This past weekend my car lit up like a xmas tree and died. It's a 2005 Toyota Prius. Techs at Toyota Service had no clue what had happened until they got into the hybrid battery connection site. Over a year ago a bottle of laundry detergent had leaked on the area behind the driver side, the seat was down for hauling. I cleaned the carpet and the fleece lined blanket that covers the back. Had no clue that the soap had run down through a hole and right onto the hybrid connection. The residue was dried but it had caused havoc with the hybrid system. The techs thought it had fried the hybrid battery and the computer system. Turns out it had fried the water pump to the hybrid system and fuses, among other things. This is something that would have been nice for me to know, that the hybrid battery is so vulnerable, not a secure cover to protect this key part of the car. A small amount of liquid, laundry soap in this case, caused a major repair. The techs had never seen or heard of something like this. Wanted to share this info.
It may not be related. We are seeing reports of the inverter pump failures. I fail to see the connection with that pump behind front bumper and the detergent leak in the trunk.
This is something that would have been nice for me to know, that the hybrid battery is so vulnerable, not a secure cover to protect this key part of the car. A small amount of liquid, laundry soap in this case, caused a major repair. The techs had never seen or heard of something like this. Wanted to share this info.[/QUOTE] The pump is not related. Also, on a 05, it would be very unusual for a small amount of soap to get on any HV connections. They are very well covered.
Was there any corrosion of the HV battery connections? Would be nice to see some pictures. As others have already pointed out the pump is under the hood, not in the trunk.
Charging and discharging any battery produces heat. (Ask laptop owners) It would not be easy to build a water proof container that allowed that much heat to dissipate easily. The battery is protected in the 'have a wreck" sense, but it is not 'sealed' nor can it be.
If you should remove all the casing plates surrounding the HV battery, you will see it is nicely packaged. No, it is not water proof. AND it does not take much liquid to get to the pefect two points, causing either a partial grounding condition or a high resistance short circuit. The best place to carry any liquid is on the floor. The car is not to blame!
