2001 Prius battery dies at 70K, Toyota won't pay for repair

A Ford with a bad transmission? No way! :madgrin:

 

It appears that the Gen 1 batteries are largely dying due to age, not down to miles driven. We know of several cars that managed over 200,000 miles and I know of an owner that achieved 320k before the car was written off in an accident.

The battery replacement is slightly involved but I can't see how it accounts for $1,200 of labour. I've seen quotes that involved not just replacing the battery modules but everything else that's in the same reinforced box, which isn't necessary - the battery ECU, system main relay, resistor, power cables and vent pipes can all be transferred across. (That's part of the labour charge, though.)

There are a couple of good articles from Bay Area hybrid specialists:

Luscious Garage - Gen 1 Battery Failure P3006
Art's Automotive - Installing a Prius HV Battery

Did the diagnosis include any DTC codes? Sometimes dealers recommend changing everything that is included in the diagnostic tree rather than doing the work to find out exactly which one is at fault.

 

Toyota sells the Prius implying that they expect the batteries to last as long as the car. The warrantees last 10 years in California, why not the rest of the country?

People buying crappy used (aka broken/out of date) computers from you, however, have another, completely different set of needs and expectations. People buying refurbished computers are doing so because they can't afford a new one. Period. I strongly question the mentality/ethics of anyone trying to resell used computers with a extra short warranty to those in need...it is quite reasonable for consumers to expect a computer to last longer than 30 days.

 

Strange.. i always felt my return policy was pretty good considering most used computers come with NO WARRANTY at all. But, like I said, some people just can't be pleased.

 

I do not believe this is true.
As I understand it, Gen I batteries are 8 years/100,000 miles.
Gen II & III batteries are 10 years/100,000 miles, except in states with emission laws which require 150,000 miles.

There would be no point in designing new Prius, if they did not get better.

 

The warranty on the Gen III battery in non-CARB states is 8 years/100,000 miles.

 

If you do end up buying some used batteries, I think Toyota pays $500 like a bounty to obtain and recycle the battery. Might check into that.

 

Hi Brad,

Not every Toyota Service Center 'got the memo.' However, the folks at "Re-InVolt" have a clue. I would contact them first.

Bob Wilson

 

Otis,

Sorry about your car and what you are faced with. Did you do the TSB to clean the HV battery terminal corrosion?

 

Otis, I sympathize with your difficulties contacting Toyota by phone. Guessing that the floor mat and accel pedal recalls are keeping their telephone people very busy now. I hope you keep trying this approach. What to the other phone options do? Is has been quite a while since I called TCE and any calls to the US are difficult for me now (from China).

 

What's your evidence of this?

 

Also true of the Gen II.

 

A combination of what I'm seeing online in forums like this, on craigslist with cheap prius' with dead batteries, and from toyota technicians I know who are seeing lots of these coming into the shop needing new batteries around 140,000 to 160,000 miles.

And just from what we know in general about the life-expectancy of the chemistry used in the 1st gen as well as leakage issues, the toyota recall on the Gen-1 batteries, etc..

True, I don't have a list of every 1st gen prius ever made with a list of their ages and whether they have had battery problems. So it is just an observation. But I know I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone spend a lot of money on a Gen-1 Prius unless it recently had the battery replaced. Otherwise, do what I did and buy one real cheap with a dead battery and replace it yourself. At least that way you know the car is going to last for a while.

 

I know Toyota at one time had a $200 bounty on old packs, but all the dealers in our area (Southeast US) say they have suspended the buy back for now. I don't know if this is nationwide or not. There also has been quite a bit of confusion about whether or not they would pay for the packs if you were not purchasing a new unit from them.

 

Based upon our conversations with dealers nationwide, this number is definately very low. We are seeing 90% of the failures occurring between 120k-140k and we have sold close to the number of packs you have here.

 

Hi Otis,

When you get to the point where you've decided that seeking help from Toyota on this issue is like "pounding sand", then maybe you might ask Luscious Garage for help since they are in San Francisco. Luscious Garage | Blog | Prius headlight problem, D4R HID bulbs *still overpriced, not covered under warranty*

If your battery problem is due to leaky electrolyte, that can be cleaned off.

If your battery problem is due to a failed module, maybe LG can help you to obtain a salvage unit.