Just replaced battery pack ($3,500)

So all the lights went off this past weekend and I took it in to the dealership at Joe Meyers near Cypress, Tx. They told me the battery pack went out and it would cost $3,500 to fix. Being I had no choice since it is the only driver I have and I still owe so much on the loan I said what the heck you guys bent me over at signing why not do it again. Unfortunately since my car didnt come from California or state with the same emissions standards the repair didn't fall under the 150k mile warranty.

Needless to say I now have to drive this thing until the wheels fall off. Not only that, they also noted my water pump needs to be replaced because it has a leak. Then all the filters need to be replaced. Surprised they didnt throw in the inverter pump with all the other parts.

My question is there anything that would help cover the cost on something like this? I have not given them the money but the repairs are currently being done and should be ready tomorrow. Can I complain to anyone about the warranty difference from 100k to 150k miles in CA? I'd really like to save some money and restore my confidence in the cars praised reliability. I know I'm probably one of the chosen few to have this such luck but there has to be some kind of lube to use before they bend me over again on this one.

 

Thanks you guys. I just called and my service rep is supposed to call me back in a few minutes. Its 5:04pm right now. I hope they can get this request in today.

 

Sorry I didnt mention this before but my Prius is a 2007 model with 134,000 miles on the odometer. Given the amount over warranty im not sure it will help much. I did buy the extended warranty which went out not that long ago. Most of the miles are highway as well.

 

Thanks. I'll let you guys know how this turns out. These guys seem helpful, I'm praying right now.

 

Well I got the request put in. They said they would have to keep the car until Wednesday (no storage fees) so that they can look at the car further in order to approve the goodwill request. They call it a GST or GSC? It was hard to understand over the phone. I'm hoping they will give us something fifty cents, a dollar, 20 dollars. Anything to help offset a $3,500 repair would help at this point. I don't see why I would not be able get something. I have heard that the majority of owners never have to replace their battery. Also, only a few cells go out if there is a problem, but how does the whole unit go out like this? There has to be some kind of malfunction because this is definitely not a normal condition.

 

I bought the car used at 70k miles for like 14k. Then made the mistake of adding all the extra warranties and gap insurance that bumped it way up to 19k. It was a stupid mistake and one I'll never make again on a used car with that many miles. Maybe it was just bad luck on this particular car. I ran it hard but changed oil and checked fluids as needed. Now it needs a lot of tlc. That sounds like a good deal with batteries4prius but I wonder of they would offer the same warranty on it as the dealer. If there is such a warranty with a replaced battery.

 

Got word back from my service rep and he said he is still waiting to hear from his manager who is still waiting to hear about Toyota's decision to allow some of the repair costs to be covered.


They even offered a $200 store credit if I wanted to pick it up today. I told them no and that I would rather hear what Toyota has to say about it. I don't know if they are being dodgy or if anything good is going to come out of this.

 

Excellent news folks! I just got word back from my car care representative down at Joe Meyers and my goodwill warranty was approved! He told me they are going to cover a little over 50% of the repairs which brings my bill down to about $1,800 (including a wheel alignment for $89)! So much better than paying $3,500. I'm so excited this didnt turn out to be a disaster and I have to thank my representative but most of all you guys here on Prius Chat for this outcome. Glad this didnt turn out the wong way. I never would have gotten this far if I didn't post about it on Monday. Thank you guys so much!