What Toyota doesn't want you to know

[terrygsb]

Originally Posted by terrygsb

I was one of the original "believers." I bought an original 2001 Prius which I have had for over 8 years and it has 105,000 miles on it, so I was shocked to find out last week that I am going to have to replace the battery at a cost of $3,000!!!!

I protested to the dealer that when I bought they said it is guaranteed for 100,000 miles but that they expected it to last much longer and that it would be about $1,500 when that happened.

The dealer said they couldn't do anything but they would contact Toyota since I bought it there, had all the maintenance done at the dealer and had referred NUMEROUS people to buy them who actually had done so . I still haven't heard from Toyota.

I feel very betrayed after being so effusive with praise to so many people over the years about this car. If I had known I might need to spend $3,000 on the battery after $105,000 I would not have purchased the car and I doubt if many of you would have either.

I'm still hoping Toyota will make some compromise and I'll keep you posted.

Hurray!

After some negotiation with Toyota (thanks to some helpful posts on this site) they offered to split the cost with me which I thought was reasonable and which I gladly accepted.

They offered that there would not be a 2010 version without the early adapters who effusively passed on the word like myself.

To the many people who responded to this post with insight and concern, I want to say a hearty THANK YOU! (For the couple of defensive, nasty responders, I would say GET A GRIP!)

In the end, Toyota came through like the great company I had been dealing with for 8 years!

[platinol]

does anyone know whether you can disconnect the abttery at the end of its life and just drive the car as if it was a regular car?

[prioki]

Originally Posted by philobeddoe

C.A.R.B.

California Air Resources Board

Awesome! Thanks!

[yadax3]

Originally Posted by terrygsb

Hurray!

After some negotiation with Toyota (thanks to some helpful posts on this site) they offered to split the cost with me which I thought was reasonable and which I gladly accepted.

Huge congrats!

[fuzzy1]

Originally Posted by platinol

does anyone know whether you can disconnect the abttery at the end of its life and just drive the car as if it was a regular car?

It cannot operate this way. That battery is required both to start the engine, and to make the electric transmission system work.

The transmission does not have a purely mechanical energy path between engine and wheels, a portion of the propulsion energy always flows through the electric motors.

[yadax3]

Originally Posted by tochatihu

Your unfortunate battery experience amortizes to 3 cents per mile. If you tell me how much you saved in fuel costs vs. the previous car, then we'll know how you're doing.

Gas savings is just a part of the equation. What about the hybrid premium we all paid? Or the emissions inspection savings, insurance savings, environmental impact, etc?

In my mind it all comes back to whether or not it is acceptable to have a major failure (in terms of cost) after just 100K miles in this day and age with the most reliable cars commonly lasting well over 200K miles. My expectations are higher.

[bighouse]

That's fantastic! Good on you and good on Toyota...so I guess "what Toyota doesn't want us to know" is that they're sharing the cost of a battery replacement for you???

[Rae Vynn]

Originally Posted by tochatihu

You bought an Olds diesel...oh, Rae...

Hey, what can I say -- it was the FIRST husband who decided on that one - and he had to pony up the cash to fix it.

My CURRENT husband is the one that said, "Sure, we can get a Prius!"

I'm not stupid

[Flying White Dutchman]

sory but you only have options i can not deside.
No one ever told me this
I was told something different
I don't care
You must be kidding
add something like
this is not bad news.. ( its te be expected at some number of cars and the 100K miles you have done are a lot )

[Rhino]

Originally Posted by yadax3

Gas savings is just a part of the equation. What about the hybrid premium we all paid? Or the emissions inspection savings, insurance savings, environmental impact, etc?

In my mind it all comes back to whether or not it is acceptable to have a major failure (in terms of cost) after just 100K miles in this day and age with the most reliable cars commonly lasting well over 200K miles. My expectations are higher.

It is modern engineering and to be expected. Basically, the engineers found that the average skill of the fixer is bad. If they go in to fix one part, they are liable to ruin something else causing a chain of failures down the road. In complex systems, it is best to replace whole subassemblies even though it seems like it is cheaper just to fix broken things. So from the space station to the car things are fixed by replacing subassemblies. Anytime you have a fix, you are looking at a big bill. So whole transmissions are swapped out when it fails instead of a rebuild.

Also, in the old days of low social mobility, you have super mechanics who spend their whole life fixing cars because they did not go to college. Nowadays, the supermechanic is recognized and promoted to management or goes to night school, gets a degree, and is a doctor, or wall street type making a lot more money, or host a show like "car talk".

But you can't argue with success, because of this, our cars are more reliable than our parents' cars. Actually fewer cars need the big fix so on average, everyone is better off. However, it always seems like you are hit with the big one when you get the bad car that actually needs fixing.