Hello All 1. First the Toyota Dealer said my 12v battery had to be OEM because the car would later reject any other battery, and the price WITHOUT INSTALLATION -- would be $750 CDN. Is this true? NAPA sells a 12v battery for $250. any help appreciated...thanks PRYAN
The dealer is misinformed or making up things as they talk to sell something. Walmart sells the battery, many paces, even Amazon.
Your Prius has no way to determine the 12v battery type, so yes the service rep is mis-informed (or lying). The 12v battery needs to physically fit and have the right sized posts for the cable connectors. JeffD
The battery in my "new to me" 2019 Prime started failing semi-regularly. When I replaced it, I found that the dealer had the best price on a replacement battery. That NAPA one has a 3 year warranty. The Toyota one has a 5 year warranty. Of course, I put it in myself. It wasn't a big deal. 10 mm wrench on the terminals, and a 12 on the hold down (I think). It took almost 3 whole minutes. Some cars do have to have some of the ECUs reset, but that wasn't true for my 2019 at all. Call the parts department and price out a replacement battery. Maybe a different dealer too. I'd stay away from that stealership.
WoW, did he offer some lube with that - to make it go down easier? Even when converting from Loons to USD, that's expensive. Maybe they were talking about Venezuelan Bolivar - then that would be a steal. Get that in writing, scan and post it on Yelp and any other consumer web site you can think of. It's a standard lead-acid battery, under the hood, in a 2019 Prius. Just make sure you get the correct size and the positive connector is in the correct position. Hope this helps.....
Only problem with that, they're mostly that larcenous. I can't keep track of the BS I've encountered at our nearby dealership, but hey, they're nearby, so I still buy stuff from their parts department. For anyone doing a 12 bolt battery replacement, I'd recommend to a have a few washers and shim material on hand: the Toyota-design battery hold-down bracket is utterly intolerant of battery height variations, even as little as a mm.
Call around other dealers / steelers near to you or even the parts department of that steelership with a $750 CAD charge for a 12 volt battery replacement and find out how much they are charging for their "service" and how much they sell the battery by itself for. I think you'll find a bit of spread between the tow. I could be wrong though, so now you've gotta ask yourself " do I really wanna know ? " Poll Question Do hybrid cars have hy repair costs?
I am assuming that was the “Service Advisor” that told that bold face lie. If so, ask for a written estimate with that statement included on it, or maybe get them to repeat it as you record them saying it. Then take it to the Dealership’s General Manager and show/play it for her/him. And then just look at the GM with a look that says “you better do something about this if you ever want to see me, my family or my friends and neighbors again.”
Couple of options from Canadian Tire; think I'd go for the cheaper, might even have better amp hours: It doesn't hurt to check prices with dealership, sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised. But when you're not, I'd just move on, vote with my wallet.
