2012 Prius C 2 101500 miles dead battery

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Jonishere55, Jan 22, 2018.

  1. Jonishere55

    Jonishere55 New Member

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    Hey everyone I got a question for you so I have a 2012 Toyota Prius c what's 101500 miles I recently had the dealer service it with an oil change and 3 days later the car had a lot of warning signs so I took it to the dealer and they said it needed a new battery and I'm only at a hundred and 1,500 miles which is close to the end of the line 8 year 100,000 mile warranty.

    I noticed that around 80,000 miles to car was acting a little different power-wise so when I had a oil change I had them they said they would check things out but nothing turned up.

    I am trying to see if the dealer will fix it has a Goodwill repair but I'm not sure if that's going to happen any advice or suggestions? Anyone think I can somehow get Toyota to repair this under warranty still?

    I do plan on trading this in within 6 or 12 months.

    I'm not very handy so I don't think I can replace the battery myself they said two of the cells are going bad in the battery.
     
    #1 Jonishere55, Jan 22, 2018
  2. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

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    Trade it NOW. Should be able to get a deal on a left-over '17 if you can find any.

    How old it the 12 V battery ? It is almost always worth the $200 gamble to replace it first if it is the original.
    ESPECIALLY if the dealership is going ONLY by the trouble codes that they see.

    I highly doubt that they really KNOW the HV battery is bad because most likely that nobody in their shop knows how to use a voltmeter to test the individual cells.

    Dig out your warranty booklet and call the warranty help number.
    Be sure to mention the previous service visit where they couldn't find anything wrong.
     
    #2 Sam Spade, Jan 22, 2018
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  3. Matt H

    Matt H Active Member

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    The main cause of the traction battery "dying" is a difference in block resistance. There is no way to "check" the battery with a volt meter unless you remove and disassemble the battery to check the internal resistance of each module. To do this, you need to check the open circuit voltage of each module, and then again while applying a load to the module. The voltage difference divided by current equals resistance.

    I guess someone could pay a tech to do that level of testing to confirm the battery is "bad," but if the ECU says the battery needs changing, there's a 99.9% chance that it does, as the ECU has already done the internal resistance check. That's why the code was set.

    You can change the battery yourself. It's very easy and requires no programming. There is also a "core credit" on returned batteries. Here in Japan, I get $1,300 back, and that gets refunded to the customer when the credit is received.

    First thing i would do is to contact Toyota and ask about good will. At only a little over the mileage, there's a good chance they will replace it. That's early for a battery failure.
     
    #3 Matt H, Jan 22, 2018
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  4. Jonishere55

    Jonishere55 New Member

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    I'm currently in the process of talking to Toyota it's been really tough to get any supervisors on their National hotline I will keep you guys posted on what they decide to do hopefully they will do a Goodwill replacement because I feel like this was an exceptional case and the battery died way earlier than it should.
     
    #4 Jonishere55, Jan 23, 2018
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  5. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    At only 1500 mile over, you should almost certainly get a goodwill exception. We've seen folks here with many more miles get them. If nothing else, a good discount.

    GOOD LUCK!
     
    #5 fotomoto, Jan 23, 2018
  6. Jonishere55

    Jonishere55 New Member

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    Question worst case scenario Toyota doesn't pay for anything my dad is pretty handy and I was looking at YouTube videos on replacing the batteries in the 2012 Prius C does anyone have an instructional website or like a step-by-step instruction guide to replace the battery in a 2012 Prius C I saw one YouTube video that was pretty informative but it only got to the point of them uncovering and finding the battery it didn't go beyond that and installing the battery.
     
    #6 Jonishere55, Jan 23, 2018
  7. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    You should be able to call the service department at your (or another) local dealer and ask what the cost of a battery is.
    There will also be a $1,500ish refundable core fee .
    I'd be curious what they quote you.
     
    #7 ericbecky, Jan 24, 2018
  8. Jonishere55

    Jonishere55 New Member

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    So update Toyota gave me a 1k credit and also the dealer dropped the price. So it would normally be 4.6k but they got it down to 2.6k for the repair. Aftermarket I know I could get the repair for 1250 to 1500k add a non certified Toyota repair center.

    I do want to take this to to it corporate but the customer service supervisor of toyota corporate and not give me the number.

    Washington state has a 8 year 150000 mile warranty but the car was purchased in Florida which only has an 8 year 100000 mile warranty. So I am out of luck there.

    I'm hoping maybe I can contact Toyota corporate support and see if they can do any better.
     
    #8 Jonishere55, Feb 2, 2018
  9. Jonishere55

    Jonishere55 New Member

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    Okay so so to update I have gotten an offer from Toyota customer support for $1,000 towards the repair and the dealer would take $1,000 off so the original bill would have been 4600 but they offered me 2600 for the repair. I was not happy with that offer so I decide to call corporate and see if I could get any additional funding for the repair of the car repair. They would not offer me any additional funding so I was very disappointed with that response I did get a quote from a third party for only about 1300 to $1,500 to repair and I ask corporate if they could apply the $1,000 that they are offering me towards that right there but they would not.

    Although I am happy that they did offer some assistance I'm still very disappointed about the the way that the whole situation was handled and how early my car battery failed that would advise anyone else be very careful when purchasing a Prius because the battery may fail sooner than what you are told by the salespeople. You may also be stuck with an older car and the battery could fail and you'll be stuck with the repair bill that's just about the price of the car so keep that in mind.

    I personally won't be purchasing a Toyota again.
     
    #9 Jonishere55, Feb 12, 2018
  10. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    $4600 is too high for the cost of replacing an HV battery. Why not shop the repair to several dealers? Get competing bids.
     
    #10 kenoarto, Feb 12, 2018
  11. Jonishere55

    Jonishere55 New Member

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    They dropped the price to 3600 will see if other dealers can do better good idea
     
    #11 Jonishere55, Feb 12, 2018
  12. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Users here have not had good experiences with repaired or remanufactured batteries. Some people have been able to find one from a low mileage wrecked car.
    If a dealer installs a Toyota battery it has a 3 year warranty. If they sell it and you install it yourself, it only has a 1 year warranty.
     
    #12 Prodigyplace, Feb 12, 2018
  13. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    Remember the current full MSRP is $1950 for the part. It is being discounted to $1625 at several dealers. All the extra money is the cost of 1-2 hours of labor (any quote longer is gouging). $1000/hr is well...
     
    #13 kenoarto, Feb 12, 2018
  14. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    I believe the battery price dropped on January 1 for Prius batteries. @ericbecky might know if Prius c was affected too.
     
    #14 Prodigyplace, Feb 12, 2018
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  15. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

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    Your previous post said 2600. Which is it ??
    I doubt that you will get it anywhere for less than that......for a NEW (not rebuilt) battery AND the labor.

    And a final personal comment: You can be "disappointed" all you want but if you buy ANY car and drive it a crap load of miles, you can easily "out run" the warranty and that is not the fault of the company making the car. The warrant is what it IS......not what you wish it was.
     
    #15 Sam Spade, Feb 12, 2018
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  16. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    #16 kenoarto, Feb 12, 2018
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2018
  17. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    #17 Prodigyplace, Feb 12, 2018
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  18. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    #18 kenoarto, Feb 12, 2018
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  19. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    #19 Prodigyplace, Feb 13, 2018
  20. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Only Gen 2 packs are affected by price drop.
     
    #20 ericbecky, Feb 14, 2018
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