Active Grille Shutter Replacement/Repair

The repair procedure in the bulletin applies only if an inspection reveals “debris or witness marks where debris may have caused the grille shutter to stick open.” Toyota allows 0.8 labor hours for the job, which also requires three new parts:

• 52618-47081 Lower Front Bumper Absorber (List Price $62.26)
  
• 53019-47011 Radiator Shutter Sub-Assembly (List Price $309.65)
• 88940-47011 Swing Grille Actuator Assembly (List Price $241.29)

This might give you an idea of the cost, assuming your car has no emissions warranty coverage remaining.

“P05A0” is an SAE DTC; the Toyota DTCs are P05A072 and P05A074, for which there are diagnostic procedures in the Repair Manual, available by subscription to techinfo.toyota.com. If the problem isn’t the one described in the bulletin, it’s possible only one of the Radiator Shutter Sub-Assembly or Swing Grille Actuator Assembly might have to be replaced, rather than both parts and the absorber.

 

Just had this message come up on my 2017. I am at 134K miles they were refusing to cover it stating that my warranty ended at 35K miles. I pointed them to the TSB and they agreed it was covered so nothing out of pocket, I asked them what warranty I had after the replacement and they said up to 150K as stated online. So I’m covered for 16K miles, hopefully I don’t need replacement again.

 

isn't it sad that customers have to tell the dealers what's what? reminds me of the pharma ads that say 'you should tell your doctor'. what? my doc doesn't already know?

 

My 2017 Prius Prime displayed the "Grille Shutter inoperative See your Dealer" warning suddenly with 40K miles. The dealer wanted 150.00 to diagnose and 1,300.00 to replace it. I showed them the technical service bulliten T-SB-0319-17. They will cover it now under warranty. See page 2 of the attached bulletin. Your vehicle must be purchased and currently driven in one of the Eastern States listed for coverage up to 135K or currently residing in WA or CA for coverage up to 50K.

On another note, I inspected my grill Shutter looking for any debris but could not see anything to pull out so I took a garden hose and sprayed the grill out, focusing on the corners where it hinges. 2 days later the warning signs and check engine light on the dash started disappearing. After three or four days of driving the warning signs have completely disappeared. View attachment T-SB-0319-17.pdf

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I have a 2016 Prius Eco. I only get the alarm at highway speed. The shutter appears to open and close normally, I believe it may only be a malfunctioning limit switch in the actuator assembly. (if that is where it is located). I fail to see why the shutter assembly must be replaced if it is not damaged and moved freely. Also, why does the lower front bumper absorber need to be replaced. Is it destroyed upon removal?

 

If you have diagnostic trouble code (DTC) P05A072, but no debris or witness marks, or any of the other DTCs related to the grille shutter, then as I posted above, the service bulletin doesn’t apply, and you should follow the appropriate troubleshooting procedure in the Repair Manual (more info) instead.

Depending on the diagnosis, some of those procedures—including the one for P05A072—do tell you to replace only the swing grille actuator assembly, rather than the entire radiator shutter sub-assembly.

No, but there is an improved version of the part, listed on page two of the T-SB-0319-17 service bulletin (PDF).

 

Thank you for posting the TSB. When I got the "Grille Shutter inoperative See your Dealer" warning I brought it to my dealer and was advised the diagnostic error was different from the one in the TSB and it would be $756 to repair.
I advised them that although the did not match exactly it should still be covered by extended warranty in the TSB. I argued that the TSB specifically stated if the warning is received and/or a diagnostic trouble code it be would be covered by the TSB.
Dealer argued that the code did not match and would not be covered by Toyota.
Called Toyota at 1-800-331-4331 and spoke with a "consumer advocate at Toyota who checked with a Warranty Manager and stated it should be covered. They said they would contact the dealer's customer relations manger and have them call me before days end. The dealer called me and stated they could not be reimbursed by Toyota because the code did not match exactly with the TSB. Again I argued that the and/or clause would apply and it should be covered. He stated he would get back to me , but I would not authorize any repair until it is resolved, because I would pursue it further with Toyota. About two hours later the Dealer's Service Dept. called me to advise me that Toyota is going to cover the cost of the repair.
Thank God for Prius Chat and all of you for the help and info.
RayS NJ

 

Toyota allows 0.8 hours Labor to complete this repair? It looks like an all day job to me!

 

Thanks for the detailed TSB information.
My Prius 2017; 80k miles just kicked in the same “Grille shutter incoperative” error . My guess is just some debris jamming the automatic shutter. After researching on this panel, I went to the dealer with the TSB warranty information, the dealer accepted it reluctantly, and will install all new parts under the warranty.
Really appreciate all the information and help here.

 

Got the code and error message in my 2019 Prius Prime… it was a frog stuck in the louvers! After clearing things out, I reset the code and the check engine light went away, but the error code is still stuck in there, marked as “permanent”. Not sure how to clear it out, or will it clear itself after so many miles?

 

ok so not sure if it was miles driven, or on/off cycles, but this morning the code was completely gone from the DTC code list in Carista app. Hope this helps…

 

Wonder if 5th gen will still have these?