2010 Prius IV Inverter Failure

Jtex is visiting the forum, but no update or new posts. He shame, maybe :yo:

 

Anyone care to guess how much this would have cost had it been a customer pay situation? My guess would be $10,000.00 plus. Probably more like $12,000.00.

 

I dont think so, USD1500 of the ebay (can be 3000 if brand new) + 1 manday.
we (in EU) get the dealership's bill to confirm if the warranty repair is in place. So we know whay Toyota pays for the warranty care.
My last TSB was for Corolla MMT transmission fix as I had one of first MMT mod (...000007 VIN) - ECU replacement, clutch, some sealing, arms. All together + work approx. eq. of 2500 USD.

 

Maybe somebody can straighten me out on this. My mental image is that the transaxle IS the power train, and includes the ICE and the two MGs. I suppose there are torque converters involved as well. Is that close to correct?

If that were the case, I don't think you would ever want to have a dealer mechanic rebuild it; you'd want to drop in a new or factory-rebuilt unit from depot. that'd be much cheaper than providing every dealer with the assembly hardware and training (and paying) the dealer's grease monkeys to that level.

 

This may include some of what you already know and it is a gross over simplification but for better or worse:

The ICE and the transaxle are separate units which are bolted together. There are no torque converters and none of the gears shift or disengage. Inside the transaxle are MG1 MG2 and a planetary gear set, MG1, MG2, and the ICE are connected together through the planetary gears. The front wheels are driven through a chain (edit: gen3 uses a gear vice chain) and a differential, also inside the transaxle, from the same gear that MG2 is connected to. The inverters are mounted on the top of the transaxle. I would consider the ICE, the transaxle, and the half shafts which go to the wheels to be the drive train. I think the inverters and the traction (HV) battery are also included for warranty purposes. Not sure about that but I think the warranty booklet explains what components are included in which warranty.

Here are some links that will give you an idea of how it is done:

HowStuffWorks "The Power Split Device"
Toyota Prius - Power Split Device
Whats Going On As I Drive?

I do not think the dealer service departments will touch the transaxle, they just replace the whole thing. We did have on Prius Chat member, Bob Wilson, who took the one on his Gen1 Prius apart and reassembled it, sucessfully. Unfortunately he no longer posts on this site.

 

The Gen 3's PSD no longer has the chain.

Here are some pics I took at Prius Connection San Francisco in March 09: https://picasaweb.google.com/105684...authkey=Gv1sRgCILH8tvp-8_pjQE&feat=directlink

The PDF in post 1 of http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/60002-prius-technology-video.html also mentions the chain going away.

 

That's neat I didn't know that. Much better to use a gear, probably a lot stronger. I'll edit my post above, thanks.

 

I have one for sale if anyone ever needs to save on one. 2010 PRIUS POWER INVERTER G9200-47140

 

FYI, the market for a used Gen III inverter is $800, and that is salvage with some sort of warranty.

 

According to Toyotapartszone.com, the MSRP of an inverter assembly is $2660.

The transaxle assembly, which I believe is 30900-47061, is $3161.

 

My 2010 GenIII Prius III (113,500 miles) just had what I think is a similar problem. I was driving on the freeway when I heard a loud whump, then the dashboard lit up with "check engine" and "check hybrid system" lights. I lost acceleration power and was luckily able to pull over to the shoulder. I was able to drive on battery <26 mph for very short distance, but had to be towed to the dealership. So far, the Toyota dealership said it was an inverter/inverter assembly problem and that it would cost ~$3525 to replace (about $595 for labor and the rest for the parts). Is that reasonable? I have the 125,000 mile platinum warranty, so after reading this post, hopefully it should be fully covered.

Question: They seem to be sure of the problem; should I have them replace the inverter, then if it doesn't work, then they can replace the transaxle? Exactly what should I be documenting so that I can report this problem?

 

My 2010 GenIII Prius III (113,500 miles) just had what I think is a similar problem. I was driving on the freeway when I heard a loud whump, then the dashboard lit up with "check engine" and "check hybrid system" lights. I lost acceleration power and was luckily able to pull over to the shoulder. I was able to drive on battery <26 mph for very short distance, but had to be towed to the dealership. So far, the Toyota dealership said it was an inverter/inverter assembly problem and that it would cost ~$3525 to replace (about $595 for labor and the rest for the parts). Is that reasonable? I have the 125,000 mile platinum warranty, so after reading this post, hopefully it should be fully covered.

Question: They seem to be sure of the problem; should I have them replace the inverter, then if it doesn't work, then they can replace the transaxle? Exactly what should I be documenting so that I can report this problem?

 

As long as ext warranty will cover it, let them do whatever they want.

MB860 ?

 

If the extended warranty covers it, fine. If it's not covered, the salvage yard can be your friend.

 

Whoa whoa, Yun, you've been hauling that mother (in comparison, mine is not yet to 15k). That repair's costly enough to want me to get an ext. warranty or trade up.

 

The inverter is part of the hybrid system, so it should be covered by the hybrid warranty in California at least -- 150,000 miles, isn't it?

 

Judgeless brought this up in the other thread, but after reading the warranty/maint guide, it is confusing on whether the 150k warranty applies to the inverter. The maint guide on pg. 19 that the inverter is covered for 8/100k under the hybrid component warranty. On pp. 23 and 24, it mentions coverage for components which affect performance on a smog test, and also, a small footnote which states that the hybrid battery is warrantied for 150k. Nowhere does it mention explicitly mention that the inverter is covered under the extended California Emissions Warranty provision.

 

Vinny97, I've been consistently averaging 200 miles/day over the past two years. The only thing keeping me sane is satellite radio.

For you gurus, the dealership fixed the problem by replacing the entire inverter assembly. The specific codes logged were #P0A94 and P324E. Part number used was G92A0-47031. They also added (replaced?) some super long life coolant. Apparently they were debating whether the repair should be charged under the 150,000 CA warranty or my platinum 125,000 mile extended, and decided on the latter. Hope this helps!

 

Are you going to keep the vehicle, or are you going to sell it after this event?

They probably charged it to the ext warranty since it is a guarantee that it would be covered. Based on what I researched, getting the inverter covered under the 150k warranty is kinda iffy, and that's probably what your dealer thought as well.