Dorman Battery Experiences

Email me at [email protected] and I will help get something going.

 

any news?

 

Sorry to jump start an old post, but I'm running into similar concerns with a Cardone reman battery I got from Rockauto for my HCH1. I just thought it was important to post this so others can avoid the same mistake. I'll post updates, and hope it turns out less adventurous than Surly's.

 

Thanks for the info Jim. It's certainly starting to look like remanufactured batteries are very hit and miss.

 

Probably better bet to buy a used 3rd gen battery and transfer the modules over???

 

The difference between rebuilt vs NEW is relatively small, esp when factoring longevity.

Dorman rebuilt HV Battery from Northern Auto = $1500
10% discount coupon code = -$150
Los Angeles County Sales Tax @ 9% = $121.50
Shipping assumed FREE
TOTAL Purchase Cost = $1471.50

100% BRAND NEW, Prius HV Battery Pack = $2174.48 (Camelback Toyota in Phoenix, Arizona)
No Sales Tax b/c of will-call pick-up
No core charge if you drop off at time of pick-up
TOTAL Purchase Cost = $2174.48

DIFFERENCE = $702.98
If replacement lasts another 8 years, $702.98/8years = $87.87/year, $87.87/12months = $7.32/month
If replacement lasts another 10years, $702.98/10years = $70.30/year, $70.30/12months = $5.86/month

I guess, if you are planning to get rid of the car very soon, rebuilt makes sense. Maybe you might be able to get some of this difference back when selling the car? I'm sure you could get more for the car w/ a NEW HV Battery vs a rebuilt?

EDIT. Olathe Toyota (Olathe, Kansas), has the HV Battery for $1941.50. Maybe Camelback will price match? If so, the difference between rebuilt vs NEW, is even smaller: $470!
$470/8years = $58.75/year, $58.75/12months = $4.90/month
$470/10years = $47/year, $47/12months = $3.92/month

 

I wonder how much shipping would cost for the new battery and core return.

I'm not driving to Kansas even if it's the promise land.

 

I bought a Dorman battery from Rock Auto June 2014. I installed it myself in my 2005 Prius. This past December the battery failed (after 7 months or do) and I got the engine code for bad battery. I contacted Rock Auto about the warranty and they honored it. I just had to pay for shipping of my defective battery back to them, around $80. The replacement battery came and I swapped it in and shipped the old one back. Not too terrible a problem. I live in Washington DC and the battery comes from California, so it took around a week to ship to me.
The first Dorman battery didn't seem that strong, the warranty replacement battery seems much better. We'll see how long this replacement battery lasts. If it croaks before the 3 year warranty mark, I'll make another claim. If I had to do it again I'd go with the OEM just because it can be a hassle to swap out the battery, since it takes at least a week to ship a replacement to me. Of course with the OEM you have to do some swapping of electronics and other parts from your battery to the OEM you bought. The Dorman comes ready to go you just remove interior pieces until you can get it out and swap the 2.
Hope this helps someone.

 

Dealers have stopped shipping the HV battery a few years back, as some PriusChat members mentioned this in various threads dealing w/ the HV battery. Perhaps it was b/c of damage during shipment?

It seems that Toyota dealers who have an online presence, will sell the HV Battery, but you have to do a will-call pick-up. Some may even do a price match; hopefully this will be the case for those of us who want to buy a NEW HV Battery.

I guess you will have to find a dealer near you who has an online presence to get the cheaper price. Or maybe a local dealer who doesn't have an online presence might come close to the online price b/c they don't want to loose the sale?

 

A good warranty is a good sign. It's not so hard to make a proper battery.

 

Apparently some places that post online prices of traction batteries are refusing to sell to private people, and either demand the purchaser be a garage and/or a certified Toyota tech.

Anybody know why ?

As Paul suggested, if I encounter this problem I will try to find a 'front man.'

 

Maybe amateurs can electrocute themselves and Toyota would be liable.

 

No, for a number of reasons:

• Toyota is not refusing, some stores are. Those are independent franchises
• Eric Becky has been refused, even though he is a certified hybrid specialist (albeit not a Toyota technician AFAIK.)
• They sell to Toyota techs with no hybrid training
• They sell to garages with no hybrid training

My guess: 'safety' and CYA may be the excuses of the day, but this strikes me more as an anti-competitive (however poorly thought out) strategy.

 

Anti-competitive? It's a parts department that has a good mark up on the parts. They don't even have to stock this item to make the money. If they were selling to shops, whether or not they have training, the shop would bear the liability if done wrong.

There has to be other reasons for them not selling. Maybe they don't want to honor the online prices at the parts counter? I can't imagine any dealership refusing $700+ for ordering a special part that takes 1 day.

 

Not all, but most of the online purchase counters are actually Toyota dealerships. While they may not be willing to refuse an independent garage, perhaps they hope to steer a private person towards dealership work.

 

I can understand that fear. Most people aren't naturally apprehensive about touching automotive wiring. In spite of the lockout, you can still manage to form a complete circuit using your body if you aren't careful.

 

How is a Toyota dealership selling a battery so different than e.g. Dorman shipping one for DIY install so far as safety goes ?
And frankly, common sense says that if a person already took out their old battery for core credit, they have passed the basic safety test involved in installing the new one.

I know, I know. Common sense and simple logic need not apply.

 

The Toyota battery has to be opened up to transfer the ecu. So the risk is higher

 

Do battery sellers clearly identify exactly what constitutes the "core"? I mean, in videos of battery swaps, you see some bolted on brackets, cover plates, the nuts that hold down leads. I'm thinking if it can be unbolted it's NOT part of the core. Well apart from the electronics, excepting the Electronic Control Unit? Yeah, do they spell it out?

 

For David (and all) ...

While reading through this thread, here's a thought I had:

Every time I send, say, fuel injectors to Rich Jensen for reconditioning, I don't just get the fuel injectors back. I get them back with the measured details of their condition, keyed to serial numbers:

That's pretty nice for giving me confidence in what I'm getting, and for interest as a baseline reference to their future condition, and so on. Really, there are a lot of reasons that's nice.

I'm sure that in your operation at Dorman, you've got a database, probably by serial numbers, of the modules in your inventory, and the Ah capacity they last tested at and what date that was, and which ones were assembled into which battery you shipped. I mean, I don't even feel like I'm going out on much of a limb by assuming that you've got that information.

So, I'm curious, because I've never bought one from you yet: does Dorman take the time to print that information off on a nice little sheet and slip it in the box? If not, would it be hard to do?

I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that nothing like that comes with Toyota's batteries. I would consider it a valuable distinction in favor of your product. It's easy to fill a forum thread with high-level opinions on whether new or reman should be the better way to go, but if I can ask the question "which option gives me a battery that comes with hard test data and dates for the modules built into it" and the answer to that question is "Dorman's", that could definitely influence my buying decision.

A related question (that maybe is answered in your FAQ, but I haven't looked for it): if the spec capacity for a new battery is supposed to be, say, 6.5 Ah, is there any particular minimum capacity (as of some test date prior to shipment, of course) that Dorman commits to?

-Chap