Maintenance message Hybrid cooling part

I got this cartoon book "strange planet", for Father's Day, and gotta say: that message sounds straight out of the book. I would definitely clean the fan. It may be not bad, or seriously clogged. Either way it's good to know.

Google search:

strange planet comic

 

i believe they want to change your filter due to reduced airflow

 

i wonder if they program that message every so often to get you to a dealer

 

I've never seen it.

 

me neither, seems to be on the v a lot iirc

 

I got the same notice on my 2017 Prius V; called Cabe Toyota in Long Beach, California where I live; the service tech said there might be something blocking the vent under the rear, passenger seat. I took a look under the seat and the grate / filter assembly in front of the vent was caked white with what I can only guess was ash particulate; as, I had just completed a 3-day roadtrip to Sonora, California; that's right in the middle of the current, California fires. I thought about cleaning it myself until I also looked at some YouTube videos & realized the rear seat had to come out; so, I took it to Cabe Toyota today. They charged me $200 to service the hybrid battery vent; drove away & went to a next-door drive-in car wash; afterwards, I popped my head inder the seat again to look at the vent. The filter was gone; only the grate was there; I could see straight into the vent's housing. I called the service tech I'd dealt with to tell him there was no filter on the grate. He spoke to the service tech and that man told him the 2017's did not come with a filter on the grate in front of the vent's housing; but, I'm positive I saw a filter on the grate caked with what was white, ash particulate, as I mentioned. I've joined this forum exactly for this experience; as, I'm hoping someone can tell me if the 2017 Prius V's do come with a filter over the grill that leads to the vent for vent that cools the hybrid battery. Anyone care to comment?

 

Here is a picture of mine. Does yours look like this?

 

I was inspecting my fan filter and duct assembly on my 2012 v (no issues, just wanted to make sure it was clean).

I noticed my filter grate does not have the dust screen either, just like someone above mentioned. It is only the plastic grate. It looks exactly like the picture posted, but there's no actual filter screen.

I'm no expert, but this seems fundamentally problematic as it would openly allow more dust and debris into the fan. However, I've never received any error messages, the grate itself actually looks pretty new and mostly clean, the duct has some dust but not as much as you'd think, and the fan isn't dusty inside. Am I missing something? My backseat is almost always empty, nobody ever rides back there, and I keep the car clean, so maybe that's why.

I'm debating replacing the part altogether so I can have a filter, since that just seems like better practice. On the other hand, if it isn't broke don't fix it. Since someone else has noted they have no screen, maybe there is a reason this piece is the way it is?