Hybrid Battery Failure at 67k miles

I would contact Toyota corporate on this issue, they normally stand behind their products at that low mileage

 

I would be calling Toyota Corporate. The transaxle really should not have failed this quickly. The drive train warranty is for 5 years or 60K whichever comes first. You are out of warranty by a mere 7K. I would think that Toyota would at least be willing to go halves with you on a new transaxle.

I would also get a second opinion before I paid anyone 4.5K to replace that transaxle.

I also doubt your insurance will cover any of this since you are not talking accident and damage caused from said accident or collision...

EDIT: DOH, I see JC beat me to the punch. I am so slow when it comes to typing on this keyboard. It's no fun getting old...

 

Very unfortunate.
So the damage to the transmission is from the whole towing procedure being handled incorrectly?

Well good luck.

Too bad to have what is a vehicle that should be nearly still bullet proof have major failures with two of it's major systems.

I don't know what I would do.
But you still have low miles.
Now you have a new Hybrid Battery.

Hard to get out of the game now.

I think I'd invest into a transmission, and see if I could go forward with a degree of expected reliability.
If you look at the transmission as a "new" used car purchase, what Prius could you buy for $4,500 dollars that would have the low miles your Prius has, along with a brand new Hybrid Battery?

I know that is twisting the reality of your situation a bit....

But I think I'd roll the dice, .....one more time.

If another major-premature failure manifests...THEN maybe I'd look at getting out.

 

I believe the problem was the transaxle from the very beginning. It had nothing to do with the battery. But now that you have a new battery.......consider that being what you paid for with the 50%. Not really a bad deal

 

Owner of a gen 4 here and I wonder how one would properly tow a Prius from the front? Put it in park instead of neutral? Is hoisting onto a flatbed the only safe way?

To the OP, sorry about your troubles.

 

My understanding is the best way to tow a Prius is to flat bed it. I have heard of them being towed on dolly's behind RV's but not too often. I too wonder if the towing incident is what caused the transaxle to fail. Had to have our Gen II Prius (2009) towed two separate times. Both times I insisted on a flat bed. Got the Prius into N then loaded it with the winch cable. Unloaded by backing off in N. No problems to Prius both times doing it that way.

It is good that Toyota is doing a good will effort. I think the OP is making a wise choice at this point. Fix the car and drive it. It will be worth a LOT more than what it would be if it wasn't fixed properly. Prius when in good condition usually brings a good trade in value, so if the OP decides to upgrade I still think he would be ahead of the game doing the repairs instead of just throwing in the towel and taking a beating so to say.

 

I would be suspicious of that possibility.
BUT...
If it was towed improperly?
Hard to prove in retrospect.

But a Battery failure at only 67K would have me looking for contributing factors.

 

If the front wheels are off the ground when towing there shouldn't be any problem. I don't see how the tow could damage the transmission.

 

look to the towing companies insurance.

 

It would be easier robbing a thug with an automatic weapon

 

small claims?

 

Maybe your insurance can cover it....then sue the other company for reimbursement