Leaking lights and a new battery

[TomPug]

Hi all,

New to this forum, but just got hit with an enormous repair bill today and hoping you kind people might be able to give some advice :-) Had a warning come up on the dash that the hybrid needed a system check. Took it to the garage and they got back to me to say that my rear lights had leaked and filled up under the floor of the boot with water, which had damaged the Battery. Prescription: new Battery (and lights!) at a bit over 2000 pounds... My questions would be has anybody come across such a thing before, and should this be covered by warranty for the Battery (garage says no, but shouldn't the battery be protected against water damage?)?

Any advice would be really appreciated!

Cheers,

Tom

[eygo]

here is a company breaking an auris hybrid give them a try

they may have a Battery for you i know the link is for the invertor but you will have the contact number and car ref number

https://www.car-transplants.co.uk/parts-breaking/details/toyota-auris-hybrid-2010-to-2012-high-voltage-inverter-cooling/1/149494

[Gerg]

https://www.indra.co.uk/

The above company is in Malvern.  I get the impression they experiment with all sorts of EV vehicles, and might be able to advise on what could get damaged through water ingress, and if it could be repaired, as opposed to replaced as per the Toyota quote. 

I was thinking along the lines of: how is the Battery damaged?  Is it just corrosion that could be cleaned off, leaving the Battery serviceable?  The dealer has to guarantee the repair, so replacement of parts, if they are in doubt, removes some of their risks.  But you then get suffer a big bill that has covered any 'worst case' that they might come across.

I would have thought Toyota would design the Battery so that it would survive a water leak into the boot, as I would expect the connectors to be at the upper part of the module (I've never studied one close up though!). 

According to this site:-   https://www.toyota.co.uk/hybrid/hybrid-faq/batteries     the new battery, unfitted, is from  £1140 including VAT,  There is a hefty rebate given by Toyota on return of the old battery, I imagine the price given in the link included that, I wonder if your quote does?

This Northampton company might also be able to give some advice on likely costs and repairs, as hybrid batteries are their speciality:- http://www.hybridbatterysolutions.co.uk/

I have no personal experience of any these companies, I should add.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Has the vehicle got a full Toyota service history?

If so, I'd be inclined to contact Toyota GB customer services, explain what has occurred, and query whether they may consider a goodwill contribution towards the cost of repairs to the hybrid Battery.

[Bob110023]

Hi guy's. For any sort of damage to occur to the Battery it would either have to be submerged so the Top connectors would short out. If not submerged the water was enough to splash across the Top connectors or maýbe the connecting hybrid electrical loom connector got contaminated. If serviced by main dealer I think this would have been picked up at some point. If there was constant water in the boot surely it would have caused constant condensation in the cabin. Personally I would go with frostballs suggestion try for a goodwill contribution.

Good luck Tom.

[Gerg]

I've just re-read the original post.

I take it that all this repair work has been completed? I was reading 'bill' as 'future bill', i.e. a bill that will be coming after the work has been agreed to.

My misunderstanding was that you were looking for advice on whether the garages diagnosis was correct and that their price is fair. 

Whoops.

[TomPug]

Thanks for all your helpful responses! It's still a future bill, but I think one that is about to become current. I went down to the garage this morning to have a look. It all comes down to corrosion in one of the Battery connectors (and perhaps back along the cable), but these are things that Toyota apparently doesn't sell separately to avoid the chance that somebody zaps themselves working on the Battery. So one dead small part = new Battery. They showed me where the water had come in through the lights (both at the same time - what are the chances?!) and their best guess was that condensation was how it got into the connector. There has been a bit of condensation inside recently, but the weather's been changeable and I just didn't think to check for a leak. I spoke with Toyota customer services just now as well and they essentially confirmed what the dealer said and that they couldn't offer any further rebate.

Between the info you've given me above and the conversations with the dealer though, I am at least now convinced that the price is fair - even if cursing slightly at that finding.

I guess if I knew my way around high voltage batteries there might be a cheaper fix, but I'm not going there!

Cheers.

[TonyHSD]

Was it water in boot only for the older models non hybrid till 2010, or I am missing something? 

[FROSTYBALLS]

The first generation pre-facelift (2007-2010) could suffer from water leaks via the vents behind the rear bumper, or from the seals to the rear light clusters. It also seems that the first generation post facelift (2010-2012) may suffer water leaks from the seals to the rear light clusters, and this includes petrols, diesels and hybrids.

[jgodfrey]

My 2011 hybrid also had a water leak through the passenger side light cluster and this was fixed 2 years ago under warranty. In September I was noticing condensation in the car again and checked the boot to find 50mm of water pooled beneath the spare wheel. I thought to myself at the time that it couldn't be great to have all those electrics in there and water ponded in the boot. When I investigated it further I found that one of the rubber grommets wasn't sealed properly so I drained the water and resealed it. The water hasnt come back but for some reason all my cars seem to get water leaks!

[TonyHSD]

Thanks for sharing. I did check mine completely dry and I am checking my friends one tonight to see if hers ok . Water and electricity doesn’t go together well. 

Cheers