1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

safety, disconnect the traction battery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by SonjainVictoria, Mar 14, 2014.

Page 2 of 2
  1. uart

    uart Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2009
    4,215
    1,202
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Sonjain, could you please post the exact details of what this "capped plan" cost and covers. I'd be interested to see the details, how much you paid upfront and how much (if any) extras you pay per service.
     
    #21 uart, Mar 23, 2014
  2. SonjainVictoria

    SonjainVictoria New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    24
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Of course! Since it is no secret and no registration number or dealership name involved, I guess it is OK to post in a non-private message:
    (Interesting, it is only 3 years and 3 months anyway, wow. I had 5 years in mind. wrong.)
    AHG Warranty for my 2008 Prius (bought Nov 2012):
    11/2012 - expiry: 2/2016 or expiry kilometres: 200,000km (I am currently on 79,000km)
    contract price: 1000 AUD
    extended plan fixed price service cost from: 290 AUD (good wording: 'from')
    "enjoy our six monthly/10000km fixed price service plan, protection against rising repair costs and inflation, quality repairs by a franchised dealer with the latest technology and equipment and factory trained technicians, peace of mind-to the limits of the plan-, your vehicle must be returned to our dealership for servicing."
    (Any cancellation of this Mechanical Protection Plan will automatically attract 50% charge on the premium paid regardless of date of cancellation.)
    PARTS COVERED in detail:
    oil change
    replace oil filter
    carry out minor engine tune
    check condition of automatic transmission fluid
    check and top up all fluid levels (battery, brake, steering, radiator, windscreen),
    lube all doors and locks as required
    inspect engine belts (external only), condition and pressure of tyres, cooling system, glycol concentrate, exhaust system
    check front and rear brake, check operation of hand brake (foot brake), condition of air filter, lights operation of all instruments
    test engine management system (if applicable)
    check air conditioning operation, steering and suspension components,
    complete visual inspection of under carriage
    conduct road test
     
    #22 SonjainVictoria, Mar 24, 2014
  3. SonjainVictoria

    SonjainVictoria New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    24
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I don't have the safety manual. ;) The 'user' manual states the 'plug' on page 13 though, which 'users' are asked not to touch. :sleep: Can I have pg 52 please? haha
     
    #23 SonjainVictoria, Mar 24, 2014
  4. SonjainVictoria

    SonjainVictoria New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    24
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    That's interesting, a 'special Toyota charger'. Yes, it might be, that all is just a 'wrong' word, but justifying a 'oh so much more labour because it is a hybrid, we had to discharge the hybrid battery' is not something, I just ignore. I did call the Toyota customer service and that was totally useless...because they rang back that dealership and gave me word for word the explanation given...by that mechanic. So the customer service prompted 'yes, they have to discharge the hybrid battery' without knowing what they were talking (just some non-mechanic people doing the job of 'customer service'). I asked them to forward me the training centre details, 'unfortunately' they were not allowed to do so....I pick this fight and this hint with a 'toyota charger' is a good one. Maybe he just lied and is now trapped in his own lie and cannot lose his face?
     
    #24 SonjainVictoria, Mar 24, 2014
  5. SonjainVictoria

    SonjainVictoria New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    24
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Exactly! I find it too expensive, but instead of saying reasons you mention, he said to have had to discharge the hybrid battery and how he had to run programs afterwards (2 hours) to make sure it was good and up again. I need this person to either not make up stories or not really discharging each and every hybrid that comes in for such a reason, for my car, for other people's cars, for the sake of sticking to the truth and standard procedure.
     
    #25 SonjainVictoria, Mar 24, 2014
  6. SonjainVictoria

    SonjainVictoria New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    24
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    harharhar, you are too funny!
     
    #26 SonjainVictoria, Mar 24, 2014
  7. SonjainVictoria

    SonjainVictoria New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    24
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes, I will. 300 I expected due to my other auxiliary battery replacements and recent one in the Toyota Camry we also have at a different dealer, knowing the optimo or oem cost quite a bit more than the 'normal' ones. I just took the same labour price expectation and 375 in total exceeded it just a bit too much. If they don't get a feedback, they just get a bit too funny and with that dodgy explanation I am just now on the roll to make life just that little bit more difficult for them....before I leave. You are all right about that. ;-) I admit.
     
    #27 SonjainVictoria, Mar 25, 2014
  8. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2011
    3,318
    1,104
    0
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Sonjain,

    Again, please take this with a grain of salt.

    If I am understanding the definitions above concerning your "extended service plan", it really looks to me like they took major advantage of you.

    I do not see any mention of major items such as engine, transmission/transaxle, as well as other rather expensive items that are normally covered on service plans and or extended warranties. The only things I see are basic services and nothing else.

    A standard service would include all of the above with the exception of the service of the brakes and usually would cost a fee of approximately 50 to 75 dollars on a average depending on location. Brake cleaning and inspection usually runs about 75 per axle and is normally done only once every year or two depending on how the vehicle is used.

    On a 39 month basis if you had the car serviced every 6 months that would work out to 6 services in 36 months for that $1000 amount. If you divide 1000 by 6 the amount comes out to 166.67 on a average per service. I believe those figures are excessive for the amount of service the plan provides. It seems to me that you would be better off simply following the manufacturers service recommendations rather than this plan that the dealer sold you. I have been maintaining our Prius since we bought it over three years ago. I have spent far less than 1000 dollars for the maintenance which mainly consists of oil changes and tire rotation which is done every six months or 5000 miles which ever comes first. I change the air filter and wiper blades once a year. I clean the cabin filter out monthly. All of the rest of the stuff is simple inspections and most of that can be done by yourself or any competent mechanic for a lot less than what you paid.

    As I stated in my previous post to you, in my opinion you are being taken advantage of by the dealer you are doing business with. It is obvious that they have lied to you and that they are only interested in profit. I strongly suggest you find another mechanic to do business with and stop going to this dealer.

    Ron (dorunron)
     
    #28 dorunron, Mar 25, 2014
    SonjainVictoria likes this.
  9. SonjainVictoria

    SonjainVictoria New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2013
    24
    0
    0
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes, the capped plan I agreed to too hasty. Right. Far too expensive. Lesson learnt. For just oil and oil filter with checks 290 AUD (plus 166) no matter what inflation in 3 years, is too much...
     
    #29 SonjainVictoria, Mar 25, 2014
  10. uart

    uart Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2009
    4,215
    1,202
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Hi Ron, let me clarify how that extended warranty works. That $1000 was an upfront cost for the warranty itself, it doesn't include the service costs.

    The service costs ($290+ per 6 months/6k miles) must be payed separately, and the service plan is tied in with the warranty (in the sense that you must use their service plan or you void the warranty). It's very clever marketing. Servicing costs are quite high here in Australia so they actually use the $290 "fixed" price servicing as a selling point to get you to pay the additional $1000 upfront (for the warranty).

    Now that list of things you referred to is not the list of things covered by the warranty, it's just the list of things covered by the basic $290 service. But if you look at that list you'll see it's basically just an oil change. It's pretty well known here that, apart from changing the oil, this level of service is just an extremely cursory look over and ticking some boxes. This is why Sonjain mentions that her services are actually costing more (some possibly significantly more) than $290, due to other items like coolant and other fluids, air and fuel filters etc.

    So yes, this type of extended warranty on second hand cars in Australia is incredibly lucrative for the dealers. My dealer actually gave me (no $1000 upfront payment needed) a warranty similar to this (with "captive" service plan) when I bought my Prius in 2009. After the first $660 "oil change" I read the fine print and threw that warranty in the garbage bin (yes literally!). Luckily I then found these forums and have done my own maintenance ever since. No exaggeration, that has probably saved me at least $4000 over the last three and a half years. :)
     
    #30 uart, Mar 25, 2014
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 2 of 2