2001 Prius battery dies at 70K, Toyota won't pay for repair

I would like to clarify for anyone that may not be completely aware... There are no tests to be performed on the hybrid drive battery in the Toyota Prius to determine the life of it and there should be no reputable dealership that would ever deny warranty work to any Toyota customer because of a lack of service. Dealers are paid by Toyota for the warranty work they perform and the dealer is at no lost for performing warranty work. Even if you had never brought you Prius to any dealer before since you purchased it, every dealer should be anxious to perform warranty work for you. Just because you do not pay for it does not mean the dealer doesn't profit from it. All Toyota warranty's start the day the new vehicle is delivered to the customer. In fact, new vehicles on the lot at dealerships have NO warranty until they are delivered to a customer. If, for example, a seal leaks on a new vehicle on the lot, it is at the dealers expense to fix the vehicle and not until it is delivered to a customer will Toyota pay a dealer to fix the vehicle.

Speaking of warranty, it is a shame that the battery went bad on your Toyota Prius, but the hybrid battery in the vehicle is covered from the delivery date for 8 years or 100,000 miles on every one. Toyota guarantees the battery as well as any other manufacturer guarantees their engines or transmissions. The hybrid battery has the longest warranty of any part on the vehicle and the same warranty applies if you buy a Toyota Certified Used Hybrid.

 

Hmm,

Such an old post January 2010, almost a year ago. And the OP was able to twist Toyota's arm to get covered even though the car was clearly out of waranty.

Today , there are other options, such as Reinvolt, a battery rebuilding company.

 

When I changed the hybrid battery in our 2001, I could not find a local dealer who would take back the old pack for the bounty (even the one I bought the battery from!). Too much nuisance for them I guess. The old pack currently sits in my garage until I figure out what to do with it.

 

My battery was recalled at 40G but the fix didn't work. It still went bad under warranty, but Toyota wouldn't admit it was the battery, even when all the lights went off. They nursed it past 100,000 and then said the battery really was dead when the lights went on again. I'm now going to court with Downtown Toyota (Oakland). The limited warranty extension says right in their paperwork that if you bring it in under warranty and it later goes bad, they must extend to cover it. But they refuse!

I'm asking everyone to call the Owner/Manager Ralph Fatori to encourage Toyota to honor the Warranty and replace the bad battery at no cost to me. Thanks.
Allan