Marketing readers of this blog are probably unaware that there is a very active ongoing discussion, in the form of comments on several posts and reposting on car enthusiast blogs, about how long batteries should last in hybrid cars and what the manufacturer should do if they die prematurely.
Two years ago last month, the battery in my 2001 Prius quit, 8 months out of warranty but with just 70,000 miles on the car. I paid $3700 to replace it and lobbied Toyota Corporate to refund it without success. Two years ago this month, the good people at San Francisco Toyota informed me that they had gotten authorization through their retail dealer rep to refund the replacement cost in full.
I hope the two research physicians who purchased my Prius soon after that are enjoying their car; I expect it has many more years on its new battery. I hope that Toyota has gotten enough positive consideration to repay their investment in my vehicle; I expect that they have. And I hope that Doug Donnellan, who was then the manager of SF Toyota, has gotten further promotions; he is the kind of proactive, go-out-on-a-limb executive every company needs in these times, or any times.
If you want to know more about my Prius battery, the comments at the bottom of this post are a good place to start.
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