Hello, I used to lurk a bit on this forum (in it's older versions) for years and now would like to offer my experience working with Toyota on having the hybrid battery in my 2002 Prius replaced. I know there are places where data about these incidents are being collected but I'm unsure where to submit mine as it's for a Gen 1 and I was approved for payment assistance/warranty coverage. In any case, here are my details: I purchased my car new, full package with the plat. warranty from my local Toyota dealer. All maint and repairs have gone through the same dealer (except for tires) so I have an extensive history for the car on file. At 14 years old and 157k miles, due to full dash warning lights, the dealer pulled error codes showing enough failing cells that full replacement was recommended. I was given a verbal estimate of 3k over the phone then my advisor suggested to try calling Toyota corp to request payment assistance. I called Toyota USA's number (on their Contact Us webpage) and selected option 4 (concern with a dealer or product IIRC). I was asked some basic questions confirming what was in my car's file on record (where purchased, who's servicing it, if I was told why the battery was failed which I was not). She placed me on hold for about half an hour after which she explained she would need to talk to a few people and I would not have an answer for a few days. She gave me her name and my case number. Two days after I spoke with Toyota HQ, I received 1k off of my dealer's estimate. Total price out the door is $2011.55. The price is still high for being an unplanned expense and covering it will be difficult for me but I appreciate being able to get more milage out of my car and it's much cheaper than any used Prius I could find. I'm impressed they are doing this for such an old car but I know being in CA and the dealer record likely played a role in this.
Congratulations, that's a great price, for a car that's well out of warranty - certainly makes Prius look like an economical vehicle overall.
