UK HV Battery Warranty REDUCED to 5 Years for 2014 model year

There has been much discussion about the gen3 Prius not being quite as engineered as the gen2 and that a number of European gen3 owners have had premature HV battery failure. This has previously been discussed and any owner who dared to suggest that they had either a failed or failing HV battery was hung up to dry - myself included. A certain Greek taxi driver was hammered on here when he had his HV battery fail at 90,000 miles and despite showing pictures of the warning lights, people just didn't believe him. Saying that, some considered the possibility that the HV batteries offered here in Europe were more likely grade B stock, with grade A stock being sold in the US where a higher warranty of 10 years/150,000 miles is offered in many Prius selling States.

I've always had a gut feeling that Toyota UK knew something about the gen3 not being as hardy as the gen2 when they saw fit to only offer a 5 year/60,000 miles hybrid and HV battery warranty. Why reduce it from the 8 years/100,000 miles offered on the earlier gen2?

Then we had the recall shenanigans of early 2010 and the warranty was increased to 5 years/100,000 miles on the car and 8 years/100,000 miles on the HV battery.

This has now been reduced to 5 years/100,000 miles for all items including the HV battery for 2014 model year hybrids, including the Prius.

Toyota Warranty | Toyota UK

Why?

Why reduce a warranty unless they know something we don't? You can pay an annual insurance of £39/$66 to extend the HV battery warranty every year upto 10 years inclusive. But why make it so complex? Why not just offer a warranty of 8 years/100,000 miles like they did on the gen2 and they do in the US (though you get 10 years)? It's just overly complex and being cynical, I smell a rat. To extend the warranty past 5 years it will cost you £39 x 5 years = £195. Hardly a fortune to include in the cost of a car and give peace of mind to all owners. Why make it a condition that people have to go out of their way, pay extra, and then get what other countries get as standard.

Are they having too many warranty claims or failures? Do European Prii actually have a grade B battery that works and will work but just isn't quite up to the same quality and longevity as grade A stock sold in other markets?

You may also have noticed that the warranty for hybrid components has been reduced from 8 years on the gen2 to 5 years on the gen3. Again, why? Too many inverters failing or likely to fail even with the latest recall?

It just seems a backwards step to reduce warranty limits for a small saving on the cost of the car. Or do Toyota have no long term faith in the gen3 Prius? Is it going to be a potential money pit once it starts to age and Toyota UK are preparing for this?

Any serious suggestions or comments?

 

This new warranty applies to ALL UK Toyota hybrid models; the Prius, Prius+ (your Prius V), Prius Plug In and the Auris and Yaris hybrids.

Nothing unusual there but the Prius+, PIP and Yaris HSD all use the Li-ion batteries. Are they not lasting as well? A lot of Yaris HSD owners are complaining of poor fuel economy with many not obtaining anywhere near that of the much larger Prius! One recent owner of a 2014 Yaris hybrid is complaining of getting tank averages of 37 mpg UK (31 mpg US). Unbelievable if it was just an isolated case.

The future's hybrid say Honda and Toyota - What Car? (to confirm the Yaris uses the Li-ion)

So is this change just a homogenisation of the UK hybrid warranty to make it easier to understand OR are Toyota UK suffering an increase of HV Battery failures, possibly of the newer Li-ion batteries, causing them to restrict expensive claims somehow? Rumour has it that Li-ion isn't as hardy a battery type as the older NiMh? Could the increased use of Li-ion be the real cause of this reduced warranty?

 

That earlier link I gave suggested the Yaris HSD used li-ion but this link indicates it uses the same battery from the Auris but that it has been reduced by 20%!

"The nickel-metal-hydride batteries from the Auris have been shrunk by 20 per cent to make them small enough to fit under the rear seats."

Toyota Yaris Hybrid | Auto Express

Perhaps they're overloading it and thus reducing longevity and hence the reduced warranty?