All, [FONT="]I discovered that the breather plug on the transaxle power cable box cover has oil grime on it. Please look at the pictures. I wanted to know if this is a problem or not, because in this box there are only 3 power connections (U, V, W), so where could the oil/dirt come from? This plug is visible standing in front of vehicle towards middle right on top of the transaxle near the orange power cable (the pages from the FSM shows where this breather is). Thanks.[/FONT]
I think the "breather" is actually a one way vent to vent excess pressure inside the transaxle. If you remove the transaxle fluid fill port on the front side of the transaxle, you will notice that there is a slight vacuum released as you unscrew the last few threads of the plug. I think that the oily residue is vapor from the transaxle fluid (Type WS ATF) that escapes through the breather. I don't think that it is a problem unless you get a lot of residue. I do agree that this is a strange location for the breather; I have never looked for it on the transaxle and I would have expected it to be on the transaxle case rather than on the electrical connector cover.