OK, I'm getting confused here with your post. If you are saying that you have already paid $5,786 for the transmission. You also paid $5,214 for an inverter "installment" and the best I can tell, you owe them ANOTHER $5,786 as a second payment? What is that one for?

By the way, full list cost on an inverter is $5639.36 plus 2 hours of labor (roughly $200 to $250 at most shops) and a gallon or so of coolant.

There is NOTHING that will prevent a used inverter from working unless they were bad to start with. They can be bought for less than $800 on ebay....You should be able to get that part fixed for less than $1,100 dollars in an independent shop.

As far as the power split device (transmission) I have never heard of one going out before. What exactly happened with your car that caused you to take it to the dealer. When did you change the inverter coolant and did you ever change the transmission fluid?

 

The total cost is $11,000.00. The service manager said they would not work on the car unless I pay them in advance for the new Inverter part, which cost $5,214.00. The service manager told me that after replacing the transmission, the inverter is also bad. they have tried 4 different used inverters and the car would not start. He said they need a "hot" inverter from a donor car, which they wasn't able to fine. They also open a case with Toyota... I called it BS.

The $5,786.00 is the balance due when I pick up the car. This is for the transmission, which I did not pay for it yet.

The car was in their shop since November 12, 2014. I'm really frustrated with them.

I had it serviced at 120,000 miles. I missed the 150,000 miles.

Anyhow, I really appreciated your help.

 

Hello,

Thanks for all the information. This string has been really helpful to me.

My 2006 Highlander Hybrid just had very similar issues --- check engine and VSC warnings came on, then loss of power, then total failure to restart or react in any way. I had my inverter replaced under the recall in 2012.

After a week at the dealer, they replaced the MG computer that controls the inverter. The car now runs again. (Initially, the diagnosis was the transmission, which didn't seem likely based on the symptoms.)

Has anyone else had their HH repaired after an inverter or associated failure? If so, what kind of ancillary issues or further effects did you notice?

I have only 71k miles on the car and it is in good shape; I'm the original owner and have done all maintenance according to schedule and recommendations. I'd like to get a sense of what kinds of issues may arise after this point. I'm trying to assess whether it makes sense to hang onto the car, or whether the maintenance issues will likely pile up at this point.

Many thanks for any help or advice. Good luck to anyone else who has to deal with this. My failure was sudden, without any warning at all, and total.