mode while commuting. While stopped at a light, the ICE never shuts down. Is that normal? It seems like it should, regardless of the drive mode. The ICE was fully warmed up (190 F). I believe the battery was fully charged, as well. It tends to stay charged while in B mode.
If I switch from Drive to B while stopped at a light, the ICE stays off until the car starts moving. But if it was in B mode already, it never shuts down when the car is stopped.
I haven't been able to successfully jump my 2010 Prius. It sat for about a month and the 12v battery is dead. I've connected everything up as described in the manual. I've kept the second car at about 2K RPM for about 5 minutes to charge the Prius. I am able to get the Prius to start up just fine, but as soon as I disconnect the jumper cables, it dies right away. I've tried getting the Prius engine to come on for several minutes, but as i understand it, there's no alternator, so that's probably not charge the 12V battery.
I've gone through this cycle about three times now with the same results. Every posting I've seen doesn't indicate anything special needed after you disconnect the cables. Is there something I'm missing?
I have a 2012 Prius. It has twice shut down spontaneously when idling while in traffic. I have explained this, the Service Advisor said he had never heard of it. My question is: why is this happening? The car has been properly serviced. It never happened with my 2006 Prius.
View 12 Replies