battery warranty claim problems

It may not be what you want to hear, but I’d suggest planning to replace the HV battery or the car, at your own expense. As the brochure (PDF) says, “Actual mileage will vary,” and there is no warranty for fuel economy.

It’s highly unlikely that a Toyota dealer would replace an HV battery at no charge unless they can substantiate the need for replacement using the procedures in the Repair Manual (more info), which rely on the car’s self-monitoring and self-diagnostic capabilities. If the car is drivable, can pass a Smog Check inspection, and hasn’t stored any of the HV battery-related diagnostic trouble codes (such as P0A7F, P0A80, P3011 through P3024, or P308A), then it may be difficult to show that there is a defect covered by the warranty.

Toyota simply hasn’t disclosed the information needed to determine independently whether an HV battery failure exists: even if the dealer could confirm your temperature or voltage observations, the Repair Manual generally doesn’t give any criteria to judge whether they indicate a failure, since it’s assumed that the car’s computers would store a DTC whenever abnormal conditions persist. The thresholds for many of the DTCs are omitted as “TMC’s intellectual property,” that is, trade secrets of Toyota Motor Corporation.

If you’re dissatisfied with the dealer’s response, you could follow the three-step escalation procedure, pages 5–6 in the Warranty & Maintenance Guide (PDF), or write to CARB at the address on page 29, but I wouldn’t be too optimistic about the results.

 

possibly. if you let the battery do it's normal thing and just drive it, it may fail and set codes.

but the downside is that if it doesn't by 150k, you're out of luck, and you may shorten the lifespan.

unfortunately, this is the nature of the toyota beast, and we're all subject to these potential failures, but we don't all know it because we aren't monitoring everything.

as for your mpg's, there is no way for us to determine the cause on the internet, we can only offer the same old advice that you can easily find by google.

 

+1 Do you feel lucky? Really, I don't think the warranty will cover unless there is a documentable code.

I did a similar thing with my first hybrid HCH and I got the code (for HCH, an IMA warning light on the dash is the sign). I was ecstatic when I got the IMA light on my dash just 2 months and a few thousand miles shy of the warranty coverage limit. Got a brand new traction battery for free, but the car was totaled not too long after that by an accident. So the moral of the story is You can't have your cake and eat it. LOL