How to deal with Toyota re: hv battery warranty repair

Yes... I want to know the answer too... I bought a used '07 in California with 100k on it and I'd like to make sure I know what to do at the first sign of trouble before the odometer hits 150k. Does the CARB-state warranty on the battery transfer to the second owner?

 

If the car has not thrown a DTC code the dealer is not going to be able to do much under warranty.

 

Hello Im also having the same issue with my 2006 Prius Battery. I have difficulty with the power, and the dealer said the same thing about the warranty, so I am contacting Toyota directly.

 

Let us know how you get on Susan. I'm definitely losing capacity on my HV battery too (capacity of 7th and 8th bars now mostly gone). It's just a matter of time before it dies, but it looks like it will hold on long enough so the it's out of warranty. No codes thrown yet, and except in hilly terrain you'd hardly notice it. Still good MPG surprisingly.

Honestly I don't think these issues are unexpected. Batteries lose capacity as they age, it's a well known fact. Some batteries will die with a sudden "catastrophic" failure and those people can easily get a warranty claim (and probably don't have to suffer a gradual decline). Many of us however will have to put up with a gradual decline in battery capacity as our Priuses age. I'm sure that if you complain enough then some dealers may respond with a "good will" gesture, but that will largely depend on how much they value you as a customer (how much you've spent with them in the past, how much they think you're likely to spend with them in the future).

There was a case here recently of a guy who really nagged his Toyota service dept about poor (reduced since new) performance over mountain passes, and of course they could find nothing wrong. He persevered until they got in hybrid specialist and so on to try to find the problem and eventually they relented and changed out HV battery for him. Now even though they absolutely insisted that there was nothing wrong with the existing battery, and changed it only as a last ditch attempt to see the back of him, it fixed the problem straight up. So it obviously was an issue despite their insistence of not a problem.

In many ways it's going to be a matter of what terrain we drive and what is our tolerance that will determine whether we see a problem with declining battery performance. In relative flat terrain you can lose a very significant amount of battery capacity and barely notice a difference. Toyota have set to bar pretty low for how much capacity the battery has to lose (in cases of gradual decline) before it throws a code and becomes a warranty issue. One person here has suggest that it's not until about 25% capacity (75% loss) that this occurs. There is little doubt that this will be to minimize their warranty liability.

 

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Yes, if the car is continuously licensed and operated in the CARB state.

If your car doesn't show any warning lights then it is highly unlikely that any warranty repair will be authorized. Typically you have to have one battery module (out of 28) fail before a warning light will appear. If all 28 age gracefully, then no warning lights will appear.

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice... For future reference, what are the specifc DTC codes that will trigger warranty coverage? Or are there too many to list?

 

The most likely one is DTC P0A80, Replace Hybrid Battery Pack. This is often accompanied by P3011 - P3024 which shows which battery module pair has failed.

Sometimes you may find P3030 if there is a problem with the battery ECU or the wiring harness that allows the ECU to keep track of module pair battery voltage. P0A1F also points to a problem with the battery ECU.

 

My 07 Prius at 85K mi has a 22% drop in millage (40-42mpg) but no codes were set so Toyota says the ‘traction battery isn’t bad enough yet’. I filed a BBB complaint (complaint ID: 98715017) which Toy just stonewalled me more with a request for another test. I’m pretty sure Toyota’s warranty doesn’t qualify as a warranty because they never disclose how bad the battery has to be before they will honor their warranty. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states ‘must disclose, fully and conspicuously, in simple and readily understood language, the terms and conditions of the warranty’. Toyota has shortened their warranty to 5 years, but there may be some Class Action due for some of the early consumers.

 

All their Prius years or the new Ones?

 

Source?

Seems really fishy when you just joined today, this is your 1st post and your model is impossible (of 2007 Prius Plug-in Base).

 

Just by chance, how new is your 12v battery, not one complainant in the thread has given a clue toward the upkeep of the vehicle or the condition of the 12v, sorry if it sounds simple, but....and not that the traction battery won't wear out, but, if the 12v is shot(draining at all times) and the traction is getting more cycles then it should, just sayin..

 

Yep. If that poster has FE complaints, he should start a new thread in the FE area while answering questions at Fuel economy complaints/queries? Please copy, paste & answer these questions, esp. if you're new | PriusChat.

If an 07 is on the original 12 volt, it's likely due for replacement soon, if not past due.

And, some FE drop is due to winter conditions: Why mileage gets worse in winter | PriusChat.

 

2007 Plug-in Base? Really? 40-42 mpg? Toyota says the ‘traction battery isn’t bad enough yet’? Doesn't sound like it's bad at all. Maybe the 12v is weak after 5 years that could cause this. I think we've heard of that somewhere before!

Have you run the diagnostic for the 3 12v numbers? That might clear up some of the confusion.

 

Honestly, I suspect a troll here. First post right off the bat, and the poster says that Toyota is changing their warranty to five years. Five years on what first of all? Toyota specifically spells out their warranties, and it is a whole lot longer than five years on the hybrid parts including the traction battery on the Prius. Now if you are referring to the power train, yes that is 5 Years, 60,000 miles whichever comes first. But the warranty does not end there. Refer to the following link for the warranty offered on the Prius sold today. The 2007 had a very similar warranty.

Toyota Prius Warranty and Coverage

Second, 22% drop in mileage is NOT 40 to 42 MPG. The EPA estimate is 48 City, 45 Hwy. Do the math, 22% is NOT 40-42 MPG.

22% drop of 45 MPG would be 35.1 and 22% drop of 48 would be 37.44 that is the math and true numbers don't lie.

GrantN | PriusChat - If you want all of us here to believe that Toyota has changed the warranty the way you claim, I urge you to post a link to your claim that all of us can read here.

Ron

 

It's posts like these that really annoy me... GrantN is intentionally or unintentionally coming across as a lawyer troll fraud who explains no symptoms other than bad MPG and yet concludes it's the HV battery and then harasses Toyota with a BBB complaint before all the other causes for bad MPG have even been considered/mentioned. Stop acting like a fool GrantN and get a clue! And if you aren't full of it then post a link to your BBB complaint because the ID you posted is either bogus or not visible for public review.

 

deleted, not needed in string

 

No car maker will fix or repair their cars if the mpg drop some late in its life.