Prius battery finally died after 10 years and 220,000 miles

I want to remain focused on the basic issue here....
Q: Did the customer receive the product he thought he was buying?
A: The answer is a resounding, "No."

The customer thought he was buying a 2009 Prius battery with only 29,000 miles on it.

In the ad, and verbally, Elite auto gave the impression that the customer would get a 2009 battery with only 29,000 miles on it.
I can guarantee that is not what Elite sold this customer this time around!

I will likely start a separate thread warning of Elite Auto and using the info from this thread

Elite Auto did not disclose that the battery was refurbished in any way.
Elite Auto gave the impression it was a 2009 battery with only 29,000 miles on it
But to answer your questions
- buss bars were not cleaned
- unknown if it was balanced

Regardless of how good the battery is, the ad is very misleading, and Elite Auto does not indicate that the battery may be refurbished, or from an older vehicle (older than 2009).

The company is Elite Auto. Phone number 573-692-2477. Highway 28, Owensville, MO 65066

* * * * * * * * * * *
Some more pics

The screwdriver tip is pointed at the replaced module

You can just barely see the black diagonal line on the top of the replaced module

 

As far as how it functions, for now, that is a different discussion entirely..
The customer could have chosen differently if he had not been mislead.
Possibly buying a fully refurbished battery with a longer warranty, or a new battery from Toyota.

The battery will probably be fine for a while since it looked ok in the brief in-car tests, but if the battery starts to have issues during the warranty period, my guess is it will be extremely challenging to get any warranty replacement/coverage from Elite Auto.

 

Here are some of the Craigslist adds a quick search found.

Prius battery 2004-2009 hv WARRANTY FREE INSTALL $845
Prius battery 2004-2009 hv WARRANTY FREE INSTALL $843
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $849.93
573.692.2477 cell/txt
866.984.7377 Tollfree
573.437.2292 office
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $849.10
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $849
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $849 2004- 2008 2010 2014
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $849.
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $845.52 2005 2008 2010
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $850.922004- 2008 2010
Prius battery 2004-2009 hv WARRANTY FREE INSTALL $849
Prius battery 2004-2009 hv WARRANTY FREE INSTALL $848
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $849 2004- 2008 2010 202007
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $849 2004- 2008 2010 2015
Prius battery 2004-2009 Warranty same day service $849.95

Brad

 

I think many people on craigslist or battery rebuilding businesses have misleading information. If you were to contact those people, you would probably find this is normal practice in the rebuilding business. They falsely claim services that went into rebuilding the battery, when in fact it's just a simple module swap.

There are legitimate rebuilders out there, but how do you know who to trust when there are so many scams going at the same time?

 

In this case, Elite Auto is not claiming the battery is rebuilt.

They infer is it is an unmolested, 2009 battery with only 29,000 miles on it.

NOT TRUE!

 

Yes, B2 (etc) are markings for later batteries.
I would expect to see B2 if these modules were 2009.

Here is an example of a B5 marking on a newer module, courtesy of Tampa Prius

 

I made a separate thread to serve as a warning.
Elite Auto - Beware. Craigslist hybrid battery ads should make you leery | PriusChat

 

Thanks for the information. I just bought a pack from a wrecking yard with what appears to be a pack from 2010 (gen2 replacement). I'll open it up and see what serial numbers are on the modules and post them here

 

Over the last couple of years I have been trying to figure out how to read the serial numbers on the modules and I finally found what I was looking for.

Eric, you briefly touched on this earlier but I think you were referring to the serial number on the case which may or may not matter if a re builder doesn't keep the modules with the case that they came in. Or if you order a module from Ebay you wouldn't know what the case serial number was either.

This is from a Tech Tip that Toyota published one month ago. Title - How to Identify Modified HV Batteries



So this means that the 4th digit of the serial number will always indicate the year that the module was manufactured.

In DAK's case it looks like the original 27 modules were from 2005 and the single replacement module was a 2006 model.

Matt

 

Very good information. Thank you for sharing that.

 

Matt,
Agreed. If you buy a rebuild, the actual case serial# means nothing. It's just whatever happens to be on hand
Perhaps I can flesh that out more on the other thread.

But in Elite Auto's ad he says it is not a rebuild.
Elite Auto makes the customer think they are getting a 2009 battery that is unmolested.
Clearly that is false.

 

I bought a 2006 Toyota Prius two months ago from a guy who had just gotten a battery put in in July 27th by Elite Auto. Last week my check engine light came on and they keep dodging my calls. If their battery can barely last 4 months there's clearly a problem.

The guy I bought it from said he paid $900 in check form. I supposedly have a 1 year warranty but they're not calling me back about getting someone to come out and look at it. Does anyone have any advice on how to get this money back? Because meanwhile my acceleration and MPG is noticeably less so I do need another battery.

I would like to use the $900 and invest it in the Dorman battery and I have a mechanic friend who'll install it for me. But since it was paid for in check and not credit card I'm unsure how to go about this. He did tell the guy I bought the car from that the battery was from a newer model and he clearly lied about that. Is that grounds for dispute? Can anyone help me?

Hi to everyone btw! Nice to meet yall sorry their under these circumstances. I was so excited about my Prius before this happened. Well I still am hope I can come to some sort of solution.

 

If elite gave a proper receipt for the purchase, then you would need to sue them in court. You have no other recourse.

 

I would have to sue??? Omg lmao I'm a broke college student. My aunt is a lawyer but she lives in NYC. God that sucks. They operate in MO and I'm in Nashville so I would have no way to even reach them. But yeah I have the receipt, of course. And every time I call there's some excuse like the computer system being down or they're out giving a test drive. Horrible company to work with and everyone should avoid doing business with them!!!

 

Well you can report this to the BBB better business bureau. You can't get $900 back anyway, you didn't pay that amount. You are only sueing for the warranty coverage. You can go to social media and list their phone number and people can call them day and night.....cell phone especially

 

Ok thank you for your help. I will report them. Maybe that'll force them to honor the warranty. And could the guy I bought the car from get it back possibly? Maybe talk to his bank and dispute the charge? And yeah that social media thing is a great idea Ima get on that!

 

There was one member that went on a google/internet shaming for something similar.....posting everywhere with their name and negative review......thousands and thousands of times. This apparently worked and the battery rebuilder called them and refunded

 

I'll post more about Elite Auto on the other thread.
Elite Auto - Beware. Craigslist hybrid battery ads should make you leery | PriusChat

Given that Elite Auto, Owner, Michael Mike Nouri, has been ripping people of for tens of thousands of dollars for years now, I doubt this will change things much.

 

jahstme,
How were you able to find this conversation about Elite Auto?

 

I searched 'elite auto' in the search bar because things were getting sketchy and I was worried. Literally every time I call there's some type of bullshit excuse. I've talked to my Aunt (who's a lawyer) and I do have recourse so if they don't refund me or fix the battery I will be suing. I'm just glad I have her as a resource and feel sorry for everyone who doesn't have an aunt who's a lawyer.