2009 Prius Staggering Repair Costs!

[scienceexpert]

Did you know that a 2009 & 2010 Prius Battery costs $4,800 in the box at the parts counter or that the 2009 transmission is $6800 in the box?

I asked about the regular battery in the trunk, its $300 plus installation and its not covered by an extended warranty. Oh, and nobody else's will fit.

The dealer said they have been lasting 3-5years. However the 2010 has no external belts so it can be a wash on the battery. Now the Lithium in 2012 will fit the 2009 and 2010 and my local dealers said a difference upgrade when it dies under warranty could be arranged.

If you are keeping this car over 7yrs or driving over 150k miles, part costs can eat the savings.

Any comments?

The suspension is tons stronger with the 2010 changes so with new parts all we have to go on is the current replacement costs.

[Sandy]

Guess you never owned a benz or BMW

a 2003 mini cooper tranny is 8K for auto, a brake job on a BMW is 1200 + and the tires on my crossfire are 1300.00

[F8L]

That is why you shop around......

I just replaced my 12v battery in my 2005 Prius for the first time and I upgraded to an Optima yellow top with the conversion parts and it only cost me $169 with shipping and tax.

If you purchase anything through the dealer without checking other sources first then you deserve to get shafted IMO. lol Not you in particular but everyone should know that dealers will get you for every penny they can.

Do some searching on this forum or ask about a specific part and I'm sure someone can direct you to a cheaper source for the part you're looking for.

[flatline16]

Originally Posted by F8L

That is why you shop around......

I just replaced my 12v battery in my 2005 Prius for the first time and I upgraded to an Optima yellow top with the conversion parts and it only cost me $169 with shipping and tax.

If you purchase anything through the dealer without checking other sources first then you deserve to get shafted IMO. lol Not you in particular but everyone should know that dealers will get you for every penny they can.

Do some searching on this forum or ask about a specific part and I'm sure someone can direct you to a cheaper source for the part you're looking for.

The yellow tops are wonderful batteries! good call

[HTMLSpinnr]

For reference, my 2004 with nearly 114k miles has only required about $1200 in maintenance or repairs since the warranty outside of regular oil/fluid changes and tires. $800 or so for struts and alignment, and about $400 or so when the inverter coolant pump went at 101,000 miles.

Yes, my Hybrid battery is showing signs of age (SOC drops more quickly in the lower range), but I'd expect the replacement cost to be less than what you're quoting. There's also other options - either pulling a salvage HV battery from a front-end damaged Prius and swapping, or pulling a salvage and rebuilding your unit by finding the bad cells.

For the average owner, the dealer is probably the best option though. Ideally, a dealer would be willing to install a salvage battery, but would be unable to warrant the part (or the work in most cases).

Look at the sticky "Transaxle Failure" thread in the Technical forum. You'll find an owner who did his own transaxle swap w/ a salvaged unit with success.

[efusco]

And that is NOT the accurate price for the battery, sounds like the dealer is trying to screw you for a couple thousand dollars. Toyota made the battery costs public about 9 months ago. For you car the dealer price should be $2588 + install (around $500).
Toyota Announces Price Reduction On Prius Hybrid Batteries

[cycledrum]

Originally Posted by efusco

And that is NOT the accurate price for the battery, sounds like the dealer is trying to screw you for a couple thousand dollars. Toyota made the battery costs public about 9 months ago. For you car the dealer price should be $2588 + install (around $500).
Toyota Announces Price Reduction On Prius Hybrid Batteries

+1

Piercey quoted me $2,588 for 09 Prius hybrid battery w/o tax or installation.

[bac]

Originally Posted by scienceexpert

The dealer said they have been lasting 3-5years.

Troll much?

... Brad

[Boo]

Originally Posted by scienceexpert

Did you know that a 2009 & 2010 Prius Battery costs $4,800 in the box at the parts counter or that the 2009 transmission is $6800 in the box?

I asked about the regular battery in the trunk, its $300 plus installation and its not covered by an extended warranty. Oh, and nobody else's will fit.

The dealer said they have been lasting 3-5years. However the 2010 has no external belts so it can be a wash on the battery. Now the Lithium in 2012 will fit the 2009 and 2010 and my local dealers said a difference upgrade when it dies under warranty could be arranged.

If you are keeping this car over 7yrs or driving over 150k miles, part costs can eat the savings.

Any comments?

The suspension is tons stronger with the 2010 changes so with new parts all we have to go on is the current replacement costs.

No offense, but I think your post is misleading.

First of all, the hybrid traction battery retails for around $2600 and is available for around $2100 at discount.

Secondly, it's warrantied for 8 years/100,000 miles in most states, and 10 years/150,000 miles in California and CARB states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont ... maybe others).

Thirdly, I believe that Toyota anticipates that the hybrid traction battery will last a lot longer than the 100,000 or 150,000 miles it's warrantied for.

* * * * *

Fourthly, the OEM 12 volt battery retails for around $140 and is available for around $112 at discount.

Fifthly, I think that others here have replaced the OEM 12 volt battery with a cheaper battery (after some adaption).

[efusco]

Originally Posted by scienceexpert

Did you know that a 2009 & 2010 Prius Battery costs $4,800 in the box at the parts counter or that the 2009 transmission is $6800 in the box?

see my answer above. But the transaxle (there really isn't a transmission) is about $3000 as well...and lots of salvage products available.

I asked about the regular battery in the trunk, its $300 plus installation and its not covered by an extended warranty. Oh, and nobody else's will fit.

It's about $170-220, you can install it yourself for free, but many places will do it for free. There are adapter kits to fit 3rd party batteries...look up the Optima for one example.

The dealer said they have been lasting 3-5years.

The 12V battery? Yea, that's probably accurate, same as any other car.

However the 2010 has no external belts so it can be a wash on the battery.

I guess, there's only one belt on the 2G and I don't think it has to be replaced before about 100k.

Now the Lithium in 2012 will fit the 2009 and 2010 and my local dealers said a difference upgrade when it dies under warranty could be arranged.

Complete fabrication.

If you are keeping this car over 7yrs or driving over 150k miles, part costs can eat the savings.

Please name a car where a major part replacement isn't exactly the same situation. List transmission and engine replacement costs for your examples.

Any comments?

Above are the only ones that are PC enough to post.

The suspension is tons stronger with the 2010 changes so with new parts all we have to go on is the current replacement costs.

? No idea what you're getting at here.