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Check Hybrid System (code P03CE)

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by pfile, Mar 21, 2014.

  1. pfile

    pfile Member

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    yesterday while driving on the freeway in EV mode, my PIP (one of the first delivered to the states) flashed the "Check Hybrid System - Stop the vehicle in a safe place" message. i was near my house so i just went home. my SG2 showed code P0C3E, which is apparently an inverter overtemperature code.

    took it to the dealer this morning and they just informed me that the car needs a new inverter, but no other details… "internal fault" is what he said.

    while googling, i found this recall notice:

    Green Car Congress: Toyota recalling about 701,000 Gen 3 Prius vehicles in US over software issue in inverter assembly

    that doesn't talk specifically about the PIP and implies that it is a software problem, but goes on to say if the car is in a fault condition the inverter will be replaced. of course, it's possible that a software problem leads to hardware damage.

    the car has only about 10k miles, and about 6k of them are EV mode, so i suppose the inverter has had a workout in it's short life. regardless if toyota is going to sell a plug-in vehicle then it should be possible to run on EV 100% of the time.

    i'm a little disappointed and hope that this is a defect rather than a design flaw.

    rob
     
    #1 pfile, Mar 21, 2014
  2. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

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    Sorry your having a problem! The plug-in is not in the recall.
    I have over 10K in all EV no problems, so I'm assuming yours is a unusual case.
    Good luck and let us know how things turn out.
     
    #2 retired4999, Mar 21, 2014
  3. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    This is fortunately one of those things which would be covered under the 150K mile "emission systems" warranty in CARB states on the HV components.
     
    #3 CharlesH, Mar 21, 2014
  4. PriusInParadise

    PriusInParadise Member

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    There appears to be a small number of 2012 PIP that had an Inverter issue with DTC P0C3E / Inf 628 "Temperature calculated by power management control ECU and actual temperature are different for 10 seconds or more".
    This is due to a disagreement between temp sensors internal to the inverter, and does not necessarily mean that there was an overheat condition.
    Remedy was replacing the inverter assembly. I believe that you should have no further issues.
    It is unrelated to SSC-E0E recall which involves reprogramming to better protect the power electronics.
     
    #4 PriusInParadise, Mar 21, 2014
    Tracksyde and pfile like this.
  5. pfile

    pfile Member

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    whoops, network problems -> double post. shoot, there are good responses in both threads. maybe a mod can merge them.

    anyway thanks for that info, that's good to know. the car did continue to operate normally after the code was thrown, so it does sound very different than the recall. anyway that's what they are going to do, replace the entire inverter assembly.

    rob
     
    #5 pfile, Mar 21, 2014
  6. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    I think it safe to assume that the old one is not just going to be scrapped. It will go back to Toyota, where they will recertify it to be sent out to the next person who has a failure.
     
    #6 CharlesH, Mar 21, 2014
  7. pfile

    pfile Member

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    well if it is just a bad temperature sensor, and it's in such a place that corporate can't expect random dealerships to actually repair the inverter on-site, then no big deal, that's the right course of action.
     
    #7 pfile, Mar 21, 2014
  8. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    I would think that very little in the HV system is repairable by the dealer. It just wouldn't be economically feasible for the specialized tools and that kind of specialized training to be available at every dealership. Just send these exotic items to a central repair facility where they have the expensive tools and specially trained techs.
     
    #8 CharlesH, Mar 21, 2014
  9. pfile

    pfile Member

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    yes we are in violent agreement
     
    #9 pfile, Mar 21, 2014
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  10. rxlawdude

    rxlawdude Active Member

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    No need for violence. Peace out! :)
     
    #10 rxlawdude, Mar 21, 2014
  11. pfile

    pfile Member

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    alright - dealer replaced my inverter under warranty. unfortunately the trip computers were reset and i lost all my history. we'll see how it goes.
     
    #11 pfile, Mar 26, 2014
  12. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

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    Well! good luck. (y) keep us updated.
     
    #12 retired4999, Mar 26, 2014
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats, sorry you lost your data.
     
    #13 bisco, Mar 26, 2014
  14. woody weaver

    woody weaver Junior Member

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    It is interesting how important the data store is to prius owners. Just as hard drive data is important to preserve across service of a laptop, you would think that Toyota would take define maintenance procedures to preserve trip data across service responses. Happy rabid customers have got to be a financial benefit.
     
    #14 woody weaver, Mar 27, 2014
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's probably in the black box, but good luck getting it out.:cool:
     
    #15 bisco, Mar 27, 2014
  16. woody weaver

    woody weaver Junior Member

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    I'm a computer guy, and one of the marketing memes now is the "Internet of Things". I rather expect that over the next decade, the "getting it out" is going to get very much better, as it becomes possible for the car to tell the house that I'm on the driveway and it should turn on the heat. Things are going to change.
     
    #16 woody weaver, Mar 28, 2014
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  17. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    With things like the network-enabled Nest thermostat, that is not too far fetched. It's just a matter of putting the pieces together.
     
    #17 CharlesH, Mar 28, 2014
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