I would like to make aware to Prius owners or potential Prius buyers that when you replace the hybrid battery for about 3,000.00, your warranty on the new battery is one year. I replaced my hybrid battery on my 2001 Prius at 92,000 miles. Shockingly, the new warranty on the battery is one year based on Toyota policy.
I called two Toyota departments and in both discussions I expressed my concerns regarding how this will affect the resale value of the car. The standard answer from Toyota is a one year warranty - no exceptions. If you are an owner and close to100,000 miles or if you are contemplating buying a used Prius, take this into consideration!
Why Did You Replace A $3000 Battery On A Car With Only 92,000 Miles ?
That gets a bit expensive. That’s $1000 / 30,666 miles. We drive our cars over that amount every year !
I’ve heard that some folks just have the battery diagnosed and replace only the weak or defective cells as needed, not the whole thing.
I suppose Toyota doesn’t have to give any warranty on the replacement battery, but one year is not a promising sign. The manufacturer doesn’t have much confidence in their batteries, I guess. They don’t want to buy one, either.
I’d never buy one of these little cars and you’ve just given me a couple more reasons not to buy one new, used, or otherwise.
CSA
On the other hand, Ford is finding their batteries to be very reliable, and I imagine Toyota is too:
There will alway be a few failures, but they aren’t the norm.
Doesn’t help you, I know…
All rechargeable batteries age based on time, not mileage. This is why edmunds.com and Consumer Reports did some research, and determined that if you don’t put a lot of miles on your car, buying a hybrid isn’t a good financial decision. Yet people keep buying hybrids without doing their research first, and then act shocked at the price and warranty of replacement battery packs.
The fact that manufacturers are selling cars with low profile high performance tires has taught me to do research before I buy a car, and find out how much replacement tires will cost. It has also taught me that I need to conduct research on other maintenance costs too.
Every car shopper should find out before the purchase how much maintenance will cost. This should include everything that is on the maintenance schedule, and every wearable part, like tires, brake pads, and batteries.
Yes, your hybrid battery pack only lasted 92,000 miles, but it also lasted 10 years. 10 years is a pretty long life for a battery.
I wasn’t upset about the fact that I had to replace the battery because that was expected. It was the fact that they can warranty a new battery for 10 years and then give you only one year on the same new battery. Makes you think they use reconditioned batteries!
I don’t think most people that buy hybrids plan to keep them longer than 5-8 years. I don’t think they ever really think about the cost to replace the battery packs.
The low rolling-resistance tires are probably more expensive than regular tires too.
“I replaced my hybrid battery on my 2001 Prius at 92,000 miles.”
“The low rolling-resistance tires are probably more expensive than regular tires too.”
It’s not like the battery and tires are the only maintenance items. That would be one thing. Then there’s the electric drive, the gasoline engine, including cooling system, exhaust system, computers to merge the two, etcetera, and all the maintenance and repairs to parts of these systems.
When I’ve heard “hybrid” I’ve always thought “best of both (two) worlds.”
In this case hybrid is a misnomer. These “hybrids” are two worlds (and all associated maintenance and problems and costs inherent in both worlds).
CSA
CSA, you’re right about having two separate systems increasing potential for trouble. However, both the Prius and Fusion hybrids have so far proven to be some of the most reliable cars you can buy. We’ll see how things go in the future, but so far, so good.
Here’s some new territory to explore with the manufacturers.
The history of replacement parts has always been a 12/12 warranty but that began back when the new vehicle warranty was the same.
Now we get reman engines and transmissions with 36/100 and some with unlimited miles and new vehicles with these long warranties too , so I believe we ALL should lobby the industry for comparable warranties on replacement parts.
ex; The Ford Super Duty diesel trucks have 100k warranties, Yet a repalcement part which fell under that 100k , when purchased cash, has only a 12/12 warr.
Clockmaker, it’s all about shelf-space and shelf-life…By now, there should be a good market in salvaged batteries from wrecked cars to fill the replacement market for a fraction of the dealers price…The next generation of storage batteries, Lithium-Polyester, will make the battery used in the Prius obsolete. The 'battery issue" means 10 year old Prius’s street value drops to near salvage value…
Do Prius’s with dead batteries still drive okay?? Can they still be used to provide daily transportation? If so, then they will still have some value, like a laptop with a dead battery…
I am at 141K miles and the big (traction) battery is ok. The small 12 battery (something like a large motorcycle battery) in the rear right quarter panel will be needing replacing soon. It is about $160.
It is about $160.
I’m assuming that’s the price through the dealer.
Check around…you should be able to do a lot better then $160.
Mike - it’s a real oddball battery, hasn’t been available from other sources last I heard, but maybe it is now…
Does anyone know if any of the battery’s use in these hybrids can be rebuilt ? I use to buy rebuilt battery’s. They were 1/2 the cost of new then and lasted longer. A 6 volt I bought for a old farm truck we had (53 Chevy). I had the truck for 3 years then junked it. The junk yard use the battery for at least 3 more years.
If they can be rebuilt it mite be a real money maker.
Mike - it’s a real oddball battery, hasn’t been available from other sources last I heard, but maybe it is now…
I thought it was just a regular battery. Friend has a Hybrid Civic and the 12 volt battery he can buy anywhere. I thought the Prius would be the same.
It’s like a jumbo motorcycle battery. Neither Interstate nor Sears has one.
Advanced Auto Parts doesn’t carry it, either.
Some Prius owners have successfully adapted a similar, common, battery to fit in the available space. Check into a prius owners site and ask around…