1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

2012 Prius c PA080 no Inverter Pump Flow

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Jb2wheels, Jul 14, 2024.

  1. Jb2wheels

    Jb2wheels Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2021
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    TX USA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Short version - does the inverter pump in a C behave the the pump in a Gen 2? As in, should I see flow in the coolant reservoir?

    Super Long Version - with extra questions...
    I have a 2012 Prius C with roughly 155k miles on it.
    I also have a 2004 Prius with (est) 350k+ miles on it.

    The Prius C is new to us (roughly 6 months).

    I recently got the "hybrid system problems - pull over" message with a bunch of lights on the dash.
    I wrongly assumed this was a 12V problem because of the lights on the dash.
    New 12V does not fix it, if course... lesson learned.

    I finally did what I should have done at first and used my DR Prius app to read the codes - only PA080.

    Clearing codes is very temporary - error message comes back fairly quickly.

    Dr Prius reports Delta SOC > 43%.

    I'm guessing my main battery is ready for replacement but...

    I checked my inverter coolant tank - no flow and I feel no vibes at the pump when "ready"
    No inverter codes.
    When the pump went out on my gen 2, we got codes. Also, we had flow after I installed new Toyota pump.

    So, I'm confused...

    Also, how can I read OBDII sub codes? I also have Torque on my Android phone and loaded a batch of Toyota specific PIDs, but I'm missing sub-codes somehow.

    And, finally, any tutorial on replacing the inverter pump? It looks like I can do it without pulling the inverter - maybe pulling the headlight? Does it "bleed" like gen 2?

    I feel like these are common questions I should be able to find answers for, but my search skills really suck this weekend for some reason...

    I appreciate any help.
     
  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2018
    7,427
    6,913
    1
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    There's a lot less to find for Prius c. Whether that's because there are that many fewer of them, they don't break as often, none have broken yet or something else has caused breakdown & resolution stories to be scarce, I couldn't say.

    You need a different reader for the INFormation sub-codes. Autel AP200 highly recommended. I have the AP2500E, that also does them. I'm not aware of anything you can do to get torque/dr.prius to read these.

    Here's the thing: there is only one sub-code for P0A80, "123" and it means the computer is convinced your battery is dying. Not really worth buying a new reader just for that.

    Is there something leading you to think there is an inverter problem? I can't see your car but so far this looks simple: needs hybrid battery.
     
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    24,902
    16,209
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Don't bet the farm on me, but I'd expect it to work more like a gen 3: variable speed pump that runs under the control of the power management control ECU and only when needed. The gen 2 pump runs at a fixed speed and whenever the car is ON.

    Yeah, there aren't really any lights on the dash that mean "12V problem", with the exception of this one:

    [​IMG]

    Of course, the lights generally indicate you should read trouble codes, and when you do that, sometimes there will be codes that suggest a 12V problem (when you look those codes up, their detection conditions will say something about a measurement of power supply voltage falling below a threshold, usually around 8.9 to 9.5 volts).

    Seeing the battery-worn-out code and no other code would generally be a strong indication the battery is worn out and there isn't some other problem. But with Dr. Prius I wouldn't quite make a final conclusion that there aren't other codes; Dr. P is known for only showing certain "engine codes" and "battery codes" and not much else.

    A second opinion using a scan tool known to retrieve all trouble codes from a Prius might be worthwhile.
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Jb2wheels

    Jb2wheels Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2021
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    TX USA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Thanks folks. Good info on the variable speed pump. I think I'll queue up a battery. Nothing points to an inverter problem but lack of flow which sounds normal at times.