I was driving my 2012 Prius PIP up a slight hill yesterday when the "!" lit up and I got a hybrid system error -- told me to stop the car when safe. I did not notice any change in the drive performance. Since I was within 2 miles of the Toyota dealership (Kearny Mesa in San Diego), I drove there. After a day in diagnosis, they told me that the $10,000 inverter needs to be replaced, that the part is presently unavailable ... on back order. Wow! I have 12,000 miles on the car. What would cause this and should I be concerned about future issues? (This is my third Pri.)
$10,000 for the inverter? Seriously? That can't actually be right can it? It sounds so high that I can't help but question the diagnosis (other than it must be covered under warranty). I'm not qualified to answer my question or yours, but that price just sounds stratospheric to me. I know the PiP uses electrical current a lot differently than a regular Prius, but is the price difference really that large?
Yes, it is covered under the warranty. They quoted $10,000 if I had to purchase the part (labor extra). Seems unbelievably high to me too.
so, i have to ask myself, 'self, do you trust a dealership that is clueless about the price to make the correct diagnosis and repair?'. and myself answered, 'no way, time to move on down the road.'
I agree with bisco, find another dealer for this repair and for service, especially after the warranty runs out. Makes one wonder if it is even a correct diagnosis. Please come back and post the results when the job is finished. Good luck.
Yeah their pricing is way off. Also leads me to believe they are clueless and just want to rip Toyota off for warranty. It could be something very simple like the inverter coolant pump, or just the coolant itself low since it happened on a hill.
Why did you cross it out? $ 2126 , that's a good price. But back to the real issue. I wonder if this is going to be a problem on the PIP. Very premature . Let us know if the dealer finds the cause.
This dealer rips Toyota, not you. I am now worrying about repairs out of warranty. Some services (hybrid system) may only be done by Toyota dealers. It looks like that some of dealers lacks the basic moral stands. Does Toyota have some rule for dealers regarding service pricing? price on parts, and labor etc.
i don't think toyota will reimburse them for more than a set price, no matter what they tell the customer. as for customers, it's buyer beware and it pays to shop around.
Yep, Toyota will pay the dealer X amount for the part and the labor. If it's cash, it's between the dealer and the customer, so that's when you shop around.
Strange. I am one of the few to have actually had an inverter go pop on me and it went in a similar way to how you describe BUT, and it's a big but for a reason, the replacement part was kept in stock here in the UK where Prii don't sell as well as in the US and it cost £1,500 ($2,280) including our 20% sales tax/vat. Labour costs for diagnostics and to fit the item came in at £250/$380. I was out of warranty, yet Toyota paid for the part and I paid the labour costs. Not sure where you get $10,000 from. Certainly doesn't reflect my well documented failure back in January 2013.
Some dealers tend to exaggerate to make themselves look like heroes and that they're doing you a favor.
And the result of dealer deals like this is a bad reputation for the PIP. I am sure this misinformation fuel affects sales.
Hey, 20)^Black, I have one PlugIn crushed in front. Inverter case is damaged. I quote Toyota and new one is around $2160. So if you change inverter, take an old one back - I buy for $400 + shipping to Florida.