Can No Longer Recommend Prius

You say you "suppose it was inevitable"...what % of hybrid batteries fail on the Prius? My guess is its a very small %.

How many miles on your car?

 

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear that it is taking so long for the replacement battery to arrive. Did your dealer explain the reason for the delay?

My poll (39 respondents so far) shows that 15% have had their Classic traction battery replaced.
http://priuschat.com/forums/generation-1-prius-discussion/45766-classic-prius-repairs.html

 

I see you are in California, why isn't your battery covered by the 10/150000 warranty? Is that only for the Gen 2?

 

Steve, I'm very sorry to hear about your experience. I believe you. It just seems so atypical from what I've read here on PC and our own experience with Toyota with our 2000 Avalon. Toyota seemed to go out of the way to avoid any bad publicity regarding the traction battery. I understand the battery shortage is causing delays in new car deliveries, but toyota should maintain a resonable supply for replacement, unless the supply problem is bigger than I realized. Hopefully some of the other members can help. Perhaps they can suggest other avenues of resolution. Good luck.

 

Yes. Gen 2 is AT-PZEV certified which requires the longer-duration warranty. Classic Prius has 8 years/100K miles on the battery.

However, since Steve's car is only 2K miles over the warranty, I would have thought Toyota might give him a break on the repair price.

I am still interested to know why it is taking so long. Maybe there have been a rash of Classic battery failures so that worldwide inventory is depleted?

 

Currently, eBay only shows one 2G battery for sale and no Classic batteries for sale.
eBay Motors: Toyota Prius Hybrid Battery (item 190248257746 end time Sep-06-08 14:33:01 PDT)

 

Did you ask the dealer or Toyota USA to provide a loaner car?

 

Sounds like the car is sitting somewhere. Why not look for a used battery now, and cancel the new battery order if a used one can be found ?

 

From what I've heard, the traction batteries were failing so infrequently that Toyota could economically justify maintaining the TB warehouse that they had set up here in the 'States. This facility had storage racks for the batteries, which included specially programmed chargers (not sure if the term "trickle charger" would really apply here) to keep the units fresh until needed. Which, again, rarely happened.

My conclusion is that, in a supreme example of irony, you're a victim of the car's overall reliability.

I'd join with the others in recommending that you seek out a used unit.

I wish you the best, and hope you get your car running to your satisfaction as soon as possible.

 

dipswitch posted in the G1 traction battery failure thread on 8/25:

". year: 2001
2. miles at replacement: 101368 (how 'bout them apples)
3. whether you bought new/used/Ebay etc....: Used, from a wrecked 2003 w/ 46k miles 170 miles away. I had to pick it up as the yard wouldn't ship it (HAZMAT), but that ended up shaving a day off the repair time. It wasn't the closest salvage battery available, but I liked the year and miles the best. I am actually surprised to see 5 other traction batteries within 2.5 hrs of me with prices of $400-800 (and the $800 offering is a high-priced outlier).
4. general reference to who did the work: Dealer. Dealer had no issues with installing a Toyota used part.
5. symptoms you had: Same symptoms I've seen posted-- fast full/empty battery fluctuations using full range of the icon; quick engine restarts on any type of demand; wanting to constantly charge a full battery icon with high engine RPMs; hybrid MIL lights (codes P3006, P3000(123)); soon after (within 400 miles), I started noticing power loss/hesitation and then within the next 50 miles the brake MIL with engine-brake-style revving to dissipate regenerative energy (code C1259) came on after deceleration from the highway. At this point top speed became 35-40mph and it was tow-time. Codes P0303, P0304 and P3191 were also pulled indicating engine restart/misfire problems. P3191 may be HV-related, but P0303/P0304 are likely showing a need for new plugs.
6. amount you paid parts/labor or if it was warrantied: Original estimate was $4500 to include new battery at ~$2800 and HV ECU at ~$1100. I ended up only springing for $500 for the used battery and $375 for labor. I declined replacing the HV ECU, and that seems to be the right call to this point. I just got the car back this morning, so I'm basing this on the dealer's 40 miles of testing and my own 25 miles.

I would've pushed for some warranty or "good will" negotiation if I hadn't been able to find an acceptable used battery. But, the newer 2003 battery which I hope has improvements beyond the 2001, reasonable cost of repairs on a 100k+mile-vehicle, and the fact that I had indeed crossed the warranty line make the battery replacement rather easy to swallow. Plus, I kept the original battery and now have replacement modules available if/when this battery goes."

He notes that his area have cheap batteries to buy. Perhaps a PM to him will be fruitful.

 

In that case try calling Toyota USA at 800-222-5500. They may get up in the dealer's fries about this, or they may want to help you themselves. Before calling take a few minutes to decompress so you can describe the situation calmly.

 

I don't have much experience when it comes to hybrid battery replacement, since my can is fairly new. However, my friend still owns his 1st gen/classic Prius and it is still running on the original batt after 180K miles (impressive to say the least). I am also sorry to hear about your frustration, but keep on trying and I am sure Toyota will respond to your satisfaction. I suggest to go to your favorite local dealership and ask for the best approach (if you have a back-up car available). Don't loose faith on your hybrid...it will come back to life soon. Regards.

 

I have always had a habit of trading away cars pretty early to avoid maintenance troubles. I would trade the Dodges and Fords away at 27 to 35K miles. I traded the Expedition away at 17K! just to get away from that steamship. It burned gas at an incredible 15mpg at best and Ford said it was not a gas guzzler!

I now plan to keep the Prius for at least 100K miles which at present rate would be maybe 6 or 7 years. My wifes car is 6 months old now and still doesnt have 5K on it! If I was tempted to trade away my car it would have to be for a plug in Prius!

 

It isn't cool that you've been left without any alternatives by Toyota. Sometimes, as has been stated before, you just have to get to the right person. One technique I use in life is the guilt-trip. No, I don't threaten whoever with damnation. If I call say the insurance adjuster and he/she doesn't call back that day like promised, I call the next day, and say, "Hey, I'm sorry that I got tied up with other things and missed your call," even if I got no calls from them. Usually, it works. Other times you have to threaten to take your story to the media... if you're willing to do it of course.

On the other hand, I'm reminded of my story a few years back. My 99 Chevy S-10 with 39K miles (again, just over the warranty period, go figure) started having a transmission issue. I took it to the Chevy place. $1600 to fix it. After some jumping up and down we were told GM would pay $800 of it. Got it back two weeks later... no loaner offered... and the problem wasn't gone. Took it to Aamco. They fixed the problem for $100, and said it had never been worked on. They said they couldn't afford to put that in writing. Moral of the story? Jumping "ship" to another carmaker may or may not make things better!

 

I don't blame you for being soured on Toyota after this ordeal. I would be too. Regardless of how infrequently these batteries fail I find it appalling that Toyota doesn't have at least few of them in stock around the country. After the billions of dollars in profit they make every year I don't think it would be asking too much to have replacement parts available for their vehicles. I think they could probably afford it.

 

Could it be that unused traction batteries get stale thus aren't stocked ?