2007 Prius Inverter Problem

Hello, this is my first post on this site. I have been trying to troubleshoot some issues with my 2007 Prius and seem to find the most help on this site, though I haven't found the exact fix for my problem. I'll start out by saying that I don't have a lot of money for repairs or general parts replacement and I'm in need of a helpful answer to see if my car is worth putting any money into. I'm not a mechanic by any means and don't have much knowledge of these cars, but I'm learning a lot. Please reply in a helpful manner as I do not know much. I have a code reader and have done some work on the car, that's all so far.

The first problem started when I was driving to pick up a friend in a couple towns over. The car started feeling like it was sluggish and possibly the engine pulling and stuttering. The dash lit up like a christmas tree, like I've seen it described. The red triangle came on, but the car continued to drive after turning it off and back on. So I drove it about 7 miles up the road and it happened again. I pulled over and once again turned it off and back on. The car started with all of the same lights still on and drove into a parking lot where I could have it towed. It was towed to the dealership who told me the inverter was bad. I didn't get the exact codes from them, but they quoted me $4,800 and that's just too much. I had the car brought home and I found a used inverter at a wrecking yard and bought it. It was compatible with my date of manufacture and everything. Replaced the inverter and coolant pump on my own with everything going back in place perfect. Started the car up and it took awhile, but the engine started up and began charging the battery. It still had some issues when starting up the engine the first time and the lights still stayed on. I drove it a bit and the car would stop and just idle to a stop when I tried to accelerate a little faster. The motor still had that feeling of not being able to start well and would almost feel like it was pulling the car to a stop when it would start. So I parked it and used the code reader on it and got the codes POA7A and POA92. It said inverter performance and HV battery performance as the cause. I sat around thinking my car was gone, but I just don't feel like letting it go as I feel like it could be some easy fix (possibly, hopeful). So I went out and started it up yesterday and the engine started fine with no pull or any weird feelings to the car. The lights all stayed on though. I drove it up the road and all was good, the battery even charged up all the way. Then I turned it around and drove back to the house and it shut off on me and idled to a stop. I tried to start it back up, but this time it was like the engine was blocked. It just clicks and the engine won't start up at all. This seems different than the initial problem as the engine wouldn't start at all before replacing the inverter, but now it at least tries to start it but can't.

I'm just looking for any information or help that could fix this issue. From what I've read it sounds like the MG1 could be out and I certainly don't have the skill or money to replace that. If anyone has any helpful information for a possible easier fix I'd welcome it. I have tried a couple more minor things such as disconnecting the battery to reset the lights on the dash, but nothing works. I also would like to know if it could be the 12v battery? Or transmission fluid? Thanks in advance to anyone that can help. I can give more information if needed, but it has been rainy here so it may be hard to get any unknown information until the weather clears up.

 

The car has 176k miles

 

Thanks for the reply. I do have another Prius that I'm driving daily, but I preferred my other one. I just figured it may be a quick or easy fix such as just replacing the 12v battery or something. When you say transaxle, I've seen many signs that it could be a problem there. Are the parts available on eBay? And would you know if it's something I could possibly fix if I had the parts? I was thinking to replace the transaxle I'd need a car lift, but that's something I don't have.