Toyota Australia has extended the warranty on the high voltage battery packs used in its Prius and Lexus hybrid models to eight years or 160,000km (100,000 miles). This is in contrast to Toyota’s UK unit which has reduced the hybrid system warranty from eight to five years for the latest Prius.
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The three-year/60,000km (35,000 mile) extension in Australia applies to over 12,700 Prius units sold ‘down under’ since late 2001 – and every new unit delivered. It also applies to Lexus GS, RX and LS hybrids, including about 2,300 already on Australian roads.
Toyota Australia’s sales and marketing head David Buttner said the extended warranty was “further evidence of Toyota’s confidence in the life of the hybrid battery”.
“Fewer than one-quarter of one per cent of Prius hybrid batteries have been replaced in almost eight years of sales,” Buttner added.
“Their endurance has been tested under severe conditions, with several Prius taxis driven for more than 400,000km (250,000 miles) on the original battery in the hot, humid climate of Cairns. That’s equivalent to more than 20 years of normal driving. There is also a comprehensive recycling programme in place for the batteries with our suppliers certified to ISO14001.”
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By GlobalDataToyota executives in Japan earlier this month told just-auto that the company regarded the latest hybrid batteries as good for the vehicle’s lifespan.
Supplier Panasonic’s dedicated PEVE unit has regularly updated the packs it produces for Toyota, beginning with the 1997 Prius sedan. Each hybrid generation (Prius exports started in 2000) has benefited from more efficient batteries with smaller cells, overall smaller and lighter pack construction plus improved cooling and electronic controllers.
Toyota Australia is writing to owners of all affected vehicles to notify them of the extended warranty.
The Prius was introduced to Australia in 2001, a year after the first export cars were shipped to the US. The second-generation car went on sale in 2003 and the third generation arrives in the second week of July.
Lexus will launch its second generation RX hybrid, the 450h, in the same week.
Lexus Australia chief executive John Roca said: “Since the introduction of hybrid technology to the Lexus range we’ve not replaced one battery.”
A Toyota GB spokesman said the British unit offered a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty on the latest Prius, extended to five years for the hybrid system components. This is down from eight years, he noted, saying that the systems had proved so reliable warranty claims had been “negligible”.
