Begging your indulgence of a situation when purchasing a new Prius

Personally, I'd walk......no, I'd run! ......these are the type people whose top priority, is talking about the party they went to last night & the one they're going to tonight! ........YMMV

 

This is not the first time someone has reported that the new Prius they were about to pick up from the dealer's lot had a dead 12V. If the car was left unattended for a month or more, it would not be surprising that the battery was dead. Assuming the battery is not defective, this one incident should not kill it, but if this were to occur a couple more times, that would probably shorten its life. Having something like this happen is not a good reflection on the way the dealer manages its inventory or the degree of care it is showing for its customers. If your daughter is happy with the deal she got, she would probably not want to start negotiating all over again with a new dealer, but at a minimum she or you should let this dealer know that if the battery does turn out to be defective, as could be confirmed by having it tested at an auto supply store, you expect them to replace it free of charge, and they are on thin ice if they want the lucrative service business that this car will bring them. If the car will not be driven at least every couple of days, plan to buy a battery maintainer for it. A dead 12V battery is probably the most commonly reported problem with these cars.

 

Yeah ask for a new battery. That happened to us too: new 2010 sat (covered) at dealership likely for 15 months.

Bigger issue maybe: a dealership to avoid? Maybe finish the deal but get any service or warranty work done elsewhere, if possible.

And check the tire pressures lol.

 

Find the build date!!!

It could well have been sitting in the lot for 6, maybe even 12 months. Not necessarily a problem, and can be a good reason to get a good discount. I've done it twice - first was a FORD FOCUS which was 12 months old when I bought it - though it had 500 kilometres on it. The second was a FORD FIESTA, 13 months old when I bought it, 7kilometres only. Significant discounts.

That said - a dead battery may well be fine - it should charge up fine if it's done professionally - but I'd be pushing for them to give some sort of guarantee on the battery that it will last at least some reasonable length of time, or they replace it. Again - depending on the "deal" she's struck.

 

There is a full 3 year warranty on the battery. Mine was replaced at 2 years and 360 days absolutely free.

 

Good news then. That's better than in Australia:

 

NO.....DEMAND a fully charged NEW battery.
And I hope that you did NOT sign any papers or give them any money yet.

I would be firmly asking to speak to the owner or General Manager about not having the vehicle ready at the promised time.
That is unforgivable and might be a clue that their operation is not well run.

Are there any other dealers in the area ?

 

I was thinking something that I did't see mentioned yet. I think I'd tell them that they have inconvenienced me considerably and failed to do as they said they would do. In compensation, I'd expect a $300 discount on the car to compensate for that inconvenience and to help with the cost of the shortened 12V battery life due to their negligent treatment of the car as it sat on the lot. I wouldn't ask, I'd just tell them that that's the right thing to do.

Remember, they need you; you don't need them. You don't have to roll over and accept their mistakes.

 

That would be in addition to replacing the battery,

 

And ask for the reverse beep to be turned off too

 

Even if you like it, lol?

 

Actually ask it be changed to one beep. It cannot be turned off.

 

Being pretty easy going, mellowing as I age, i would just suck it and see. Looking on the bright side, instead of the worst case scenario all the time is less stressful, It may completely be fine, be happy, don't worry as they say.

 

And it happens across dealers/brands. Our then new 2018 Honda Clarity had to be jumped for the test drive and so did the one parked next to it that we actually purchased. That was nearly 2 years ago. The dealership has a large jump pack on a cart for the service.

 

Yup. It happens a lot. They have like 150 or more cars on the lot. Pretty hard to stay on top of that many batteries, especially when they are 100--200 yards from the nearest outlet.

 

I've noticed at a nearby Honda dealership: all the showroom cars had neg battery cable disconnected. It is possible, to manage batteries of long term stored cars. A dealership with 12 volts dying in droves is poorly managed.

 

Local fire codes or dealership/insurance policy most likely. The constant activation of numerous 12v sub-systems when opening doors, touching buttons, moving electric seats, etc., would quickly run them down.

 

I do this with my Morris Minor even though there is no parasitic drain on the battery when it's switched off. I may be imagining it, but the charge in the battery does seem to last longer doing this.