We bought our 05 in Alexandria, Virginia in August of that year. We drive it about 9-10k miles each year and, aside from regular maintenance, which I do now myself, (oil, filters), we've have had absolutely no problems with it. Moved to Richmond and the battery went after 4 years. Set us back $400 (dealer plus towing). This past weekend, we had just rolled over 99998 miles and got the dreaded five-lights on the dash. Drove it to the dealer and was told it was the battery. Quoted $3200 and I pitched a fit, so they lowered it to $3100. The kicker was the one year warranty. Unbelievable. We have always bought Toyota and have a 2010 Yaris, which we dearly love, and which gets 44 mpg highway. Our problem is: with a one year warranty, we doubt we should keep the car. It seems only a matter of time before it becomes a money pit. Frankly, I'm sorry I bought it. Seems little more than a status symbol. The idea is great, but the car is simply too electronic. I realize the car has not been much trouble, but it averages out to $320 per year, not counting maintenance. With a one year warranty on the battery, it seems to be a time bomb for us. Just wondering what the community thinks. Keep it or sell it?
sell. you have a ten year old car. unless you can diy a rebuilt or salvage battery, or know someone who can, your just going to be sinking in more and more money as it gets older. personally, i think you had a pretty good run.
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Our 2005 is still going strong at 230,000km+ with no manufacturer-related repairs needed. (original brake pads, original HV battery). $320/year in extra repairs. That's pretty good (you wanna see money pit, you should check out some other cars lol.) And don't think a transmission in a Yaris won't cost the same as the hybrid battery (and its warranty is shorter at 5 years/60,000 miles). Anyway, I would sell it. A salvage yard can make good use of it.
I think you should call Toyota corporate and see what they can do to help you. There shouldn't be 2 battery failures on your car in the 10 years you've had it. If you were in a CARB state, you would still be under warranty for both batteries.......or slightly out of it. There's a very good chance Toyota would cover this repair if you ask them for a "goodwill warranty"
It's 10 years old, nothing lasts forever. You must have knew at the time of purchase that this day would come one day. It is recommended for persons who plan to keep their Prii past 10 years to reserve annually the funds needed for this day. This is not Toyota's issue.
Toyota's warranty on all replacement parts is 1 year. $400 for a 12v battery sounds like a lot. Call Toyota to see if they will do anything for you on the traction battery. If the traction battery failed on me out of warranty I'd try to donate the car to someone interested in rebuilding the pack perhaps as a school project before scrapping it. The result of putting more money into the car is a 10 year old car with 100000 miles that has one new part. Too much has changed and it's time to move up into something current. How much has the Yaris cost to maintain and how long do you expect it to last? How much did the Prius cost to maintain? I'd be surprised if you can find a car that requires less maintenance than a Prius.
Based on the Canadian maintenance schedule, the Yaris actually does require less maintenance than the Prius. It doesn't require a Brake Service for example. It has just an oil change and a "full maintenance" interval until 96,000km, then it requires the coolant to be changed. But then again, a Yaris is fairly basic and doesn't require much anyway.
My battery just went out also at 107,399 miles. Just over the warranty. My dealer was able to get it covered under the goodwill warranty.
before you dump it I would have someone else look at it, clean the battery cooling fan then invest in a rebuilt battery if needed, drive it for a few months then use it as a trade in...as it sits it is not worth much, invest 800 and get 5000 off your next car..its low miles, sell it as is and you might get $1500
