P0A93 inverter pump replacement.

Good afternoon folks. It's been a while since I've posted anything but I wanted to share a quick experience, a tip and a little question as well. A couple of days ago I had my dash light up with the triangle of death and as we all know that can be heart stopping. My 2007 prius lost power but fortunately I was in a decent spot to roll to the curb. I'm so paranoid these days that I actually have a OBD2 scanner with me all of the time these days. I quickly read the code as a P0A93 which upon I saw it was the inverter cooling pump issue. I then turned of the car and then turned it back on. It went into ready mode no problem so I cleared the code and went about a block into a gas station lot. When I checked the inverter reservoir there was absolutely zero turbulance so I decided to check the appropiate fuse after looking up a diagram and it was still good. Well....Time to use AAA to get my car home. It was late and I was tired. So in the morning I started chasing the OEM pump. On ebay there were a few OEM options. Two stuck out at around $110 and one I noticed was available for immediate pickup but the damn DEALER was 60 miles away. Now here is where the plot thickens. My local dealers wanted anywhere from $245 to $275 for the same part....Wth!
Upon doing some research and confirming with the parts manager at the dealer 60 miles away that the pump was in fact OEM and the unopened box clearly said the part was made in Japan I jumped in my backup car and drove the distance to pick it up.I have attached three pics. The receipt, the box with the label and also a pic of a little washer taped to the inside of the box lid that I cant figure out what it is for so maybe someone can enlighten me. I have decided to go with the actual Toyota coolant for the refill but that will have to wait until tomorrow since it's Sunday. I hope my local dealer isn't too outrageous on the price. Another thing that I think is noteworthy is that on all of the youtube videos I watched about replacing the pump it looked like a real pain to get into the tight spot if you have big hands so I went ahead and pulled the left headlight out of the car which took about an extra 10 minutes and the pump access is a breeze then.
Questions.....
What is the little washer for?
Why is there such a huge price difference between dealers for the pump?
How much does everyone think the Toyota super long life pink coolant should cost? One more thing that I think is noteworthy is that the dealer only has the part# G9020-47031 but on the box at every dealer the original number part number 04000-32528 doesn't even come up in their data bases.
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Thanks for the input. Clearly you are a veteran at doing this but since it was my first time I decided to go with the OEM for the $120 which is extremely high for what you are actually getting. I was in the aftermarket auto repair business for 36 years before I retired and the nearest I can figure out is that Gen2 priuses are now at a minimum of 15 years old and a lot of dealerships move their existing inventory of 15y + parts to an obsolete line code meaning to say they will not keep filling their stock of those items any more in order to make room for newer vehicle parts. Its possible that once a dealer makes the stocking line code change to the "OBS" line code then they decide to drastically mark up the parts. At least that is the way the transmission parts company I worked for handled things. All of that out of the way .... do you know what thart silly washer was for? What are your feelings on the replacement coolant?

 

Thanks for the input folks on the crush washer. I will probably do a coolant swap next spring but for now Im just going to finish up the inverter pump swap. I do have another quick tip for you all if you are in SoCal. If you order the coolant online through your local Toyota dealership you can save almost $10 on the 1 gallon bottle. You have to choose pick up in person to get the whole discount but even if you were to choose to have it shipped to you the $10 should cover the freight.