Lost for words and don't know how i will handle this one. My car is a 2010 with 88k miles, have owned it for about 3 years now in Africa. This morning, while backing out of the house, i engaged D as i usually do and felt this rare jolt, next thing the dash lights lit up with the "Check hybrid system". I immediately felt i a limited throttle response ..so i decided to park by the side. Scanned the car with Techstream and got the following codes: P0A94 - 172 DC/DC Converter Performance P324E - 788 MG-ECU Power Relay Intermittent Circuit I have spent the past hour or two on PC reading through users who have had similar codes and about the IPM failures in these 2010 models. i confirmed through the Toyota recall website that the EOE recall was not applied to the car before i got it and shipped it to Africa...There is very limited, if any support from authorized Toyota dealerships here for hybrid vehicles and i wonder what my predicament will be and if indeed i will be able to have this recall applied or i have to provide this cost out of pocket which i can't afford now. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Ok, I called Toyota Customer Experience Center, the agent was cordial and professional. We had a lengthy discussion and he explains that i will have to work with the local dealership to apply the recalls - based on the provided VIN #. he confirmed that the vehicle had two pending recall items. Safety Recall G0U STOP SALE - Safety Recall E0E He opened a case file and said that Toyota will be willing to have the parts sent to the local dealership once a communication channel has been established. I will engage the local Toyota dealership and see how it goes. I'm about to make a trip in the next few days, will see how much i can progress this tomorrow before my trip! Anyone with this type of experience kindly share...don't really know what to expect but i keep my fingers crossed and update as soon as i get updates.
The recall was to apply a firmware update. The update reconfigured the power parameters of the inverter. Since your car did not have the recall, they will probably have to replace your inverter. Cars that had the recall performed, now have an extended 15 year/unlimited miles warranty, on the inverter. Since yours was not performed, it will be interesting to see how they handle the issue. Good luck.
Just an update to this. The good folks at Toyota Nigeria came through and ordered the inverter from Toyota US. Even though it required a lot of persistence and follow up, the process took some time (about 3-4 months). When the inverter arrived incountry and was sent to the dealer, I was required to tow the Prius to the dealership workshop. The new inverter was fitted and Prius is fully operational. I will post the part number of the new inverter. Thanks Toyota ... loving my Prius even more ...Recently, I got a good price for a 2015 Prius plugin with 105k miles. I went ahead and made the payment, vehicle is yet to ship from the US. I plan to sell the 2010 upon taking delivery of the plugin. My only concern is that unlike my current 2010 Prius which is still under warranty, I am not sure I can access the warranty on this 2015 since it's over 100,000 miles. I will see how that goes.
Thanks Johnny Cakes,m.wynn and Prodigyplace....i feel so immensely indebted to PC, it has been a tremendous resource and positive place for me. Folks do not truly know the amount and wealth of information that resides here. Its amazing!! i only wish i could do even more and give back for all the learning and information that i have gotten here. Without PC, and all the knowledgeable others here, i really don't think that driving a Prius would have been a positive experience for me, let alone being able to assist others. I am currently in-travel and will revert back with the new inverter part number as soon as i can. One thing i noticed with having driven with both inverters at different times, is that the newer inverter definitely gives the vehicle a bit more power, vehicle is a little bit more responsive than before (it has always been responsive though). However, i really do not know if i should attribute the increased responsiveness to only the inverter alone or also to the fact that during the downtime, i took the sometime to do some cleaning of the HV battery busbars..In any case, it is all good. I have been researching the Prius Plugin forum to get more information about the 2015 lithium pack, i know that lithium packs require a lot more care and is more delicate that nimh packs but still searching. I intend to get one of a 220v charger down the line, my search took me to the juicebox from emotorwerks but at this stage, i'm still researching and getting info that i can use.
