My experience with A123 (Hymotion) out-of-warranty service.

I finally have a working Hymotion battery pack, again.

If anyone has a failure, after their warranty expires, I'd be glad to explain how A123's service arrangement is intended to work and tell you who to contact.

My pack died on November 30, 2011, and was fixed, reinstalled, and working again, by June 10, 2012. Part of the delay was due to my own indecision and procrastination, but it still took a couple months (and three trips from upstate New York, to Fitzgerald Toyota, near Washington, DC), to get my pack working again.

I guess that's what I get for buying something that I knew I would have make long trips to get serviced.

My advice to others is to have regular communication with all three parties who will be involved in your service, and to ask all pertinent questions. Do not assume that everything will happen automatically. Keeping asking questions until you understand what is supposed to happen. Then, ask again, to verify that everyone understands each other, ...and keep asking, at every step of the process, to make sure that the people involved are communicating with each other and that they are making decisions that make sense to you.

Verify TWICE (at least) that they are sure that your Hymotion system is REALLY working, before making a long trip to pick it up (or have it reinstalled).

Above all, don't be afraid to ask for what you need. These are cooperative and considerate people, but they still might need to be reminded that customers shouldn't be made to pay for service mistakes made by the manufacturer of a product that they have purchased (or by the installer).

If all of that sounds a little bit vague, that's because A123 has managed to make me into a satisfied (albeit extremely inconvenienced) customer, and I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt.

However, there are limits to that sentiment, and I will gladly be less vague, if it will help any of you hold their feet to the fire, and get the service that you need, without getting as much of a run-around as I got.

 

Rocky,

What was your original installation date? How long ago did the ground prong break off? How long ago did your pack "die?" Were there any symptoms (odd behavior or flashing of the red LED, on your dashboard), before the pack died completely?

Sorry for all the questions, but your answers will tell me if the cause of your problems was similar to mine.

If your only problem were the ground prong, A123 could ship you a repair kit, with a replacement cable (with the three prongs at the end of it) and installation instructions. You could then install it yourself or get someone else to install it for you, locally.

For most other problems, I would recommend making the drive to Seattle. They will probably have to ship your battery pack to Sybesmas Electronics, in Holland, Michigan, for diagnosis and repair. That means two round-trip drives to Seattle. I'm suggesting Seattle because it may be simpler (and less expensive) for you to cross the border than it would be for your battery pack to be shipped across the border.
In general, A123 will give you two options. (1) Have the people in Seattle uninstall your battery pack and ship it to Michigan for repair, or (2) Have your battery pack replaced with a refurbished pack, at a set cost of $1500. The advantage is that replacing with a refurb can be done in one day (by appointment, of course), and you will only need to make one trip to Seattle. The disadvantage is that A123 may be running out of decent-quality refurb battery packs to replace yours with.

They stopped manufacturing new packs a year or two ago. Besides, they won't give you a new pack for $1500. For that price, all you will get is a refurb pack that has seen approximately the same number of charging cycles that your battery pack has, if they have any.

Arthur

 

If I were you, I would try calling The Green Car Company, in Seattle: (425) 336-7683.

The pins are actually part of a three-pronged plug, that is on the end of a power cord that runs to the battery. You need to take the bumper off to replace that cord, from the inside. The plug just connects into the back side of the plastic outlet that is mounted onto your bumper.

Let me know if you don't get the help that you need from The Green Car Company.

Arthur