Toyota Aqua (Prius c) teardown: Part 2

Hybrid systems behind the 35.4km/liter (53 mpg city) car

2012/11/30

Table of contents

Summary
Toyota hybrid system configuration (THS II)
Engine room before disassembly
Power control unit (PCU) with a boost converter
Drive unit
Transaxle
Gear train disassembly

Summary

Disassembly of Toyota's New Aqua Hybrid (dubbed "Prius c" in the U.S.) was organized for public viewing by the Saitama Automotive Industry Support Center. The key part suppliers and battery components of the Toyota Aqua were posted in the previous report.

Previous report:
"Toyota Aqua (Prius c) teardown: Part 1"

Reported below (Part 2) are the drive unit consisting of the engine and hybrid transaxle, the power control unit (PCU) affixed with a boost converter*, and the associated system functions of the Toyota Aqua.

* The boost converter is designed to step up the 144VDC input voltage to up to 520VDC; the DC-DC converter is designed to reduce high DC voltage to low DC voltage (12V).

Cutaway model of the drive unit that was exhibited
at the Tokyo Motor Show 2011
* Click on the photo for a larger image.

Related reports:
"Nissan Leaf teardown" 1 (posted in March 2012), 2 (posted in September 2012), 3 (posted in November 2012)

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