Inverter failure part number and advice

Hello, I've got a 2001 Prius I bought about a month ago, and I love it... other than the inverter apparently dying.


The situation:

With no warning that I could discern, while going about 50mph in 30F weather, no real stress on the hybrid system to speak of, the car died. PS warning, hybrid system, and hybrid battery warnings go on. Momentarily the engine revved somewhat (as if charging the battery despite SOC showing 3/4). No drama or anything, no weird noises, just lots of lights to tell me all was lost. I pulled over (the ICE engine now off, I think... this was on the side of the world's busiest highway in a snowstorm), doubly confirmed with the owner's manual that it was a bad idea to try to move the car, and turned it off. While waiting for a tow truck I tried 4-5 times in the course of at least an hour (got down to the blue cold coolant light being on) to get the car to start, but the engine did not attempt to start and the lights remained on. Every in-car thing seemed to function normally, but the car made no attempt to move


After being towed back to a seemingly reputable toyota dealership (I've found no negative reviews of their service, beyond some nitpicking about bodywork) the prognosis has come back that they are "pretty sure" it's the inverter. The quoted price was "4200-4500" Canadian. They indicated their normal salvage place didn't have a used inverter, and that they couldn't 100% guarantee it's the inverter.


The Questions:

1. This sure sounds like an inverter from my own research. How sure do you think I can be that the cause is the inverter, as opposed to something else major? What are the odds another MAJOR component would present as an inverter?

I'm inclined to assume that the "we can't guarantee it" is because it's hard to diagnose everything else in the drivetrain with a 100% non-functional inverter. Thus, they're pretty sure the inverter is the problem but can't pretend they've actually witness other parts working. The electric motors can't be energized, the engine can't turn over, etc. so they can't swear by it. Sound logic?


2. I've found a few potential salvage inverters, but they're something of a drive and I don't have easy access to my Prius. I don't know the build date but I have the VIN. How can I assure myself I have the right PN# salvage inverter? I see lots of references to needing the right part number (or even just a part number "after" the original's) but no clear way to tell what's newer or what's acceptable.

2a) is there any way of telling the health of the inverter beyond the salvage yard's claimed mileage of donor vehicle?


Anything else people can think of that I seem to be overlook is appreciated. I'm pretty handy (would be doing this myself if I had a garage or lived in a place with nicer winters) but I don't have any hands-on experience to speak of on a Prius.


Thanks,

John

 

Thanks for the replies! I'll try and get the DTCs (may be an issue as they were pulled almost a week ago and the dealership is very busy), I'll check that they checked the possibility of an inverter pump or air bubble.

I'll give Eric@ adopt-a-part a ring later today. "Known Good" sounds fantastic right about now.

 

Just wanted to update people:

I bought a used inverter through Adopt-A-Part, 500 dollars US shipped, including duty etc. to my dealer in Ontario. It was installed promptly by Scarborough Toyota, who were great about having a new customer come in, having the car sit for about 2 weeks, using a 3rd party used part, etc. The total cost from the Toyota dealer was
$488 CAD tax in, so in Canadian dollars I paid a tad over 1000 bucks. The car works perfectly in the 100km since the repair.

So my problem was an inverter and I'd HIGHLY recommend Adopt-A-Part and Scarborough Toyota. Both of them were cheaper, faster, and more reliable than any alternative I found. Can't ask for more than that.