2013 Prius V - P0A94 & 553/557 sub-codes, plus P301A, P308A and P31AB

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Phildo, Nov 17, 2020.

  1. Phildo

    Phildo Active Member

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    Location:
    Perth, Western Australia
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    i-Tech
    Car: 2013 Prius V iTech
    Codes:
    - P0A94, with 553 & 557 sub-codes
    - P301A
    - P308A
    - P31AB with 123 sub-code
    - C1657
    - C1241
    - C1259
    - C1310

    First: Truckloads of thanks and appreciation to the people who have previously posted about their P0A94 codes. At least now I have something resembling a clue about how to fix this car.

    From reading through posts about P0A94 my conclusions are:
    - The P0A94 and 553/557 codes indicate that the inverter has died and needs to be replaced.
    - Because of the inverter failure no charge has gone to the 12v battery or the hybrid battery. The resulting P301A, P308A and P31AB codes mean that the hybrid battery is also stuffed and will need to be rebuilt or replaced (and, most likely, a new 12v battery).

    Would that be a correct assumption? Replace the inverter and hybrid battery, and the car should be good again?
     
    #1 Phildo, Nov 17, 2020
  2. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    That’s one plausible explanation, but I’d suggest doing the relevant troubleshooting procedures in the Repair Manual (more info), since there are other possible causes, such as a malfunction of the inverter cooling system.

    Some of the DTCs you mentioned indicate problems that, for Prius v cars in the United States, would be eligible for repair at Toyota’s expense under Safety Recall J0V and related customer support (warranty extension) programs. Before replacing costly parts at your own expense, you may wish to find out if Toyota Australia provides similar coverage.
     
    #2 Elektroingenieur, Nov 18, 2020
  3. Phildo

    Phildo Active Member

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    I've had the car towed to a Toyota dealership for now, and will see what they say.

    Toyota Australia isn't anywhere near as friendly and helpful as Toyota US, but I'll give it a go.

    If they say no then I'll buy a secondhand inverter from a wreck and fit it myself.

    Secondhand inverters are common, and not particularly hard to fit... but if Toyota are willing to fix it for free then they are very welcome to.

    I had a P0A94 code on a 2010 Camry last year and that ended up needing the transmission replaced. But the same code on a Prius means the inverter is stuffed, which is much, much cheaper and easier to replace than a transmission. Excellent.
     
    #3 Phildo, Nov 19, 2020
  4. Phildo

    Phildo Active Member

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    i-Tech
    The P0A94 code is covered under a special warranty in the US, but I don't yet know if Australia offers the same.

    If Toyota Australia covers the repair cost then I'll be extremely delighted.

    If not then I'll replace the inverter, and likely have a go at dismantling the dead inverter to locate and learn about the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) that fails.

    What I can't work out - the Prius V seems to be known for this, but the 3rd-gen Prius 30-series has the same inverter but not the same reputation for inverter failures. Very odd.

    US extended warranty on the Prius V inverter:
    Toyota Inverter Warranty 1.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

    #4 Phildo, Nov 19, 2020
    barnprius likes this.
  5. barnprius

    barnprius New Member

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    Hey Phildo, fellow Aussie here with a P0A94 issue. Can you please provide an update on how things went with the toyota dealership?
     
    #5 barnprius, Sep 12, 2021
  6. Phildo

    Phildo Active Member

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    The inverter from my car got replaced... eventually... but now there's a bill at the Toyota dealership for waaaayyyyy more than what it would have cost me to just buy one secondhand and fit it myself.

    It's a tad messy at the moment (ie negotiations with the dealer).

    I just tried sending you my phone number but it wouldn't let me start a conversation. Call me on 0418 922 500 in the afternoon or night.
     
    #6 Phildo, Sep 22, 2021
  7. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    You can't just put a different inverter in without techstream.
     
    #7 Tim Jones, Oct 20, 2021
  8. Ohid

    Ohid Member

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    What you did for hybrid battery? Its Li-ion battery. Did you change it or recondition it?
     
    #8 Ohid, Apr 3, 2022
  9. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    P0A94 refers to the DC/DC converter.

    That's inside the overall inverter-with-converter assembly, so any time you're just going to replace the whole thing, the details don't matter.

    But if you were going to delve into the assembly to its internal components, a P0A94 code would focus your attention on the converter rather than the IPM.

    Codes in the P0 range are standardized across all vehicles by SAE, so a P0A94 is going to be a "DC/DC Converter Performance" code no matter what car is involved. If there was a Camry with a P0A94 that ended up with its transmission replaced, there is probably a longer story involved than you could get from just the code.

    On the other hand, as Elektroingenieur mentioned upthread, the repair manual does have troubleshooting steps for every trouble code, and those steps are worth following, because even when a code's fortune cookie has the name of some part, it doesn't necessarily mean replacing that part is going to fix the problem every time. The ECU might not be able to pin down whether the problem's really in that part, or in some wiring or an interrelated component, so the troubleshooting steps in the manual show how the human can pin that down.

    o_O
     
    #9 ChapmanF, Apr 3, 2022
  10. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    I tried 2 different ones when mine blew 1000 miles from home. Idiot Toyota dealership didn't know about the free replacement. Luckily RJ Parker told me about it and I went back and they repaired it, technician said couldn't add it to the system without techstream.
     
    #10 Tim Jones, Apr 5, 2022
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