Red Triangle/Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

Re: still the Red triangle!

Any new news for this vehicle?

sometimes the red triangle of death can be rooted within a low voltage level of the 12v battery.

I had one come from the transmission computer saying the voltage was too low. But that came around with another problem too.

 

Re: still the Red triangle!

Are you saying that the dealer "voided" your warranty on the hybrid battery and you had to pay for it yourself? With only 80k miles on an 100k hybrid component warranty? Did the dealer tell you the hybrid battery needed to be replaced but wouldn't honor the hybrid warranty because you ran out of gas?

If so you got royally SCREWED! You need to RAISE SOME HELL!

TOYOTA OWES YOU A NEW HYBRID BATTERY!!!!!

 

Re: still the Red triangle!

Ok, you've already answered my questions.

This sounds ABSURD. We need some feedback on this!

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-main-forum/42622-dealer-refusing-honor-hybrid-warranty.html

 

Everyone needs to look at this thread! Apparently a Toyota dealership is refusing to honor the hybrid warraranty because an owner RAN OUT OF GAS!

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-technical-discussion/42583-still-red-triangle.html

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

First, why is this circularly linked?

Second, there is NO way ToMoCo would put up with this. If you just lay down when a dealer says something you are GOING to get ripped off. Being and informed and assertive customer is the only way to get what is rightfully yours.

 

Re: still the Red triangle!

Your going to have to go higher up the ladder. There is no excuse not to honor the warantee. The dealer gets paid either way. If you have to go to corporate or get a lawyer so be it. Don't let them mess with you!

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

Well fix it then, you ran out of "gas" and kept driving not Toyota. Would you have kept driving a non hybrid without "gas"?
If the issue was caused by a faulty "gas" gauge did you make a warranty claim on the gauge?

Why not commence legal proceedings? If you are right you will win costs and all and if your wrong Toyota will. Do you have a "Small Claims Court" or something similar there who hear smaller litigation for compensation? The cost is low and there can be no lawyers.

Is there a body you can turn to like an industry ombudsman who will listen to your story and negotiate on your behalf with Toyota?

Have you been polite in your dealings? If they have got their back up it harder to get them to move. They are only human.

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

Because "still the red triangle" does not draw attention to the warranty issue.

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

I don't get how running out of gas two months prios ruins the hybrid battery. If he wasn't honest about it, the dealer would have never suspected it.

If both the hybrid and 12-volt batteries were bad (seems strange they would go out at the same time), the dealer should have replaced the hybrid battery under warranty and charged him for the 12-volt -- it was four years old, after all.

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

Driving a car without engine coolant will ruin the engine, and no car company is going to cover that sort of abuse under warranty. Driving a Prius without fuel while ignoring the warning indicators is a similar issue. It's abuse, plain and simple. If you do get any coverage under the warranty, it will be strictly a good will gesture on the part of Toyota.

Tom

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

How long did you drive the car after it ran out of gas?

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

If the battery charge is cycled too deeply it will shorten the life of the battery. Others here know why it is so but you don't need to know why to know it is how it is. The HSD computer records such events and the mechanics can recover the recorded codes.

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

I can see how a deep discharge could shorten battery life -- but it's still under warranty. Don't other types of hybrids allow the hybrid battery to deep discharge (like the Honda Insight)?

If this is such a problem, why didn't Toyota design the Prius to shut down completely when the car runs out of gas? People run out of gas. Yes, there's no excuse. There are hundreds of posts from people in this forum who have done the same.

Why doesn't the warranty booklet state "continued driving after running out of gas can damage the hybrid battery and void your warranty"?

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

why? If the car's run out of gas and continuing to drive it was harmful, then there'd b a safety mechanism built in (or at least an idiot light) to stop you from doing so...

even then this should not void the warranty.

BTW>.. I believe you may want to chat up the GOVT on this one... the batteries (if I'm not mistaken) fall under part of the "emissions system" and I dont believe their repair can be denied...

a quick call to the NHTSA should suffice! Good luck!

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

For crying out loud... do you need someone to hold your hand when you go to the bathroom, too? Is there someone around to remind you that you have to breathe?

The warranty booklet doesn't say "dropping hammer on windshield will damage windshield and void your warranty" either, so are you going to smash your windshield and complain about them refusing to fix that, too?

Normally I'd agree with patsparks and say take it to court. The only problem with that is twofold-- the cost of litigation (and updating future Prius literature to compensate for terminal stupidity) will ultimately be passed down to the rest of us consumers, and when you lose (if you aren't literally laughed out of the courtroom to begin with), you will most likely come back here to whine and cry about it and/or become a lifelong and highly vocal Toyota Prius hybrid critic who will annoy all of us for the rest of your pathetic life.

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

Hi All,

Batteries are made up of many individual electrochemical cells. Each cell does not have the same characteristics exactly as all the others. When a battery pack is deeply discharged the cells all drop in voltage. All the cells are in series. So, the current through the pack is the same as the current through each individual electrochemical cell. Current times Resistance is Voltage. But this voltage is backwards from the voltage generated by the battery, which causes the current to flow.

As the pak discharges, the weakest cell, with the highest resistance could have its resistance caused voltage to exceed its chemically produced voltage, as the other cells are pushing the current through it. If this happens the cell can be internally damaged by reverse flow of ions plating onto the the wrong electrodes (this is where I am a little sketchy). This plating can then interfere with the proper operation of the cell, when the cell is attempted to be operated in a charged manner.

So, driving on the battery down below the design SOC zaps the weakest cell(s). The Prius battery is very small compared to the the weight of the car. Its not an electric car, its a Hybrid, and that means that the battery is a temporary energy buffer. So, its easy to overuse the battery when the engine is not available.

The capability is there for true emergencies I believe. That is to avoid loss of life if possible. But, one must judge if the $2400 battery is a prudent expense in the situation one is in if the engine quits and one can just pull over onto the shoulder of the road safely. Then hoof it to a gas station, call AAA (or whoever) rather than blowing a few grand ?

Why push the gas tank anyway?

 

Re: Dealer Refusing to Honor Hybrid Warranty?

Your tone is rude. It's common sense that a hammer would break a windshield. People have been running out of gas ever since cars were invented. You don't expect to have your warranty voided.