2008 Prius will not start

You know, on this forum we've been debating that very issue for *years*

I'd sooner fry a $50 throw-away protective module than a +$4,500 inverter

As this topic *again* demonstrates, be very, very careful if you ever need to boost your Prius, or offer a boost to another car

I have one of those 700 amp Canadian Tire booster boxes in my Prius. It gets charged monthly, and after each use. So far, I've boosted several cars and a full size pickup, and it works fine.

I'd rather throw away a $120 Canadian Tire booster box - around $70 on sale - than a $4,500 inverter.

 

I agree. The car will remain a question mark in terms of reliability

Ah geeze, I hate it when I'm used like that!

Seriously, even components that are supposedly designed to withstand lightning strikes are fubar'd if improperly installed - or modified

Eg: a certain client I had who had NO PROBLEM spending several million bucks on a facility upgrade in a high lightning strike area, but refused to spend 150 G's on a deepwell grid groundpoint system with an approved conductive backfill material

L O R E S C O

L O R E S C O

L O R E S C O

So when the inevitable lightning storm happened, ZAP, and around $1.3 million of damage. Are you telling me the dumbass systems analyst - Your Truly - was aware of this danger, and proper remediation, but the fancy-schmancy contracted firm doing the install wasn't? Yeesh!

I don't trust standard lightning arresting devices. Combined with a deep anode system, a good - eg pricey - arresting system is a must. I've had good luck with Strikesorb from RayCap

The next generation Surge Protection Technology - The Ultimate Overvoltage Protection

In the case of that Prius though - pooof, stick a fork in it, it's done

 

You guys are unnecessarily upsetting the OP.

Other posters, after having the inverter, fuse links, and a handful of misc fuses replaced, seem to find that their car has been restored to normal. I think that the ECUs have diode protection, its just the inverter that lacks this.

 

Ok, I didn't mean the entire car, just the parts that went pooof

One can see the situation happening a few years from now, when a Prius will have depreciated to the point it wouldn't make sense to get an inverter. Hence, it gets stripped and crushed over an improper jumpstart procedure

 

True, it would not be economic to spend $3,637 for a new inverter plus labor on an older Prius. If you DIY the installation of the new part, then you can buy it for $2,764 plus freight.
Champion ToyotaWorld

This is still high, so if you become good friends with your local salvage yard owner or else buy off eBay, you can spend $500 or so on a salvage part.
Search results for prius inverter in Car & Truck Parts & Accessories

 

But still....what an 'incredible' story.
It's another proof that your car is NEVER SAFE, even with the dealer.

Our Prius' stock 12V don't have enough juice to jump another 'normal' car anyway, yea?

 

Well, in theory, if you just hook up the cables and do NOT attempt to crank the dead car, let its battery charge for 15-20 mins, nothing should be damaged

If you're in a rush, hop into the dead car, and start grinding away on the starter, that could be bad

If you're meth-mouth at the lot, who last week was scrubbing the urinals and the sh***ers, and you briefly touch the positive and negative clamps together to make a spark to "prove" you have a good connection, then congratulations, you just fried a +$4,000 inverter

 

Wow that really sucks. I hope they fix her up good and give you compensation for your trouble!

 

Good outcome to a bad situation. I am happy you got her back in one piece.

Tom

 

Glad you got the extra warranty. Was wise to get the attorney pronto and put some fire under them. That could have gone ugly.