Hybrid battery

[MARI LEWIS]

Hi all,

I've recently been told that I need a new hybrid Battery and have been quoted just under 2k by the local Toyota dealer where I have MOTs etc done. A family friend has suggested trying to get a reconditioned Auris Battery via eBay or similar and then to have it fitted by a Toyota specialist rather than a dealer to cut down costs. Just wondered if anyone has any experience/advice regarding change of batteries. I was alerted to it by the warning sign CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM appearing. The first time it happened they changed a filter which seemed to help but the warnings have since appeared again so I've been advised that it looks like the Battery has been overheating due to the filter and needs changing as soon as possible. Any advice welcome. 

Many thanks

Mari Lewis 

[TonyHSD]

Hi and welcome to the club. 
I can highly recommend to you to get your Battery replaced only at Toyota dealer or buy the Battery from them and let a trusted mechanic to install for you, to cut down on total cost.
New bay cost £1448 plus £1000 deposit and you get back these £1000 after returning your old Battery. Toyota dealer charge 3 hrs labour which comes to £480. 
Some may push to charge another £130 for diagnostic, but you should argue about this as this should be included in the total price of just under £2000 all in.
Here is what I have done to my car not long ago and now my Auris drives like new Toyota. 👍

 

[MARI LEWIS]

Thanks so much for getting back to me, Tony. Really good of you to take so much time. Not sure I'm up to fitting it myself sadly. I do know of someone local who said they'd install it for around £300 but there may not be much difference between that and what the Toyota dealer is going to quote for fitting in the end. Will definitely look into other mechanics though.

Thanks again for your response

 

[flash22]

do you know the actual error codes it is giving ?

[Saxmaniac]

There's a difference in the guarantee if a dealer fits it rather than an outside mechanic so might be wise to look at that, I think it's 3 years with dealer 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Saxmaniac said:

There's a difference in the guarantee if a dealer fits it rather than an outside mechanic so might be wise to look at that, I think it's 3 years with dealer 

I did checked this specifically before I made my mind and the dealer warranty is only covered for the parts which is 12 months , they don’t give any extra warranty.  

The main reason to buy a Battery from them is because they only offer real new Battery, no one else sells official Toyota new Battery, or cells. Even the dealer battery is re manufactured unit, which is older case and everything new inside, new cells, new bus bars, new sensors and new wires . 
If you go to independent hybrid specialist they have no access to new cells and use only old one, definitely not ideal and the price difference is minimal. 
Best way to buy and fit at the dealer or buy from dealer and fit it by yourself or let a trusted mechanic to do it for you. 
12 months warranty either way. 👌
 

[MARI LEWIS]

Many thanks again. That's really helpful. It's seems strange that it's been intermittent as after the filter was changed there were no warning lights and the Battery seemed to be charging normally. Then it went in again for testing after the warnings appeared again which is when they said the Battery definitely needed changing but since then the warnings had disappeared again and, once again, the Battery seemed to be charging as usual. This has been the case for over two weeks until the warnings went back on a couple of days ago. Just wondererd if you thing this is normal and just a sign that the battery is gradually losing power?

[MARI LEWIS]

Would the code POA 80 they gave me be the error code?

[TonyHSD]

4 hours ago, MARI LEWIS said:

Would the code POA 80 they gave me be the error code?

Hi, you will need to confirm that with whoever run diagnostic and if this is the fault code indeed then unfortunately your car’s hybrids Battery needs replacement. 
This error code comes when one or more cells are dead. 
The reason the fault is not coming constantly is because the Battery still can provide some power to the car but can not hold charge long and especially when under load like when driving in ev , these events will trigger the fault code and Battery warning. It will also start the engine which will remain ON all the time, highly not recommended to drive the car with wanting on ⚠️
I had managed to drive around 8-9000 miles since first time this warning appeared on the dashboard but I am car enthusiast and I know a bit about hybrid cars, and I have a good driving experience and also I have software to scan and delete the codes so the car can drive as normal. Even though all that the car was not nice to drive, the engine was running unnecessary often, it was not good experience, and I had to stop and delete these codes sometimes a few times per day to be able to continue my journey. 
 

[ThomasL]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but is the existing Battery not covered by the 150,000 mile 15 year hybrid Battery warranty if a Toyota dealer was regularly servicing the 2014 car? I.e. you shouldn't have to pay, as the dealer should have been keeping the filter clean!?

[MARI LEWIS]

I was wondering the same thing to be honest. The car has always been properly serviced by the Toyota so should I assume that the filter would always have been checked/cleaned with a full service? If this is the case, and as Toyota are saying that the filter has caused the fault, a family member was wondering if Toyota should perhaps pay for/contribute to the cost of the Battery? 

You referred to the 150,000 mile 15 year hybrid Battery warranty. Is this standard with Toyota? 

Many thanks

 

 

[Saxmaniac]

The Battery fan and filter weren't part of the dealer service (though I think it's included on the new corolla service?) It's a bad shortcoming unfortunately, main dealer service isn't a guarantee of a well maintained car 

[ThomasL]

10 hours ago, MARI LEWIS said:

You referred to the 150,000 mile 15 year hybrid battery warranty. Is this standard with Toyota? 

Actually looks like I was a bit wrong it's 15 years but no mention of miles. Here's the terms & conditions:

https://www.toyota.co.uk/content/dam/toyota/nmsc/united-kingdom/owners/warranty/toyota-warranty/Toyota Hybrid Battery Extended Cover Terms_tcm-3060-1563365.pdf

One of the get-out clauses is this:

* Carry out all the maintenance and/or care specified or recommended by the manufacturer. Extended Cover rights are disregarded when the fault arising is linked to maintenance and inspection work having not been carried out. These are specified in the Toyota service booklet.

So if your service book doesn't mention the filter, you've not broken the rule. If your service book does mention the filter, your dealer broke the rule and should help with the costs.

The dealer understandably prefers to push you towards a new financed car ("oh dear it will cost so much to get fixed, by the way have you seen our new Yaris Cross deals?")

[MARI LEWIS]

Thanks so much for that. 

Can i just clarify if the link you sent me is for a warranty that comes standard with the car or if it's an additional warranty that I or the previous owner could/should have taken out? If it is an additional one, how long does the standard factory warranty last please?

Thanks

 

[yossarian247]

1 hour ago, MARI LEWIS said:

Thanks so much for that. 

Can i just clarify if the link you sent me is for a warranty that comes standard with the car or if it's an additional warranty that I or the previous owner could/should have taken out? If it is an additional one, how long does the standard factory warranty last please?

Thanks

 

Each time you have the car serviced at a Toyota dealer they should carry out a 'Hybrid health check' as part of the service.  That check extends the warranty on the hybrid components including the Battery for a further year from the date it's carried out, until the car reaches 15 years old. If you had this check carried out in the 12 months before your hybrid Battery failed (and it passed the check at the time) then the Battery should be covered by the warranty.

[ThomasL]

To emphasize the point: it is standard/automatic. You and previous owner don't need to have done anything special.

[TonyHSD]

If the car was served at Toyota dealer within the last 12 months or 10000 miles you should be covered by the warranty of the Battery which should have health check included in this service regardless of filter been replaced, cleaned or anything, this is their thing to do. Check your service history. 
We have other member with same car as yours , same year and they had their hybrid Battery replaced for free. 👍