Is Toyota Warming Up For Prius Battery Replacement Boost As 1st Hybrids Age?
By John O'Dell December 29, 2008
Toyota has boasted, justifiably, that very few of its Prius hybrid batteries have needed replacement since the car was introduced at the end of 2000.
But as the number of older Priuses (right) with steadily mounting odometer tallies grows, the automaker apparently is getting ready for the numbers to start changing.
In an entry on the company blog today, Toyota spokesman Jon Thompson posted a piece entitled "Prius Battery Change is No Big Deal."
After mentioning that a number of Prius taxis have racked up more than 300,000 miles on their original battery packs, Thompson notes that the batteries are warranted for 150,000 miles or 10 years in states using California emissions standards and for 100,000miles or eight years in the rest of the U.S.
"Fears of premature battery failure probably are unwarranted," he wrote. And if/when yours does go belly up, Toyota has cut the price on replacement packs to $2,299 for Generation 1 models (model years 2001 through 2003) and $2,588 for model years 2004 through 2008.
Of course, labor to replace the batteries can boost that, as can the cost of related parts your dealer might try to sell you.
Green Car Advisor recently looked at the issue from a consumer's point of view.
The total cost to Southern California resident Heather Knowles for replacing the battery pack in her 2002 Prius when the original failed at 174,000 miles was just under $3,000. That included $2,299 for the battery, plus taxes and $650 for labor.
The dealership's service department originally, though, had cited a higher price for the battery - $2,751 - and said she might need a battery controller at $1,176 and new cables for $31.
It was only after Knowles checked things out and got Toyota's corporate customer service department involved (the carmaker is obsessive about keeping Prius customers happy) that the dealer dropped the battery price and the idea that the expensive controller should be included with the replacement .
So our advice to anyone replacing a Prius battery pack (right)
is to do the same as you would with any major repair: Get a written estimate, get a second opinion if it sounds high, check it against any published reports you can find of what similar repairs in your area ought to cost and make your mechanic - whether independent or part of a dealership - justify the need to replace pieces that are independent of the battery pack.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
LEAVE A COMMENT