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Coastal Tech EV mod and Toyota Warranty

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by walkinghat, Jan 30, 2007.

  1. walkinghat

    walkinghat Junior Member

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    I have been reading all I can find on this mod. It's so attractive to me I ordered it. Running off the cruise control with no visible mod seems a good idea.
    My concern is the warranty. Can anyone comment as to whether or not Toyota will throw you under the bus on this? And to what extent? Complete void or just hybrid components?

    As all Prius's are created equal and only hampered by US legislation it seems there should be no problem, but then again ...

    Has anyone approached their dealership on this? Or would you uninstall the mod before taking the vehicle in?
     
    #1 walkinghat, Jan 30, 2007
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Many of us have EV mods, no one has encountered warranty problems or been told to remove it by their dealers...at least no one that's said so on any of the several forums I participate in. I have an OEM EV button and have had one for over 3 years now, it's quite visible. I've shown it to my dealer and he thought it was cool.

    The only problem I can imagine is if you had a premature traction battery failure or HV ECU failure and they said it was somehow due to the mod. Or if you incorrectly installed it and damaged something (clearly not a warranty issue to start with).

    With misuse one could, potentially, shorten your battery life. There's no clear benefit of the EV button...if you choose to install it it should be with the attitude that it's a curiosity item with limited practical use. With time you may find ways to use it in your normal driving that can improve efficiency and FE, but this will be minimal.

    Finally, the thing I always say is that there is some finite risk that you could have a HV battery failure AND if you happen to have an EV mod AND you have a dealer that chooses to make an issue of it they could claim that the mod is responsible for that failure and refuse to repair it under warranty. You should be prepared to pay out of pocket should that extremely unlikely situation occur.

    Finally, this issue has been covered over and over here. Please do a search for EV warranty to see the other opinions.
     
    #2 efusco, Jan 30, 2007
  3. dmckinstry

    dmckinstry New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jan 30 2007, 06:36 AM) [snapback]382758[/snapback]</div>
    And in IMHO, I don't see how the EV mod could cause a HV battery failure with all the effort the ECU goes to that kick you out of EV mode. I would expect failure of battery (other than reaching it normal lifetime end, whatever that is) would be due to ECU failure rather than the EV mode.

    Admittedly, I don't know, but that seems the case to me.

    Dave M.
     
    #3 dmckinstry, Jan 30, 2007
  4. walkinghat

    walkinghat Junior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jan 30 2007, 09:36 AM) [snapback]382758[/snapback]</div>
    Thank You for the feedback. This is good information. Maybe I'm searching wrong but I did search against ev mod warranty prior to posting. Even now if I search EV mod warranty, EV warranty, this is the only post i get back.
     
    #4 walkinghat, Jan 30, 2007
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    chances are you'll be fine. they probably won't notice, and nothing will probably ever happen to even bring up a warranty issue.

    but as with all mods, you should be prepared to take responsibility should something bad happen as a result (of the install or the use of said mod)
     
    #5 galaxee, Jan 30, 2007
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