New Battery Warranty question

I'm happy to be a first-time poster here - just put down a deposit on a 2006 Prius (82,000 miles) that I'll be driving in a few days.

A couple of questions:
The Prius has just recently had the battery replaced under warranty by Toyota. The owners noticed a decline in their fuel efficiency and took it in. The dealer tested the battery, said it needed a replacement. Done. All this happened at about 80k miles.

Since I'm new to the Prius, I don't really know how the warranty works for a car of this age. First of all, what is the general warranty for a car that is 8 years old, but still under 100k miles (currently at 82k miles)? I assume that it would be transferrable as well. Second, will there be a warranty for the new battery based on its install date or mileage? (I've heard rumors that the warranty is extended in that case, but not sure if that's true or for how long)

Thanks!

 

It was actually the big battery, not the small 12v one.

 

In the owner's own words from Cragslist:
"NEW HYBRID BATTERY PACK (replaced by Toyota in March 2014)."

We met the owners, a husband and wife, who are meticulous record keepers and the only owner of the car. He described to me that a couple of months back they noticed a drop in MPGs. When they took it in to the dealer, they said that a couple of the cells were not responding. It didn't cause a complete failure, but enough to affect the MPGs. They replaced the entire battery pack under warranty. They said this only happens to 2 out of 100 cars (I'll let you decide if that's a good rate or not). Note that he also told me that they had replaced the 12v battery a few months back as well so I know he knew the difference.

To answer my own question about the warranty, here is an email I received today from them:
"I called Toyota yesterday and they told me that the battery replaces a previous part, so it is still covered under the 10 year/100,000 miles warranty that the hybrid battery pack is normally warranted for. In other words, you will have the warranty for another 2 years/18,000 miles. If we had been very close to the 10 year/100,000 miles threshold at the time of the battery replacement, it would have been warranted for 1 year/12,000 miles. But since we are not too close, the 2 years/18,000 miles that we have left before the regular 10 years/100,000 miles warranty runs out is better, so the battery is still covered under that original warranty. The warranty comes with the car and the battery, so we don't need to do anything to transfer it. We will give you guys the replacement receipt so that you have it for your records."

 

wjtracy - thanks for the welcome!

I don't know if DC is a carb state, but that actually raises another question: the car was originally purchased in Texas, now registered in Maryland. Is Texas a CARB state? I'm guessing not.

 

Wjtracy - I think the owners may be mistaken about the warranty duration, when they say 10 years / 100k but I am impressed by their attention to detail and record keeping so perhaps it IS 10/100. In my case the difference is significant since I doubt I'll hit 100k for at least 2 more years. Since it's 2006, I guess that makes the car you eight years old now. Once I have the car in possession next week, I'll call Toyota and get a final answer about warranty. (Who would I call exact? Or should I be calling the dealer that replaced the battery?)

Thanks everyone!

 

They are moving to California and decided to "upgrade" to a Gen 3 prius when they moved rather than driving across the country with 2 kids. They wanted to keep the car, but couldn't make it work. Beside the new battery, it's in excellent condition - not a scratch on it and maintained very well with complete records. I was debating between several used models until this one came up and I jumped at it.

 

Yeah, it's an adventure, and only beginning. I think the owners are legit (we spent a couple of hours with them) and they genuinely wanted to keep the car but decided it was best to sell it. Maybe they were ready for a change as well, who knows. Either way I'm excited and off to a good start. Any car of this age can crack at a moment's notice no matter how well it was cared for. But, I'm comfortable with that - especially comparing the original sales price ($24,047) to our price ($9000). They averaged exactly 10k miles per year of driving. Pretty low. I'll take that bet any day.

 

Thanks! I'll be talking to Toyota soon.

 

I asked the owner about the 8/100 vs 10/100 warranty confusion. Here is her (redacted) reply:

"I spoke to [name] in Toyota Service Department (he handled our battery replacement in March of this year). He looked up the Toyota warranty manual on his computer and explained that the 8 years/100,000 miles warranty is the minimum required under federal law, but Toyota provides greater coverage than that for the battery pack components for all Toyota Prius cars manufactured after 2004. That's why the new battery is covered under the same original warranty that will last until the car is 10 years old. His number is [number] if you'd like to talk to him as well.

And yes, it's the hybrid battery pack, not the 12v car battery that we are talking about. "

sounds pretty legit to me. I'll be calling the Toyota guy eventually.