What Toyota doesn't want you to know

[fuzzy1]

My Prius purchase decision five months ago was made with the expectation of buying one replacement traction battery during the time I own it.

Considering that the 23-year-old Honda it replaced didn't start consuming repair money until 175,000 miles, and those repairs cost much less than the depreciation on any replacement, this Prius has a very tough bar to meet. I will not be at all upset if eventual repairs consume as much as the Honda plus half the fuel savings. It will still keep carbon out of the atmosphere and dollars out of the pockets of Hugo Chavez and Vladimir Putin.

[terrygsb]

Originally Posted by orange4boy

I would politely and patiently pester Toyota and the dealership on this. This has happened so close to the warranty that it is almost within odometer error. Others have has success with this approach and one person even had his transaxle replaced for free after 110,000 miles! Just play the card that you will never buy another Toyota ever again if they don't help you so close to the warranty expiry. Contact Toyota yourself, Don't rely on the dealership.

Good luck, Don't give up yet.

You also have the option of buying a rebuilt battery.

Has the TSB been done on your battery? There was a free fix for leaking batteries which cause the connectors to corrode and can show a dead battery. If it has not been done you could pursue that angle too. You could prove that the damage was hidden from you and had happened before the warranty expired.

Thanks, that's good advice. Do you know when this TSB came out? I always had the dealer do everything. Also, I've seen mention of a rebuilt battery, but can't seem to find who would put it in. I hear it's only for a pro to do.

[Spartane]

The Prius seems to be extremely reliable over the first 100,000 miles or so, but you must remember that the 2001 was the first generation and as such was full of new technology, much of it unproven over the longer term.

As I read this forum, I discover that there are many very expensive things that can go wrong with a Prius as it ages, such as the following:

1. HV battery $3000.00 - (higher failure rate in hot and mountainous areas).
2. Transaxel $4800.00.
3. Steering Rack $1600.00.
4. ECU $1500.00

See this link for a poll of common failures:
PriusChat Forums - View Poll Results

[F8L]

Originally Posted by Spartane

The Prius seems to be extremely reliable over the first 100,000 miles or so, but you must remember that the 2001 was the first generation and as such was full of new technology, much of it unproven over the longer term.

As I read this forum, I discover that there are many very expensive things that can go wrong with a Prius as it ages, such as the following:

1. HV battery $3000.00 - (higher failure rate in hot and mountainous areas).
2. Transaxel $4800.00.
3. Steering Rack $1600.00.
4. ECU $1500.00

See this link for a poll of common failures:
PriusChat Forums - View Poll Results

Looks much like the list of any modern car or truck with respect to price. You can expect at least a tranny repair or replacement on most modern domestic trucks/cars by the time you get over 100,000 miles unless you get lucky. With the Prius replacement of any of the above listed parts seems more rare than a typical engine, ECU, or tranny failure on a typical domestic.

I may just be jaded after being part of Mustang and Camaro/Corvette/Truck car clubs and online forums for over a decade. lol

[oxnardprof]

Since some are comparing apples to oranges, I have a 1995 Ford Escort, manual transmission, with about 210,000 miles on it. I have had to make repairs and maintenance on it, but no single repair on the order of a thousand dollars.

At this point, plan to get rid of it because I anticipate repairs (original transmission, clutch, alternator, engine) and some minor glitches will require some effort to fix (seat belts no longer retract, broken rear bumper allows rain water to collect in the spare wheel well, rear hatch lifter no longer works well).

So, I guess the need to replace the batter at 100K is a little disappointing. You could be on the short end of a bell curve; I am hoping to get over 150,000 miles on my traction battery. (But since I have a 2004, I guess I would like it to fail under warranty.)

[Shawn Clark]

This troll is in the wrong forum. Should be moved to Gen I.

[philobeddoe]

Originally Posted by oxnardprof

Since some are comparing apples to oranges, I have a 1995 Ford Escort, manual transmission, with about 210,000 miles on it. I have had to make repairs and maintenance on it, but no single repair on the order of a thousand dollars.

At this point, plan to get rid of it because I anticipate repairs (original transmission, clutch, alternator, engine) and some minor glitches will require some effort to fix (seat belts no longer retract, broken rear bumper allows rain water to collect in the spare wheel well, rear hatch lifter no longer works well).

So, I guess the need to replace the batter at 100K is a little disappointing. You could be on the short end of a bell curve; I am hoping to get over 150,000 miles on my traction battery. (But since I have a 2004, I guess I would like it to fail under warranty.)

your escort sounds like it's in pretty good shape, can probably score seat belts from salvage or eBay, same with the pneumatic "hatch lifter," salvage rear bumper ... are you on the water or a little inland, hows the paint?

you religiously change the oil?

i bet someone gets a good deal on that little beauty

[patsparks]

Originally Posted by Shawn Clark

This troll is in the wrong forum. Should be moved to Gen I.

Bit early to tell and a bit harsh don't you think?

I'm guessing this is in the newbie forum because the poster is new and would like to warn other newbies.

[a_gray_prius]

Originally Posted by Shawn Clark

This troll is in the wrong forum. Should be moved to Gen I.

Burying it isn't going to make the fact that this guy feels a little betrayed and has to replace his battery any less real. In fact, I think it would be disingenuous to do so.

Originally Posted by F8L

Looks much like the list of any modern car or truck with respect to price. You can expect at least a tranny repair or replacement on most modern domestic trucks/cars by the time you get over 100,000 miles unless you get lucky. With the Prius replacement of any of the above listed parts seems more rare than a typical engine, ECU, or tranny failure on a typical domestic.

I may just be jaded after being part of Mustang and Camaro/Corvette/Truck car clubs and online forums for over a decade. lol

I know how you feel. I expect to spend near $3000 every 15k miles on just tires and brake pads (not to mention differential servicing) on my other car.

[rkskeet]

If you have to pay $3K for a new traction battery, then maybe it is time to pay the same amount for a new car.. 100K miles of use is not shabby....