Warranty for replacement hybrid battery?

You know it probably does suck that when or if you buy a new battery from Toyota it doesn't come with the same warranty the new battery in your Prius came with, when you bought it new. BUT...

I knew this was the case when I bought my Prius.

And it kind of makes sense from a Toyota standpoint.

Obviously Toyota offers the 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty in part to reduce or remove any trepidation a buyer might have about buying a brand new Prius. At that point, Toyota is trying to sell you the entire vehicle, not just the battery.

If you are buying a replacement battery? It's now IN an older Prius, that Toyota has already sold. Not any advantage to Toyota to really renew the "New Vehicle Hybrid Battery Warranty".

But ideally? I wish the reality is buy a new factory battery...get the same warranty on it you had when you bought the vehicle new. Unfortunately..we don't live in an ideal reality.

 

There is an unwritten warranty you can try to get at your local dealership. Have them diagnose the problem (maybe you've already done that) and have them call Toyota headquarters and request a "goodwill warranty" on your battery. Since your warranty expired less than 10k miles, many time Toyota will pay for 50% - 100% of the battery and you just pay the labor to have it installed.

The standard warranty is only 1 year but if there are no issues within the year, I would think it will last just as long as the failed one in your car. If it is a defective battery, you will usually know within the 1 year warranty period.

 

If you intend to keep the car for at least 5-6 more years, I'd buy and have Toyota install the NEW battery. Based on your past history of more than 8 years of battery life, even in Phoenix, I would worry about not having the NEW vehicle warranty.

The NEW Toyota battery will probably last another 8 years. Adding another 8 years INSURANCE for a replacement battery will cost more than what you will be paying. This, in effect, will result in ALL buyers paying for the unusual circumstance of the very few whose battery fails.

 

i understand that toyota is now using rebuilt packs for warranty replacement. make sure you get a new pack if you're paying for it. if your gonna trade it in, why not go cheap with a rebuilt for around a grand?

 

Has that been confirmed?

~ 5 mpg drop in self reported fuel economy after traction battery replacement | PriusChat

I've only seen this one post and one thread, and the OP certainly wasn't 100% sure whether it was a rebuilt or new, only that the service writer called it a "factory re manufactured" battery.

Until I hear more...or otherwise, I'm assuming the warranty policy from Toyota is still a "new" hybrid battery.

That being said, yeah, if you are paying for it out of pocket, considering a rebuilt is surely an economical option.

 

Great!
I hope Toyota is still doing this when ?"hopefully"? My battery fails just before warranty expiration.

 

You need to look at it differently, as was said in a previous post, if there is a defect, statistically, it will manifest in the first year. If you are still going great 1 year+, then you will most probably be fine for the next 7.

The 8 year warranty from Toyota on the new vehicles was primarily a marketing tool to give prospective new (and early adopters) confidence in a quite new or different technology. Toyota were confident in the new technology, but needed to express that confidence to new owners. History shows that overall Toyota have been correct.

Another perspective is that in order to get as much feedback as possible the warranty provides a mechanism for as many bad batteries as possible get back to Toyota engineers to look at and also glean the circumstances where the battery has failed. From what I can see, this is working for them.

I do not think that a 1 year warranty is unreasonable in a used car, as there are other systems that have aged and could be the cause of undue strain on the battery, so I think it is reasonable to restrict the warranty. If there are other factors at play in a particular vehicle, and they show up within a year, then all is good.

I would expect that as this technology becomes more accepted in the mainstream that the warranty period will be reduced, not because the batteries will somehow become less reliable, but simply just that new buyer apprehension about a new technology will become less. The other side of the coin is that not reducing the warranty will continue to show Toyota's confidence in the technology.

My 2c worth.

 

You're a hard person to please...... I'd be jumping up and down with joy

SM-N900P ?

 

+1 on what JC just said.

At some point Toyota will stop the "good will" stuff and be firm on the warranty. I would be very thankful if I were in the OP's shoes. Like everyone has said, if that new battery is going to fail, chances are it will fail before the end of the first year while in warranty. If it makes it that far, I would suspect it to outlast the life of the car. Or at least another eight years or 100,000 miles whichever came first.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Generally, new parts that you buy from Toyota will have a one-year warranty. Suppose your engine failed and you decided to install a new one. The MSRP would be $9K and it also would have a one-year warranty. Obviously that would be a poor financial choice, much better to buy a used engine from a salvage yard for $400.

One exception to the general rule is the 12V battery, due to competition from aftermarket sources. Batteries that have the TrueStart label receive an 84 month prorated warranty.

 

I had my battery go out in my 05 Prius and went through what everyone else went through. I googled it and then called the local dealership and after the sticker shock I called the local parts store and was right about to pull the trigger on that when I found a company that will do everything for you. The company I called was a legitimate one and I talked to one of the service guys. He directed me to someone who does it on the side for less. I know what some people might be thinking that was the place I messed up and they would be right.
I screened the guy on the phone and asked him a bunch of questions and especially about his warranty vs the others. He seemed nice on the phone and he did provide me with a warranty ( even if it was a generic sales receipt slip with very basic warranty info hand written in the description or parts area)
This was a huge mistake and horrible experience. below is one of the Better business complaints filed about him. Since he works for one company during the day, buys or at least deals with another company to get refurbished batteries and also runs his side business, it is hard to nail him down exactly and not tie in his associates even though they might be innocent of any of Alex Tishin's wrongdoings.

Summary. Alex Tishin a 1 man operation out of small private garage selling refurbished batteries on the side AKA HybridOnly/HybridPlus supplied me with two Bad prius Hybrid batteries, horrible customer service, and left me without a car for almost a month!. The 1st battery purchased 3/25/2015 failed completely in June. After 2 weeks of daily attempts to get service from him I had to call anybody that knew him and anyone I could find explaining my frustration and desire to get a hold of him and/or escalate my complaint and only then did that get his attention. I do not have a second car and being without one was very disruptive to my work and life. I asked Alex on the phone about what he was going to do about the battery and leaving me stranded. He said tough luck. Not only that but the replacement battery would not come with another warranty! I told him that this was wrong on multiple levels and I would report him. He became combative and said that he has great lawyers and to bring it on. I was finally able to get him to agree to honor what little warranty remained. This involved me driving 3 hours to pick up a questionable battery on 6/25/2016 and I SPECIFICALLY asked him if he was going to give me a good battery replacement or poor one, or pull some type of stunt which he replied he would not give me a bad one or turn me away. That was a lie. I had a feeling that he would try and pull some stunt, luckily I showed up with my wife and a video camera and he changed he tune slightly. He still refused to be on camera but after giving me the run around and making me jump through hoops I was finally able to get another (poor) battery that I had to pay someone else to install after a 3 hour return drive. Horrible experience. I should have bought the battery somewhere else and not went the cheap route. This could have all been avoided with better customer service and product. AVOID ALEX TISHIN at all costs!!

 

The lesson here is.......buy "new" if you can't deal with the headaches of "used". You can't complain after buying a used car and it not providing the reliability of a new car.

Yes there are many people that rebuild batteries, some very good, some very bad. There is information all over the internet on how to rebuild your own battery, DIY is my choice of repairing my cars. You can buy a grid charger from Hybrid Automotive complete for less than $500 to recondition all your batteries, less than the price you pay for the discounted rebuild and avoid headaches of amateurs that work on your car and make empty promises.

 

That is a great deal for you. If the new battery is installed by a Toyota dealer it should have a 3 year warranty.

Glenn

 

I have gone through several refurbished batteries. I hear people talk about 8 year 100,000 miles and it makes me chuckle. 100,000 miles is less than 2 years for me.
I am going the Grid charger way now, makes sense I guess, although with as many used priuses running around as there are, there ought to be a reliable source for "New" modules from an after market supplier, like there is for every other auto part. But then Toyota wants $140.00 a piece for the hatch back struts.

 

i have a 2005 dodge dakota which hasn't cost me a cent. original everything.

 

Hi Glen,

Could you please provide your source that states that a new hybrid battery installed by Toyota has a 3 yr warranty? The dealer is fighting me on covering the 2nd new replacement after my 1st new replacement died after 20k miles and he claims it only had a 1 yr warranty despite them installing it. Thank you!

 

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