Q: Hybrid vehicle has coolant leakage from the transaxle

asked by on July 22, 2016

I own a hybrid vehicle and the hybrid components (inverter & electric motors in transaxle) have a separate cooling system. There is a coolant leakage from the transaxle. I have been told that the inverter will fail if all the coolant leaks out. Without the inverter, my vehicle won’t have any power, no electric brakes, no electric steering, and no motive power to the wheels. Plus, I learned that the coolant can leak other places or the leak can cause a short out resulting in a fire. This leak is directly from the transaxle, not from an old worn-out coolant hose. Since it is a hybrid, the electric power availability is totally essential. I have seen reports of inverters failing at highway speeds, which leads to total loss of power. Fortunately, I haven’t read of any accident/injury reports due to this, but this information is very frightening. Can you advise me on how to solve this problem?

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Hello. If the system is leaking coolant then the leak needs to be found immediately. If it is leaking from around the transmission area then it is usually either the external pump or the inverter. These inverters are a common failure and will cause serious issues with the vehicle as they overheat and fail. The leak needs to be found and fixed. If you need to have this looked at, consider YourMechanic, as a certified mechanic can come to you home or office to diagnose the coolant leak and repair this.

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