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Hybrid battery failure@154,000 miles, California

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by wwinters, Jul 21, 2015.

  1. wwinters

    wwinters Junior Member

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    Dealer just called wanting to know whats going on and said the dealership has not intention of helping me.
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I think you have to take a deep breath and start this process all over again.
     
  3. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Help you do what ?
     
  4. wwinters

    wwinters Junior Member

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    does anyone know what the price is for the battery? The first dealership said it was 3,062.40 and forgot to include the core refund but never gave me a new written price with it incuded. The second dealer I just called wants $2769 including core credit and wants 6hours labor. I read Toyota Hybrid Battery Replacement Cost Guide MSRP is
    • 2004-2008 Toyota Prius (2nd generation) - $3,649 minus $1,350 "core credit"
    Helping me get any sort of discount I assumed but maybe he meant helping me fix my car. I didn't ask he was irritated, I said I'd wait to hear back for corporate tomorrow and would then come pickup my car.
     
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The core credit is included in the price....if you don't give them the core back, they'll tack on another $1350 to your quote.

    If your car is at the dealer, you should talk to the "service manager" and have him call Toyota for you and get a goodwill warranty. They are there to offer you assistance
     
  6. wwinters

    wwinters Junior Member

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    it's the service manager that said they won't help.
     
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    6 hours of labor is crazy for a battery install. I can do it in 2 hours while watching TV.

    If the service manager has an issue, you can talk to the general manager there. What dealership is this? This is awful service!!

    A complaint is warranted here! This service manager doesn't return calls on time to corporate hq, I wouldn't be surprised if he's the one holding up your claim
     
  8. wwinters

    wwinters Junior Member

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    The 6 hours labor is for the other local dealership. The one my car's been sitting in limbo at (wants 5 hours labor) is AutoNation Toyota of Cerritos.
     
  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I think you need to call this person, took me an hour to find her number.

    Nancy Fein - Toyota head customer service 310-468-8290

    I would complain about your treatment from HQ and Cerritos POS manager
     
    wwinters likes this.
  10. wwinters

    wwinters Junior Member

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    No answer, probably gone for the weekend but I'll try to call again tomorrow. Thanks
     
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I hope she's still there, I copied down her number from a post about a year ago
     
  12. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    IIRC the msrp for the battery is ~ $2400, + a refundable $1350 for the core.
    As JC says 5-6 hours for labor is way more than it actually takes but it is common to hear stories of dealers charge $600+ for labor. Then again, they charge $50 to change an air filter.

    It really is hard to say whether the dealership is hurting your chances of Toyota participation. Perhaps you should start a separate thread to ask for recommendations of other dealers in your area. Do keep in mind that you can buy the battery yourself and take it somewhere to get it installed. I started a thread here on PC that lists vendors and battery prices.
     
    wwinters likes this.
  13. wwinters

    wwinters Junior Member

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    I played phone tag with the customer care rep.yesterday after she left a message saying the her bosses had approved a $1300 reduction. Someone else in the department went over the offer with me. $1300 (50%) off the battery and I'll pay warranty rates. I read someone else here had problems with their dealer's interpretation of offer so I asked what the actual cost and breakdown I'd be expected to pay then accepted the offer.

    $2588.67 parts
    $180. Labor
    -$1300. Toyota will pay
    $1468.67 total owed

    Dealership was skeptical when I went over a few hours later but found the printout from corporate. I should have made sure the customer care person put the amounts on the printout but I had all the numbers so dealer rep. wrote them down and said the car should be ready in a week. It doesn't shock me but I couldn't help notice that they were going to do the job in one day when they thought I'd be paying them over $4,600.
     
    JTM2955, cwerdna, wjtracy and 2 others like this.
  14. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    oh finally the saga ends. I think $1500 is a very good outcome.
     
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  15. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Outstanding. Didn't I guess $1500 ?

    That $180 labor charge is most interesting to me. It gives an idea of what Toyota pays on warranty work -- about 1/3rd of what is quoted to a retail customer.
     
    JTM2955 likes this.
  16. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    Good outcome.

    Persistence pays off :)
     
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I'm actually surprised they discounted the labor. Usually with out of warranty assistance, they'll discount the battery but the dealer still charges their $300-$400 labor charge.
     
  18. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Tax ?
     
  19. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...that's great, although I might have expected a little more help. I got a private PM from another Californian during this whole saga and the person also got $1500 OTD, just one month over 10-yrs old. Toyota did not like the service records in that case. But these recent cases a little more resistance it seems.
     
  20. JTM2955

    JTM2955 Active Member

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    How about that? $1500 for a factory battery plus labor is awesome indeed. Toyota is standing behind their product. I wonder if GM will do the same for a ten year old Volt? Fat chance...

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