So the girl is getting shafted by Toyota

[Eric Perry]

...and not in the good way!

She has an '07 Camry Hybrid. It's got 102,000 miles. Just two days ago pretty much every warning light fired off. We took it to Toyota, and the diagnosed the hybrid battery as being shot. They graciously offered to replace it... FOR FIVE GRAND!

The car's hybrid system is warranted till 100,000 miles. It's over by just a few thousand. They won't budge. I called Toyota directly, and they won't budge either. Effing ridiculous.

 

[dieselbass]

I hear this is a growing problem. This is why these are popular to lease

 

[nutdog]

At least she's got all that money she saved on gas.

 

[Eric Perry]

She bought it new. She was told back then it'd be approximately $1,500 to replace the battery. I'm not great in math, but....

 

[Ben B]

She bought it new. She was told back then it'd be approximately $1,500 to replace the battery. I'm not great in math, but....

Whoever told her that was lying through their teeth. The battery packs have never been that cheap. I read an article in the last year that indicated there are aftermarket companies that rebuild the battery packs and they are a lot cheaper than the new ones. You might want to do an internet search.

The cost of the battery pack was one of the reasons I avoided a hybrid and just bought a fuel efficient car. And as another poster wrote, that why many people lease them.

 

[Steve]

she is getting shafted but she got shafted when she bough it thinking the replacement battery's were that cheap.

$5k is what I understand to be a correct number

 

[Eric Perry]

I'm kinda ticked that Toyota isn't willing to budge an inch over a few thousand miles.

 

[Downunderwonder]

They've been taking lessons from Loud.

 

[ubnomnar]

I'm kinda ticked that Toyota isn't willing to budge an inch over a few thousand miles.

Extended warranties cost extra.

The line was drawn when they sold the car.

 

[StayLow]

she is getting shafted but she got shafted when she bough it thinking the replacement battery's where that cheap.

$5k is what I understand to be a correct number

Yep. Always was. The arguments against Prius/etc was, and remains, that the initial premium vs. gas car PLUS battery replacements would cost more than gas savings, and pollution from battery builds and discard arguably has a larger "carbon footprint".

 

[Munjibunga]

I don't see anything unfair here. A deal is a deal. This is the reason I won't be buying a hybrid or electric car anytime soon. Research the price for replacement batteries for Teslas.

 

[CapnSev]

This was a big deal when the hybrids first started getting really popular. Everybody just sort of dismissed it I guess, now I've heard a bunch of stories just like yours. In fact, I girl I work with just sold her hybrid for this exact same reason.

 

[fourstringdrums]

I've heard 3 grand for a new battery at least for the Prius. But still that's pricey.

Gas savings on a hybrid aren't worth it if to repair the car costs an arm and a leg.

 

[Lonesomedave]

I don't see anything unfair here. A deal is a deal. This is the reason I won't be buying a hybrid or electric car anytime soon. Research the price for replacement batteries for Teslas.

eric....i love you like a brother, but i've got to go with munji on this one...a deal is a deal

sounds as if she should have a lawsuit against the dealer if they told her 1500.00 when they knew the real price was much higher

of course, good luck proving it....they will deny having told her that...even if the guy who told her that still works for them, i'm sure he'll deny and she probably can't carry her burden of proof

i suppose in hindsight (which is always 20/20) she should have said right up front, "ok, i'll buy an extra one right now for 1500.00"....BUT why would she suspect them of lying to her

i feel for you, man, but i don't see this as toyota's fault so much as the lying dealer...they warranted the thing for 100,000 miles and she got more than 100,000 miles out of it

sux, but i think you are blaming the wrong entity....BTW, could she have bought an extended warranty that would have covered this particular part?....just asking, because if the answer is "yes", that makes her case even weaker

 

[BawanaRik]

I think that an internal combustion engine is the way to go.

I would like to see 100 cc engines powering 1500 lb cars as a viable available form of transportation.

Coupled with a functioning mass transit system I think we can get around via renewable resources.

 

[Tituscrow]

Ferris Buellers Day Off...slam it in reverse on some bricks until the mileometer drops below 100k...

Seriously, that's tough mate. Ouch.

I once had a kettle pack in on me ONE DAY beyond the 12 month warranty and the retailer was having none of it when I tried to appeal to their good nature.

Bottom line is 100k is 100k. I suspect that even if you were just a mile over, they'd still say no.

Sorry brother.

 

[FretNoMore]

My iPad broke two weeks too late, and no way would it be replaced for free. It sucks big time, but as already said, a deal is a deal and you accepted the terms when you bought the product.

As to electric hybrids, I don't think they are all that environmentally friendly if you consider the whole chain from manufacturing to disposal; more efficient combustion engines with better fuels is the way for the time being. Maybe fuel cells in the future. But that's OT and another topic I guess.

 

[Tony Flow MMMM]

Wow....... Glad I didn't get a hybrid. I kinda dismissed it too thinking by the time the original battery went bad the aftermarket ones would be cheap

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Still relatively new (thus expensive) tech. Hopefully something that will drop in the coming 10-20 years, not going to help right now though.

Sadly it's fairly common that manufacturers won't budge if it's 5 seconds past it's warranty.

 

[neo 7]

Makes me wonder how much it cost Toyota to produce one of those batteries. Ya know the oil companies can't be too pleased with fuel efficient cars and all.