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Inverter failure

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by RWatters, Jul 17, 2013.

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  1. RWatters

    RWatters Junior Member

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    2010 Toyota Prius III with just under 60,000 miles. The car has been serviced at Toyota from day one (by us and by the previous owners) and runs like a champ. Well, did.

    Last week while driving home from running errands the Check Hybrid System light came on for my wife. The car was still running so she drove it home for me to look at. I hopped in and noticed the gasoline engine wasn't turning on. I took it for a spin and even when I floored the car the gas engine wouldn't turn on. Since the nearest dealership is 15 highway miles away I knew we weren't going to make it there on electric power so I had it towed.

    The Toyota dealership called me the next day saying when they started the car the light was gone and the car ran fine. They did some troubleshooting and found nothing wrong. They said it might have been a glitch and to come get the car. Not even 3 hours later the light turns on again. Again the gasoline engine goes silent, but this time I didn't even make it a mile and the electric power shuts off as well! We coasted to a stop and had to have the car towed again. I was a bit pissed off as this happened out of nowhere and could have been a very serious safety situation had it not happened on the road we were on.

    This time the Toyota dealership had a little more to say. They apologized and said that their diagnosis has determined that the inverter is shot and they will have to order a new one. They said this failure is extremely rare (the service guy I spoke with had never seen this issue). They told me the wait for an inverter is 2-3 weeks so they provided us a loaner car. I asked for a hybrid but they had none. Darn!

    For kicks and grins I asked what the cost would be. He said after parts and labor it'd be "at least $5,000." WOAH. Good thing I bought an extended warranty. My cost is $0. (y)

    I'm sure glad I bought that warranty now. It just paid itself off over 3 times!
     
    #1 RWatters, Jul 17, 2013
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  2. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Good call on the warranty. I'm doing the same thing.
     
    #2 Former Member 68813, Jul 17, 2013
  3. Mike Rosenzweig

    Mike Rosenzweig Member

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    I feel the same way with the extended warranty....that's why I bought it, as the relatively high cost of the extended warranty can easily pay for itself with one incident, especially if you are away from home on a road trip, in which Toyota covers towing and reimbursement for lodgingvif needed. I've never understood why consumer reports advises against buying the extended warranty.

    SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 ? 2
     
    #3 Mike Rosenzweig, Jul 17, 2013
  4. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    IIRC, grumpycabbie had an inverter failure that warranty took care of.
     
    #4 fotomoto, Jul 17, 2013
  5. xpcman

    xpcman Senior Member

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    Doesn't the standard warrant cover the inverter?
     
    #5 xpcman, Jul 17, 2013
  6. Mike Rosenzweig

    Mike Rosenzweig Member

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    Yes...standard warranty covers up to 60, 000 miles....extended warranty to 125, 000 miles.

    SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 ? 2
     
    #6 Mike Rosenzweig, Jul 17, 2013
  7. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Hybrid components have a separate warranty. Its currently 96 months or 100K miles.

    Power train components are 60/60

     
    #7 rdgrimes, Jul 17, 2013
  8. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    In California is 10y/150k miles
     
    #8 kknguyen1168, Jul 17, 2013
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  9. JMD

    JMD 2012 Prius 4 Solar Roof

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    One of the bennies of living in California. Sunshine and Prius warranty. :)
     
    #9 JMD, Jul 17, 2013
  10. RWatters

    RWatters Junior Member

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    I should have done more research then as the Toyota dealership snookered me a bit there. Oh well, my fault.

    I still don't mind buying the extended warranty. There is a lot going on with these cars electronically so it's a piece of mind thing. For the deal we got on the car, the warranty wasn't so bad of a deal anyways.
     
    #10 RWatters, Jul 17, 2013
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  11. RWatters

    RWatters Junior Member

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    This is great information by the way. Thank you for sharing it to a person who should have done the research from the get-go. lol
     
    #11 RWatters, Jul 17, 2013
  12. Mike Rosenzweig

    Mike Rosenzweig Member

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    I still think the extended warranty is not a bad purchase. Based on past experience with other cars, I paid way more on parts and labor when the car wad between 60k-125k, so extended warranty coukd pay for itself with 1 or 2 issues.

    SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 ? 2
     
    #12 Mike Rosenzweig, Jul 17, 2013
  13. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    I do too, even I am in California and hybrid warranty is 10y/150k miles I still want extend warranty for my piece of mind:)
     
    #13 kknguyen1168, Jul 17, 2013
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  14. KennewickMan

    KennewickMan Junior Member

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    California is a CARB state and so is washington st. and new york st.
     
    #14 KennewickMan, Jul 18, 2013
  15. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I still think in most cases an extended warranty is a bad purchase. Unless you simply NEED that peace of mind.

    But even in this case you have a situation where the failure is defined as extremely rare. And it may of been covered under the standard warranty in any case.

    Congratulations? I suppose to the OP for having the converter replaced at no cost. But that specific story line is not enough to convince me that an extended warranty is usually a good purchase.

    That being said, I've also always believed, that if you want an extended warranty? Get it. The value really is to the person purchasing it. If you are going to feel better about ownership, and the peace of mind is worth it? Go Ahead.

    For me? I live in a CARB state, and I'm willing to go with Toyota's baseline warranty. Could it back-fire? Someday could I be caught with a large repair or replacement bill? Certainly...but I'm willing to live with the risk as a non-purchaser of an extended warranty, just as I respect that those buying an extended warranty are taking the gamble that it will pay off, and ARE enjoying the peace of mind in the meantime.
     
    #15 The Electric Me, Jul 18, 2013
  16. RWatters

    RWatters Junior Member

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    I honestly don't think it would take much on a Prius for the bill to be insane. I read a thread on here where it was thousands to replace a brake booster. Thousands to replace a sensor in the transaxle because you had to replace the entire transaxle (and apparently that issue might be the case with ours of the inverter doesn't fix it according to a friend who is a Toyota MST in Texas). It's

    This is my first hybrid, and it was a used one with a few miles on it. I did not expect a single thing to go wrong with the car (after all it's why we bought one), but I knew in the off chance that something did happen there's a good possibility that the repair bill was going to be some serious money. Because of that I did it.

    I don't typically buy extended warranties for cars. This is the second one I've ever bought (the first being for an RX-8 which are well-known for their throw away engines). For the price I paid there's a good chance that it will pay itself off should something break. If nothing breaks, it cost me an extra $20/mo for a few years. The car saves more than that on a monthly basis for us. (y)
     
    #16 RWatters, Jul 19, 2013
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  17. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    An inverter goes for around $2200 online. The dealer is charging $2800 labor to replace it?
     
    #17 El Dobro, Jul 19, 2013
  18. Mike Rosenzweig

    Mike Rosenzweig Member

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    I agree...with 0% interest, the cost of the extended warranty on a per month basis is really low, and in the chance something goes wrong, especially on a road trip far from a dealer, it can pay for itself very quickly. The fact that it covers towing and if needed, lodging and meals, is a great benefit.

    SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 ? 2
     
    #18 Mike Rosenzweig, Jul 19, 2013
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    A couple of thoughts:

    First, maybe I missed it, but how much was your extended warranty?

    Second, while things worked in your favour, in your case, this isn't the norm. Otherwise they wouldn't be selling extended warranties.

    Also, per a few other responders, when the dealership throws out a number for the replacement cost of that inverter, maybe it's high? The higher the number the better you feel. That said, it could be close: too many parts are way to expensive to repair/replace.
     
    #19 Mendel Leisk, Jul 20, 2013
  20. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    I guess people are missing the fact that the OP's inverter is covered under the standard warranty.
     
    #20 rdgrimes, Jul 20, 2013
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