Dorman Battery Experiences

If you could be so kind and tell us the cost (or just a ball park range) for the battery and the initial install?

 

I have my third failed dorman in the car right now, still trying to get it resolved through Rock Auto. It's been a week already and there's talk of a refund but no real solution that is suitable to me. I even took the car to Lancaster Toyota to run the diagnostics to be sure, and the battery pack is the problem. Dorman tried to say it was the car before so I went right away for the tests and had it emailed and sent the results to Rock Auto. I still have a little over a year on the warranty yet, but three failures in two years is too many. Never again with the rebuilds.

 

WOW! Thanks for the report and sorry for your troubles.

 

I feel for those who have had used battery issues. I am saving money per month and will buy a new Toyota battery when the time comes. When you think about the money invested in a used one and the issues and other costs that come up, you wind up spending nearly the same as if one buys a new one to begin with.

 

Or recondition it before it gets to that point .

 

Reconditioning your own is the safest bet if one wants to go down the "used" route. Much better chance of longevity.

 

I'm just surprised why there aren't New battery modules for sale. This would end all the rebuilding BS. $50 each surely would be a good profit for battery manufacturers

 

SoCal,

Sorry. I meant for my post to be serious, but with an element of levity. Instead, I think it came across as snarky, and mean -- my apologies.
My point was that you shouldn't blame the technology.
Again, my apologies -- and hope you're able to come to a satisfactory resolution.
Kindest regards.

 

I had the original battery repaired at Toyota with some "new" cells at about 178,000 at nine years old. I believe the cell had burned because of the odor that was present. I did question the point of rebuilding the battery when all the other cells where old too, but was told they have had a lot of success doing that. Less than 3K later same problem different cell. I was thinking of having a new battery installed before that was done, but when I learned the warranty was for one year only on a new battery I opted for the dorman with the three year warranty. Now I was told they do not recommend doing what was done anymore and the warranty is three years if they install it, one year if someone else does it. It may only be at this dealership I don't know. In hindsight perhaps I should have gone with the new one, but the warranty issue was the problem for me. Live and learn.

 

I don't think that Toyota dealers generally repair the battery packs. However some members here have mentioned similar experiences, so perhaps some dealers are doing it as kind of a "side line".

Yeah, a used battery is a used battery, they are a consumable. Buying used consumables is never a good idea unless the price is extremely low.

Examples of other consumables best not to buy used are:
1. Printer cartridges.
2. Matches.
3. Toilet paper.

 

Just finished with the diagnostics of another rebuild to set the base line for this one. Everything is working as it should on the car, the cells are within 0.1 volts of each other, and the operation of the car seems normal. The reason for the base line is to counter the "blame the car for the battery failure" B/S, which was tried on the last 2 dorman rebuilds. I now have an A1 Cardone rebuild thanks to Rock Auto. It took some time but I got the best deal we could do in the end. Rock Auto managed to get a total refund so that the Cardone was replaced at virtually no cost and my warranty is for 3yr/36,000mi starting fresh. We will see how this one goes, but a big thanks to Rock Auto for great customer service on this.

 

A genuine new Toyota battery even with 1 year warranty is a smarter buy than anything "rebuilt", no matter how long the warranty is on the rebuilt battery.

A rebuilt battery always starts out as a used battery. Have you ever seen a used battery from anything work as well or as long as a new battery? I don't think so.

My shop installs more new Toyota batteries than any dealer in the state of Colorado. We also install plenty refurbished batteries.
I always advise customers to buy new if their budget allows it. If not, I warn them of the risks of rebuilt/refurbished.

Nowadays with Prius batteries you should expect 0.5 to 3 years life with rebuilt, 5-10 years with new.

The bottom line, you get what you pay for.

 

I will say that Dorman is good with their Warranty. I originally bought it in 2016 and it came with a 3 year warranty. Yesterday the car died again with a battery issue. So they are sending me a new battery and I should get it within 2 days. That is the good part. The bad news is that they are no longer offering a 3 year warranty and it has been reduced to one year, even on the replacement battery. It is not what I paid for and I know some might think at least I got 2 years out of it. But, again, I paid for a 3 year warranty that would restart and continue with the replacement. The concerning part is that the only reason someone would downgrade a warranty is because their product has become inferior to what it was. So I am scared that the replacement will not last that long and then I am up the creek. I guess I will just have to purchase a new one from Toyota when that time comes as I will be getting a new battery if I do not get a new car by then. The 3 year warranty is what sold me on Dorman vs Toyota in the first place, but if many are on multiple replacements already?????

 

It is worrisome, but then again, we expect these things to last forever. I'm not sure about the age/miles calculation, meaning is 10 years and low mileage much better than 10 years and much higher mileage? This is definitely the time that more and more of these vehicles will be needing replacements one way or the other, due to numbers on the road. It's made me think about leasing instead, or even another vehicle at some point.

 

Toyota offered 3year/unlimited mileage HV Battery warranty (Taxis, delivery vehicles, and commercial vehicles are excluded), since Jan 2016. The new OEM HV Battery must be installed by a Toyota delaerhsip to get the longer warranty. In 2016, this would have probably cost you just under or just over $3k.

Currently, there are some online Toyota dealers selling new OEM HV packs for $1600+. You will have to find these dealers, and see if they will indeed sell to you or your mechanice. Or see if you local Toyota dealer will price match, and sell to you or your mechanic. The online dealers won't ship.

Compare costs:

Dormat rebuilt w/ 3 yr warranty.
Mechanic labor costs to install each time (if you DIY, obviously no costs).
Towing charges, if applicable.
Lost wages due to the break down.
Rental car fees if you rented a car while w/o your Prius.​

The BEST Warranty is one you never have to use.

A new OEM Toyota HV Battery would have most likely given you 8-10years of reliable service.

Expect the Dormat replacement to fail again soon. Start working on Plan B.

You will have to source an OEM HV battery case cover at the very least, as people have reported that dealers won't take accept a painted HV Battery case: Dormat (orange) or FraudTech (Greentech's green). One person got away w/ providing an origial case top cover.

OR, you will have to transfer all the modules from the New HV Battery into your Dormat case.

OR, buy 2k1Toaser $1600 cylindrical NiMH replacement kit.
NewPriusBatteries
Prius Battery Replacement (GenII) Like you've never seen - NEW Cylindrical Cells | PriusChat

 

You have that in writing? Most warranty replacement parts only continue the original warranty. So you are getting that for which you paid. You are not getting that for which you hoped, which is that the battery would continue well past the 3 years.

You should be hoping that it does fail in the next year, so you can get one more replacement battery.

 

My father used to say "Do it Right or Do it Twice".

If you can figure out how to pay for a new Toyota battery, you'll have no headaches. Ideally there's an independent shop near you that will install it for less than the dealer....and who cares if you only get the 3 year warranty if dealer installs it. YOU WON'T NEED THE WARRANTY WITH NEW TOYOTA BATTERY so get a local shop to install it. (Toyota only gives 1 year warranty to shops that buy the battery uninstalled).

Any rebuilt Hybrid battery (even the ones we rebuild in-house for our local customers) have risks. Is the risk worth saving a few hundred dollars? Ask any Dorman customer now on their 3rd battery (there are many). Most would have bought OEM if they knew they'd have such a hassle.

Don't have the cash? Many shops belong to the Syncrony Car Car network, they will provide 6 months financing at 0%. This program is great for large purchases. Just make sure you make payments on time and pay off in full within the 6 months, if you don't they'll hit you with 30% interest. Synchrony Car Care | Synchrony Bank

 

Have you looked at the Gen 2 & 3 battery kit of new cells sold by @2k1Toaster here?

It appears to be a good alternative for some people who would otherwise buy a refurb. He gives a 2 year warranty. Since I believe he also is in Colorado perhaps you could get a lower proce due to reduced shipping costs.
I know @ericbecky and, I believe, @SpaceCityHybrids have tested the kit with excellent results. He offers a 2 year warranty. The link is in my signature.

 

I'm not a fan of cylindrical cells (harder to cool), especially if they're made in China. Toyota used cylindricals in the Gen0 Prius then abandoned them for the prismatic cells. Toyota spends thousands of hours on R&D. They are not stupid. If they could have kept using cylindricals they would have.

Honda kept using cylindricals, and Honda packs fail way way more the Prius packs. It's very rare to see a Honda pack last more than 10 years, while most Prius packs do.

That being said Toasters option would be worth considering if it was substantially cheaper (i.e.50%) than new OEM, but since new OEM packs parts cost is now under $2000 and take less time to install I don't see the point....at least as a shop owner that wants to have happy customers.

 

Ok, fair enough.
I know he works with rechargeable batteries every day and was very careful in his sourcing & testing.I know he has stated that most of the price he charges is for shipping - both from china and across the IS. He charges $1600 including shipping to CONUS. @ericbecky put over 3000 miles on a pack before he lent it to a customer.