2005 Prius w bad hybrid cell

I am sorry to hear about your problem, but the warranty is 8 years OR 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. I can see why you are disappointed, but the vehicle battery has exceeded the warranty period, even for California.

 

Re: 2005 Prius w bad hybrid cell (x-post)

Sorry to hear about your problem. There are a good number of Classic traction battery failures out of warranty and those owners have had to pay for replacements. 2G battery failures have been much rarer but its not realistic to expect those batteries will last forever.

One alternative you have is to purchase a battery from a salvage vehicle which should cost $350 - $600 plus shipping, and have an independent install that battery for you. For example:
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/__prius-battery_W0QQ_kwZpriusQQ_kwZbatteryQQ_ckwZtraction

The necessary repair manual documentation including safety precautions can be found at techinfo.toyota.com

 

If its just a bad cell, I would look into salvage batteries. There is no freaking way I'd pay for a new pack over one cell

Let me guess: +$2,500, right?

 

Re: 2005 Prius w bad hybrid cell (x-post)

Before spending a lot of money, get a second opinion from another dealer.

Did you buy it new, or used?

Patrick, is it reasonable to replace only the failed module? Or do they all have to be matched?

 

[what th' hell...?]

 

Re: 2005 Prius w bad hybrid cell (x-post)

Hi Richard,

It is possible to replace only the failed module if you can get that module SOC to be close enough to the other modules so that, under load, the module voltage does not vary by more than a few tenths of a volt from the other modules. However this will not be easy to do.

The OP's description of her car's symptoms support the diagnosis of a failed battery module. If she can get the DTC that was logged, this will provide further evidence to support or refute the diagnosis.

 

Hello Aryiana:

Certainly unexpected expenses can be stressful. I don't mean to rub salt in the wound, but I'm curious as to why you are upset, and why you refer to the District Service Manager as a "jerk" (although some may certainly be!).

It seems that you live in PA, and your car has over 150,000 mile on it. So you are 52,000 miles over the normaly hybrid battery warranty. Even if you lived in CA, you'd still be over the 150,000 mile warranty that you mentioned. And it seems that Toyota has previously done you a favor by reimbursing the cost of your headlights replacement at over 100K miles. In addition, you state that things have been pretty much problem free.

From my viewpoint, you don't have a right to be angry about this at all. It seems that both the Prius and Toyota have treated you pretty well so far.

Remember, "goodwill" gestures are just that: goodwill. They are not required, nor should they be expected to be required. Otherwise the concept of "goodwill" means nothing, and the act is just a duty owed, or payment for a service rendered. When you are given a gesture of goodwill, give thanks. If you don't get one, don't show "badwill" by complaining about it.





Now as far as loosing all the gas savings, I would say that there are other features about the Prius that have been saving you money, without you being aware of it.

• For instance, most users have to get their brakes replaced much less frequently than owners of regular cars. This is due to the hybrid engine providing a large percentage of the cars "non-panic" braking.
• Many engines on small cars are what are known as "interference" engines, meaning that if the timing belt broke, the valves would crash into the cylinder heads and ruin the engines. Because of this, manufacturers often require timing belt changes at 60K, or 100K, or some other interval. These belt changes are not cheap. To the best of my knowledge, the Prius G2 uses a timing chain, which is more robust.
• I haven't seen any reports on the forums yet about G2 exhaust systems needing any major work done.

I'm sorry to hear about the battery problems. Hopefully you can indeed find a less expensive means of getting the Prius repaired.

 

I would also feel like I got a "lemon" of a Prius. But this is only in relation to the average and typical lifetime of the batteries. 150K is as long as many engines last, so if you can find a used battery that gives you another 50-100K miles for under $1K, you will have gotten a respectable 200K miles out of the combo of purchase price and this battery cost. That may well be a per-mile cost below the average "small midsize" sedan made by others.

I'd still feel I got a "bad one" but overall 150K miles without a hitch is pretty darn good for a modern complex car. Hearing abotu taxis going 2-300K without problems leads us to expect them to be bulletproof, but of course they are not.

Good luck with Toyota (maybe they will help you find a salvage car with a decent battery or make some other gesture). And good luck with your replacement unit.

 

Hi Aryiana,

156K is 156K. Get on Ebay, or call AutobeYours.com and get a salvage battery if the transmission fluid and engine oil were maintained. Do you really get 156 K out of a automatic transmission? By buing a Prius you probably got 1 1/2 the lifetime before major repair expense.

 

Salvage battery, they are available.

If I had kept my '04, and it threw a battery code, I'd just look for a salvage battery myself. BTW: a taxi operator bought my Prius, with close to 200,000 km on it. He didn't seem to afraid of lurking repair issues

Question: have you changed the transaxle fluid? Wouldn't be a bad idea to do so. One of our newer members, a mechanic, picked up a used Prius that ate the transaxle. He replaced all the parts himself with salvage parts, works fine

 

If 23 cars represents a .0003% failure rate, that means a population of about 7,000,000 Gen2 Priuses under consideration. Sorry, that exceeds worldwide production.

One of these forums (priuschat or cleanmpg) indicates that used (collision salvage) Gen2 battery packs are selling for $400.

But a dealership is likely to refuse to install anything that isn't factory new, so you may need to find a good independent shop to do it. I moved my Honda business to an independent Honda/Toyota shop to get a permanent fix for half the price that the dealership wanted for a temporary fix (factory replacement part having the same weakness as the original). Unfortunately the spouse couldn't reach me when her Acura had the same problem, so she paid full price for the temporary fix. In the decade since, both cars have had all their (infrequent) repairs done at the independent shop, with excellent customer satisfaction at lower prices.

The only difficulty with independent shops is finding the good ones.

 

Here is what I would do if I was you. It sounds like you are covered to 150,000miles. Chances are good your car was reading 2mph faster than it really is going. I did a rough calculation that my odometer was reading 10% off for every 5 miles. I would use the speedometer check stations and for every 5 miles my odometer read 4.9 miles. So every 50 miles, my car reading was off by 1 mile. This was with stock tires inflated at 42/40. So it seems your car logged 3000 more miles than actually driven based on my figures. You will somehow need to prove that your odometer is off though. Just a thought. Good luck

 

My brother just spent $5000 on repairs to his late model Nissan Patrol, way under 150,000 miles on it, then he had to spend another $6000 when it broke down a few months later. I asked him if there was a shortage of Toyotas when he bought the car? I have no idea why he bought a Nissan. $11,000 in repairs over 6 months would upset me but if it happens you wear it, that's how it is. You play the odds and as you say, your odds are excellent with a Toyota but unfortunately sometimes you still lose.
I'm sorry you had a battery cell failureAryiana, it isn't good no matter how rare it is. When it happens to you and you have only one Prius it equals 100% failure rate to you. I hope you find a good resolution.