How a Hybrid Car Works: Toyota 3rd Generation Prius Teardown

[@randyscorner9434]

Not just a mechanic, but you understand the electronics and functions of each system. Impressive!

[@Druze_Tito]

He has to. He makes up living out of it.

[@speedkar99]

I'm an engineer not a mechanic :) But we don't learn this in school!

[@metzmatu8409]

​​@@speedkar99 I know all this while you are an engineer. Not all engineers can make good educating videos out there thou. You are one that's well drilled and structured throughout those videos.

[@ComplicatedStuff]

@@speedkar99It is very clear by the way you talk that you are an engineer with broad interest. Not just learning facts from books but actually understanding things. It is fortunately not uncommon for engineers 😊 What you do very well is explaining it without rambling on about tangent details and throwing some dead pan humor in. Always fun and interesting to watch! Cheers.

[@goranjurkovic6796]

Actually he doesn't understand mechanics

[@test40323]

surprisingly thorough analysis. sounds like someone is certified to work on hybrids or studying towards certification. congrats on your achievements. i admire your ambition and discipline on lifelong learning.

[@BStreet666]

So cool that you're doing a complete Gen 3 tear down.

[@speedkar99]

I got a ford fusion Hybrid coming next

[@cash2.0]

Great insight into how it all works. My 2010 needed a "Transistor Kit" as Toyota described it after the inverter failed at just over 90K miles. It went into limp mode and displayed the message, "Check Hybrid System."

[@speedkar99]

It's a common failure covered under warranty.

[@gx4548]

your introduction of the power electronics is smoother than many electric engineers. cool.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks! Glad you appreciate my video style

[@Nicholas-f5]

​@@speedkar99having it on 2x makes it 4x 😅

[@Jean-Sylvain-v5t]

Nice piece of engineering. What is surprising is the reliability of this complex system.

[@speedkar99]

I agree...very complex yet very robust.

[@fuzzycuffs]

"We're not talking about LGBT here, we're talking about IGBT"

[@yay842]

I legit snorted. He's honestly underrated and hilarious in a dry humour type of way LMAOO 😂

[@Giuliana-w1f]

IGBTQLA+

[@jn9861]

😂

[@OutsideTheTargetDemographic]

I suppose both convert something into something else.....

[@auntbarbara5576]

@OutsideTheTargetDemographic bruhhh 👍🏻👍🏻😎😉

[@vahagnbekverdyan]

Pure teardown, no boolshit, no waste of time. excellent!

[@yornotelppa]

I'm a 77 year old EE and you did an excellent job with this video!

[@JimTurner-uz4om]

Superb overview, I actually learned more on how a hybrid works and the physical interfaces involved in this one video than the multiple " block" diagram presentations on other KZbin descriptions. Well presented without any background waffle, many thanks.

[@tompeters8696]

Thanks for making it easy to understand for a layman

[@slavric]

IGBT means Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor, it's a mix between MOS-FET and BJT. SiC or Silicon Carbide is much more efficient but yet more expensive. You can't be just a mechanic to know so much about electronics. My respect to you.

[@olspanner]

I'd need to watch / listen to this quite a few times to take it all in. Wow, thanks for sharing.

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome. Slow me down and it'll stay don't worry it's not that hard. I hope the diagram helped

[@edwinlipton]

I am truely impressed! You were so born for this, I'd almost believe you engineered this system before production.

[@marsgal42]

"This is how it works" sure beats throwing your hands up in disgust at the new-fangled technology. Toyota are masters at making cars that just work, no matter how complicated they are.

[@alanmay7929]

when you use very high end electronic components its only going to be reliable, most of them are Panasonic or other high end electronics manufacturers.

[@hedgehogthesonic3181]

@@alanmay7929 Right, and all the components, capacitors, transistors, are not liquid based, unlike the old ones, so these won't dry, they will just keep going unless water manages to get in contact with them, or they overheat, something like that.

[@speedkar99]

Very solid tech

[@Georgatzis]

Yes and how long will they last with such many electronic components?

[@xXYannuschXx]

@@alanmay7929 Eyup, we are so used to incredibly cheap crap electronic components used in our day to day appliances that its hard to imagine something like this can actually be reliable.

[@Slender2261]

Can't wait for eCVT video

[@speedkar99]

Coming next week

[@AKAtheA]

*insulated* gate bipolar transistor :D basically a hybrid between a field effect and bipolar transistor

[@vinnieluther6589]

Thank you, hearing him call them integrated gate bothered me.

[@speedkar99]

Sorry I mispronounced it

[@UpHillEdd]

Good Job! I am always surprised that this rather complex electronic, as in my Prius NHW20, has been working for 20 years and still flawlessly!

[@paulstrangers2943]

I'd give it 2 👍 👍 up Not just the inverter/converter operation but how it's tied into other associated equipment including the engine.

[@shengruizhang6476]

Wow been waiting for this one. Thanks for the teardown and sharing!🎉

[@ccshello1]

6:00 In between the 200V HV battery and the actual 3-phase inverter/generator unit, there is always the boost/buck module in the power path. When the PMSM motor is in motor (as driving) mode, that module is in boost mode, raising voltage to approximately 500~600V to 3-phase IGBT based inverter. When the PMSM motor is in generator mode (wheels and/or ICE driving), the 6 power diodes serve as 3-phase rectifier. The resulted HV DC thru the same module, though current flow is backward, DC-DC down-converted to a lower voltage (known as buck mode), to charge the HV battery. Note that in this mode, the buck converter carefully regulates the output voltage to properly charge the 200V HV battery. I.e., it is a battery charger. P.S. most earlier Toyota hybrid vehicles are using more robust NiMH batteries, thus the charging voltage can vary a lot. Some later models change to Lithium-Ion (mainly NMC type) batteries thus carefully controlling the charging curve becomes essential.

[@BillGates_Alex]

How do you know all of this shit man?

[@RotoRCol]

@@BillGates_Alex😂agreed

[@ثابت-ج6ض]

thank you

[@speedkar99]

Awesome explaination

[@agriktechomulimi1284]

😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 ​@@BillGates_Alex

[@nnamerz]

Amazing breakdown! Have you taken other electrical courses (aside from ones specific to the automotive trade)? You seem very well versed in it

[@speedkar99]

Nope. I don't learn this in school. The best way to learn is to tear it down yourself!

[@liver.flush.maestro]

Man, this is so complex, it is incredible they managed to make it reliable and high production...

[@ralanham76]

It’s easier to keep non moving parts running, just keep them in the right temperature.

[@liver.flush.maestro]

@@ralanham76 Correct, but imagine being able to manufacture this complexity at a large volume, while still keeping good quality control, this is complicated I think 🙂

[@speedkar99]

I agree...when you think of the large scale in manufacturing this is pretty impressive!

[@liver.flush.maestro]

@@speedkar99 Yes, this is what I was referring to 🙂

[@ComplicatedStuff]

It is actually quite simple. It is a collection of simple and very well known and proven electronic circuits. What Toyota did very well is to select the right quality components, do the thermals (cooling) well and don’t invent overly complex new stuff for no reason. This is how you make reliable cars, many brands can learn a lot here.

[@oscarlmolina]

Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing all this knowledge

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome

[@firstlast---]

Very impressive engineering. You are an excellent teacher

[@speedkar99]

I get that alot. All thanks to my teach-brush

[@Z7d3nR4]

That is an unbelievable amount of information.

[@speedkar99]

Thanks! I tried to compact it to get it all in there!

[@setSCEtoAUX]

Many (most?) of those bus bars look like copper. I wonder how often that all gets recycled as these cars get sent to salvage. (Also the "I" in "IGBT" is actually for "insulated", sort of a hybrid between normal Bipolar transistors and MOSFETs)

[@ralanham76]

I think those are copper they started anodizing them, because they started failing in high humidity areas.

[@FASTECAUTO]

This is amazing... absolute practical breakdown...very precise... no sec wasted.

[@omarkh1747]

Wow, amazing. Great presentation. Thanks for the preparation and the content...

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome!

[@vincentbarkley9121]

Thank you. Brilliant.

[@CedroCron]

Thanks, always wanted to take one of these apart.

[@oby-1607]

You are a Jedi of knowledge on car operating systems.

[@abdoubenali572]

Toyota really revolutionized car engines with their prius.

[@f2k505]

awesome content brother, EE here, smooth explanations of power electronics there. subbed

[@davidmcclare443]

4:12 i thought igbt stood for insulated gate bypolar transistor not intergrated

[@speedkar99]

Yes it does you are right

[@daviddillon172]

Great explanation of Toyota hybrid control circuit..Thanks..

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome

[@steventaylor5283]

THANKS FROM AUSTRALIA

[@speedkar99]

You are welcome from Canada

[@auntbarbara5576]

4:14 My wig flew off! Boom!! 💥 Luv ya Mr Speedcar, you made my night 🤣🤣🤣❤

[@speedkar99]

Awesome! Thanks

[@CtrlAltFumble]

It's crazy the amount of complexity it adds to the car.

[@leexgx]

But surprisingly Toyota made it very reliable (even the older cvt was quite reliable)

[@WarriorsPhoto]

Your humour is great. Not that my grinder is bad. 😂😅😂 If only we had 210 volt extensions. 😂😮😂 Keep these videos coming.

[@speedkar99]

Glad you like the video style! Thanks

[@WarriorsPhoto]

@ You’re welcome! (:

[@ChristianDuval-h9r]

What a great explanation......

[@speedkar99]

Thanks

[@HumanShield777]

was there some kind of grounding/discharge procedure you had to do to be able to safely disassemble this?

[@speedkar99]

This wasn't very safe at all. RE: the angle grinder 😬

[@rafaelcastro7214]

I have Toyota crown limited 2023 hybrids sound good smooth drive I never experienced hybrids that cool

[@johnmirajkar]

Very well explained sir 🙏 keep it up from India

[@fernandoanatomia]

Your videos are gold.

[@HzroBir]

Hello, great video, just one question how do you know all of that? You graduated from mechanic college or specific institute? Best wishes

[@kasarara7434]

Very excellent and informative video, would you do the same tear down video of the HV battery ?

[@Billy-the-Kid]

Looks very compact and complicated. Lot's of electrics and electronics. Can't do very much yourself if something goes wrong.

[@michaelbezoski3096]

Perfect as I have been looking at a 2015 Prius. Has 165.000 miles, Carfax looks good with fluid changes & plugs. Concern is the big boy battery. Need to investigate how to load test the battery to find the remaining capacity. Great video & most appreciated SK99. Like "CC's" comment info.My kind of lingo. Guess I need to check the battery type in the 2015. NiMH or NMC.

[@firstlast---]

Battery is likely okay that generation is infamous for blowing head gaskets

[@michaelbezos2969]

Gotcha, thanks. You would think at its milage it would of happened already but with my luck...

[@thom1218]

Pause the video and check the sticker on the battery - it literally says NiMH on it.

[@ralanham76]

For 2015+ they use NIMH almost exclusively except for the all wheel drive version.

[@speedkar99]

Glad you like it. Look into the head gasket issues these had

[@accidentalengineering]

*Insulated gate 4:15

[@speedkar99]

Thanks

[@ladalout245]

Your brother's oven is almost as interesting as the Prius internals. Lots of strange dials and controls and a huge cabinet with just 4 electric rings that look like a pea on a barrel. And why do you have 4 pin plugs in Canada? I think we need another teardown and explanation!

[@PompiisGarage]

1. Phase 1 120V 2. Phase 2 120V (180 degrees out of phase with phase 1 for a total of 240V difference) 3. Neutral 4. Ground

[@ladalout245]

@PompiisGarage thanks for the explanation! 👍

[@speedkar99]

It's from 1989!

[@HiFilover168]

Thank you for the autopsy, if anything wrong with this unit, such as a couple transistors, we have to replace the WHOLE unit. No DIY repair anymore. 😩.

[@caty863]

Much as I don't like the complexity of hybrid cars, I recognize that this is a necessary transition we must go through before full EVs are practical. Here in Africa we used to leapfrog this kind of transitional technologies but it didn't work this time round. People here rely much on used cars from Europe and north America, so we will have to go through the whole cycle as well.

[@jay1st1st]

Wife has a Toyota Yaris CROSS Hybrid, wonder if it's the same internals ??

[@kclefthanded427]

Almost but with a smaller engine

[@jay1st1st]

@@kclefthanded427 as it' the CROSS i was more thinking of a bigger engine / electric motor

[@ralanham76]

@@jay1st1styaris cross has 1.5 the Corolla cross uses a bigger 2 L The 2015 Prius uses a 1.8 L

[@firzen0000]

Nice desoldering tool ✂👍

[@speedkar99]

Yep I love it too ✂️

[@BillGates_Alex]

Bro sounds like a genius

[@speedkar99]

Nah it's just simple electronics

[@goranjurkovic6796]

Just sounds like. Not a real one 😂

[@punitpatel7616]

Nailed it ❤

[@speedkar99]

Thanks

[@RanjitSingh-h8b]

Good work 👍

[@madhusudhanpathak513]

Session Excellent sir ji

[@KPKCCK]

Good video. Can anyone tell please what is "MG"? Thanks.

[@MickeyMishra]

The cool thing you can do with these is to contact Julian in the UK, use his custom Firmware and see if you can use it do drive subwoofers.

[@jacobnathanielzpayag3885]

Toyota nailed the cooling on this thing, maybe a bit overbuilt, but in the end, the better you can cool power electronic components, the more efficient they operate and the longer they will last.

[@adey88splace]

Fascinating! Thank you. I'm no fan of electic vehicles though. Also, there is alot of good scrap metal there with the aluminum and copper.

[@crisprtalk6963]

My brain was just rectified.

[@speedkar99]

Haha I got that pun

[@muriuwangai3617]

Nice to meet you again. How's Serow225 doing? I miss this prious content.

[@stelmo502]

insulated-gate bipolar transistor

[@speedkar99]

Sorry I mispronounced that

[@tangoalpha8381]

Great video 👍👍👍🏆🏆🏆

[@GeorgePapadopoulos11]

It is “insulated gate bipolar transistor” IGBT.

[@roberts8783]

Wonder if this thing can work as an inverter on a boat for lithium packs. Victron are expensive

[@speedkar99]

Some version of it might.

[@waldolemmer]

8:45 LC circuit, not RC

[@speedkar99]

Yes I noticed I said it wrong, you are right.

[@kennethcoutinho4439]

Awesome 👌

[@Tariqkhan-vu6xg]

Very impressive .

[@bonganihalimani9572]

So my question is, are these vehicles expensive to maintain over time? Maybe you need to do a tear down of the HV battery.

[@BStreet666]

As a Gen3 owner, I guess it depends on how long you keep it. Bought mine used about 8 years ago with 30K miles on it and I'm now coming up on 96K miles. The only thing that has been problematic for me are the rear wheel hub/bearings. However, they're not expensive and easy to replace on your own. Outside of regular oil changes, its needed nothing else. The flip side is that this particular generation of Prius are known to have head gasket failures which is not a small fix on any car, let alone on a Prius. If the cooling fan on the HV battery becomes clogged with dust or pet hair, it will cause the battery to fail prematurely and that is a costly item. I believe that it's also true that the HV battery will eventually fail from normal use. If either were to happen to mine, I still think it's worth it to repair them due to how practical the car is.

[@bonganihalimani9572]

@BStreet666 sounds great, we import these cars from Japan here in Africa, we normally get the prius c/aqua, it has a 1.5l engine and i think it used the same gen 3 hybrid system!

[@rodzvalv_5673]

there are a LOT of gen 1 Prius with over 400k miles on them. these cars are typical Toyotas, built to last.

[@bonganihalimani9572]

@@rodzvalv_5673 that's true, but ive seen some videos of the HV batteries having some corrosion on their bus bars and periodic swapping of the battery cells, which in countries without the expertise cause the HV batteries to fail much earlier.

[@speedkar99]

If you're early enough to catch it it's something that can be prevented

[@Novus_Ordo_Conditor]

4:12 IGBT = Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor IGCT = Integrated Gate Commutated Thyristor

[@alibehboudi]

Tnx a lot . Informative video

[@douglasheld]

6:47 I thought the DC-DC converter was on the top of the battery pack!

[@welln0w]

i’m a 2nd year physics student who can’t even grasp the current electronics we are studying (amplifier circuits etc) the complexity of these things is absolute insanity

[@micbad4689]

Can you overclock that thing?

[@speedkar99]

You'd have to amp up the cooling system first

[@goranjurkovic6796]

Power split device is between mg1 ice and wheels. Not between mg1 mg2 and wheels. Mg2 connects in parallel to wheels.

[@SUPERMAR10312]

IGBT stands for *Insulated* gate bipolar transistor

[@Blank00]

Hear me out, why don’t manufacturers use the IGBT instead of speakers as their AVAS? The IGBT is the reason why newer subway trains make sounds at low speeds

[@ralanham76]

They are expensive. And the hum is for very high voltage is trying to turn a motor.

[@speedkar99]

Good point. The heat is another thing

[@keithminchin1817]

The sound you hear is the electromagnetic induction created in the motor windings. Engineers are well aware of the need to modulate commutation of the 3-phase windings at around 20-40kHz in general so that the majority of EMI sound is above the frequency range of our hearing. I would expect to see less IGBT’s in future as other switching devices such as GaN FETs (Gallium Nitride) and SiC FET’s offer superior switching speeds, less power losses and reduced size over IGBT’s and MOSFETs.

[@dubsydubs5234]

All those parts that can fail and not be fixed, it's a good job EV's are so simple with just a motor and battery.

[@ralanham76]

It’s easier to keep non moving parts running, just keep them the right temperature.

[@dubsydubs5234]

@@ralanham76 Really, tell all my dead PC's that, a few years at most they last, ICE engines run for decades and decades. Capacitors are known to fail after about 10 years even if not used, ECM's on cars fail all the time far more often than engines.

[@sacleocheaterz]

EVs are very similar, you'll find an inverter similar to this in every electric vehicle to convert the DC battery charge to AC three phase, alongside DC to DC conversion to charge the 12v aux, plus all of the complicated high power DC charging circuitry. EVs are mechanically simple but electrically complex.

[@speedkar99]

Agreed here. EVs have their own complexity

[@goranjurkovic6796]

Ev's are the same like this one. Just missing ice and power split device

[@harkiawaaz]

very nice ,kee rolling

[@Wtrxprs007able]

So youre saying theres a... FULL BRIDGE RECTIFIER in there?

[@speedkar99]

Yes I am

[@savathin4563]

The great and The amazing technology of Japan Toyota

[@adicahya]

Im sorry, what is MG1 and MG2?

[@tdmap2241]

I like your snipping and desoldering tools. 😂

[@pat8988]

How much good does regenerative braking actually do? It seems like the few seconds of charging done during braking couldn’t possibly be worth all the hardware and complexity.

[@rchltmedia]

that capacitor is criminally gigantic...

[@rodzvalv_5673]

you are right. it is huge.

[@ralanham76]

It’s actually 3 large caps 1 for each connection and a few smaller ones.

[@speedkar99]

It's 3 caps inside, 2 separate ones. Huge because there's a large amount of current running through

[@EGK20]

6:10 smoothing capactior..i believe its capacitor😂

[@ralanham76]

Mmm smoothie 😂

[@speedkar99]

Yes

[@Aleks_Mechanics]

Hello there!🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@speedkar99]

Hi

[@Levibetz]

At the risk of sounding like a nerd, this shit is so fuckin cool. I wish I could get access to reflash these controllers so I could remap the transmission on my Prius and unlock engine modifications, battery modifications, etc.

[@ralanham76]

To do what? It’s already balanced and reliable.

[@Levibetz]

@@ralanham76 There's lots of interesting performance things a CVT could do, and that the Prius engine can do. Typically it's done in a swap, but you can take a prius engine, get a second intake camshaft and time it as an exhaust cam, retime the intake to advance it and it becomes a high compression, high revving racy engine. So if you could remap you could do this modification, which would cause MG1 to spin faster and generate more voltage, which you can dump into MG2. So you'd have to tweak voltage and current limits, target RPMs etc.

[@speedkar99]

Engine modifications? It runs on the Atkinson cycle...which is already economical

[@Levibetz]

@@speedkar99 Yes but what if I made it... not 🤔 also it does not run Atkinson cycle, it runs 'simulated' atkinson cycle, it's still a very normal 4 stroke engine, but because of the atkinson stuff it can be reconfigured into a high compression cammy engine with relative ease.

[@anwin85alon]

😮原来有了很久了…那我就想过其它的…不要给马来仔知道了…

[@Georgatzis]

I have a question. There are a lot of electronics in there. Can these components last for over 30 years? If one of them fails, you will be ...... (like not to say) and must buy a new unit, which is for sure expensive!

[@fernandocastillo1972]

Did you know that electronic components in F-16 aircraft use jet fuel as coolant?

Insulated. 😊

[@jiltedjohn9294]

Amazing technology but if one transistor or chip goes down then would be expensive.

[@speedkar99]

Perhaps

[@techinventor101]

You mistakenly said RC circuit instead of LC circuit

[@ernson2022]

Where to find that desolering cutter 😅😂

[@miketdavies]

Glad your daughter's wardrobe is upskilling its EV knowledge! You might need to borrow your wife's curling iron for future desoldering. Great vid!

[@speedkar99]

Yeah the iron can work too, didn't think of that!