Our 2002 Prius was recalled for a steering issue. We had previously had steering issues but no other problems with the car. It took the dealer 2 days to fix (after saying 4 hours) but when we picked up the car the main warning light was on. We left it at the dealer who then said it will cost $4000 replace the main hybrid battery. It did not have this problem when we took it in. Whose responsibility to fix this is it? We basically think the car is undrivable with this problem.
Toyota Prius recall woes
Whitey
#2
It doesn’t seem suspicious to me that the hybrid battery needs to be replaced after nine years, so it might be a total coincidence that it happened now. If you are going to blame the dealership for your dead hybrid battery, you are going to need to find some proof that its failure after nine years is their fault.
Perhaps now would be a good time to take all the money you’ve been saving on fuel and use it to purchase a new hybrid battery pack. When you own a hybrid, this kind of purchase is inevitable, so I hoped you planned and saved accordingly.
MikeInNH
#3
I agree with Whitey…The car is almost 10 years old. Impossible to prove if it’s the dealer or not.
There are other companies who can repair this. You don’t need a new battery. Some companies will just replace the individual cells that are bad…saving you a lot of money.
jtsanders
#4
Do this web search for an introduction to refurbished hybrd batteries:
“prius battery refurbishment”
After you understand it a bit better, you can start looking for someone to do the job for you. Here’s a particluarly interesting link to the Prius Owner’s Group:
http://www.priusownersgroup.com/2008/03/03/replacing-battery-packs/
You might ask questions there.