Toyota extends hybrid battery warranty

GLOBAL experience over more than a decade with the Prius hybrid car has led Toyota to extend the warranty on the car’s expensive battery pack to eight years or 160,000km in Australia.

On the eve of the third-generation model’s local launch, Toyota Australia has added three years or 60,000km to the battery warranty to allay consumer concerns about having to replace the expensive nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery pack.

It has even back-dated the extension so that it now applies to all of the 12,700 Prius sold in Australia since it was launched here in 2001 – four years after its Japanese introduction and only two years before the second-generation version was released here.

The new extended warranty also applies to the company’s various Lexus hybrid vehicles, the mid-size GS sedan, the RX compact SUV and the LS limousine, 2200 of which have been sold in Australia.

Toyota Australia senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner said the extended warranty underscored Toyota’s confidence in the life of the hybrid battery, having needed to replace fewer than 30 in Australia to date.

“Fewer than one-quarter of one per cent of Prius hybrid batteries have been replaced in almost eight years of sales,” said Mr Buttner.

“Their endurance has been tested under severe conditions, with several Prius taxis driven for more than 400,000km on the original battery in the hot, humid climate of Cairns. That’s equivalent to more than 20 years of normal driving.” Mr Buttner said that all Prius owners will be notified of the extended warranty.

The third-generation Prius will go on sale in local showrooms in the second week of July.

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