What You Can Do When Your Toyota Prius Battery Life Expires

Posted by admin on Sunday Jun 5, 2011 Under Toyota News

TOYOTA PRIUS BATTERY LIFE

No one has been able to give the exact span of the Toyota Prius battery life. It is a hybrid battery that lasts a fairly long time. Toyota people state that the Toyota Prius battery life is not measured on years but rather on the mileage. They claim it can run for about 100,000 to 150,000 miles. When the Toyota Prius battery life has expired the owners of the Prius will have to look for ways to get their car back on the road. The Toyota dealers do have replacement batteries available. The cost for a replacement battery is about $4000.

Who wants to pay such high cost for a used car?

There are other ways which can be used instead of buying a new battery from the Toyota dealership. You can search for ways in which you can make use of your old Prius battery and recycle it to make your car active once again.

Doesn’t this sound better?

I used this guide available on the internet when I faced the problem of my Toyota Prius battery life expiring without any warning. It gave way and I had to search for techniques to replace it. This guide to rebuild a battery yourself really helped me. It was cheap and economical. If in case you are a busy man and do not have the time to rebuild the battery yourself, don’t worry. You still won’t have to pay $4000 for a new replacement battery. You can hire a local mechanic for this work. I have found local mechanics will only charge you regular shop labor rates to fix your Prius battery. They did ask me to provide the guide for them so they could fix it to my specifications.

This option was still better than buying a new or used battery for your old Toyota Prius car. I came across this problem a little bit ago and at first I was going to have a mechanic rebuild the battery for me. However I had some time and I was able to tackle the project myself with no complications. Once you have the battery rebuilt you will not have to worry for the next seven or eight years. The rebuilt Toyota Prius battery life is expected to be like the original one. I am happy with my rebuilt battery and I am glad I invested the little bit of money I did to get the guide.

About the Author:

Stephen is the owner of a Toyota Prius and has used this guide to fix his own Prius. Discover how to save thousands of dollars when your Toyota Prius battery life has expired. Use this guide to fix the battery yourself or give it to your local mechanic and have them fix it for you. Either way you will save a lot of money to have your Prius back on the road. http://priusbatteryguide.weebly.com

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TOYOTA PRIUS BATTERY COST

The Toyota Prius is a mid sized car that is completely hybrid electric. It has been developed by the Toyota Motor Company. The Prius is believed to be one of the most fuel efficient cars sold in the US as per the United states Environment Protection Agency.

The main problem many customers our having with the Prius is related to the battery life. In a lot of cases the Prius batteries are only lasting 150,000 miles or only between 8 – 10 years. The Toyota Prius is a great car, but if you are ever in need of the batteries to be replaced, you have a big problem. Let us give you your options and provide you with some help.

When you are not in the warranty period then you will have to pay a high price for your hybrid batteries. Some used Prius battery packs are offered on websites which will cost around a $1000. However, this can be risky. You should be looking for other dealers that can give you high quality hybrid batteries at a good price. This can be hard to find because a lot of dealers are still charging outrageous prices for new hybrid batteries.

The Toyota Prius battery cost has come down recently. Earlier they were priced at around $3000. When you look around you will be able to find them for approximately $2300. These quoted prices of the Toyota Prius battery cost are outrageous and are not affordable for the typical Prius owner.

Another quick and cheaper option to reduce your Toyota Prius battery cost is to buy a rebuilt battery from other dealers other than Toyota. This will save both your time and money. You can even find lots of people who are ready to sell Toyota Prius rebuilt batteries online. This is still a little risky but a lot cheaper than paying your money to Toyota to fix what should of never broke in the first place.

I myself decided to use the lowest cost option. I have found a guide online which you can use for rebuilding your battery yourself. I didn’t want to rebuild the battery myself at first so I talked to my local mechanic shop and they said if I give them the guide they will look it ocher and rebuild the battery for me at shop rates.

I could not justify giving Toyota my hard earned money so I did some research and discovered this excellent guide. The guide was not expensive and it saved me a ton of money and hassle. I was back on the road for under $500 and had plenty of money in my pocket and not Toyotas.

About the Author:

Stephen is the owner of a Toyota Prius and has used this guide to fix his own Prius. Discover the way I did to save thousands on your Toyota Prius battery cost. Use this guide to fix the battery yourself or give it to your local mechanic and have them fix it for you. Either way you will save a lot of money to have your Prius back on the road.

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Various Toyota Hybrids Get Tax Credit Certification From IRS

Posted by admin on Wednesday May 11, 2011 Under Toyota News

Starting in 2006, individuals buying hybrid cars will get a tax credit instead of a tax deduction. The IRS has just started to kick out the exact amounts you can claim for your new hybrid.

Various Toyota Hybrids Get Tax Credit Certification From IRS

Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the tax benefits of owning a hybrid vehicle underwent significant changes. Whereas you could previously claim a tax deduction, the new law converted the deduction into a tax credit. Tax credits are FAR more valuable than deductions, because they reduce the amount of tax you owe on a pound for pound basis. Tax Deductions, on the other hand, merely reduce your adjusted gross income prior to determining the amount of tax you owe pursuant to the tax tables. In laymen’s terms, this conversion is a very good thing.

Not every hybrid car qualifies for a tax credit. The Internal Revenue Service must first evaluate it and then issue guidance on which cars qualify and the size of the credit you can claim for each. The maximum the IRS can designate per car is £3,400. Here are the numbers it recently kicked out for various Toyota hybrid models.

2005 Toyota Prius:    £3150

2006 Toyota Prius:   £3150

2006 Toyota Highlander 4WD Hybrid: £2600

2006 Toyota Highlander 2WD Hybrid: £2600

2006 Lexus RX400h 2WD:  £2200

2006 Lexus RX400h 4WD:  £2200

If you purchased your hybrid car prior to 2006, you are restricted to claiming a tax deduction in the amount previously designated by the IRS, usually £2,000. If you waited until 2006, you can claim the above amounts with a few hitches. First, the amount only applies to the first 60,000 cars sold for each model. If you purchase a hybrid in the 60,0001 to 120,000 sales range, you can claim only half of the tax credit. Sales 120,001 through 180,000 can claim on a quarter of the amount designated above. Exactly how you are supposed to know the sales figures is a bit murky, but Toyota will undoubtedly take steps to make it clear.

Hybrid vehicles make sense from an environmental aspect. Throw in significant savings on gas costs and a large tax credit, and they should fly off the lots.

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Toyota Reeling Again From 2010 Prius Braking Concerns

Posted by admin on Thursday Apr 21, 2011 Under Toyota News

On the heels of their Sudden Acceleration Recalls, Toyota is now under pressure for braking issues on the Prius, Toyota’s popular hybrid. According to Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary, Transportation officials will begin an inquiry after reports were received that the Japanese government has initiated an investigation in brake malfunction complaints, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

A Toyota spokesman in Japan indicated that the braking complaints received were involving situations where the drivers were on a bumpy road or frozen surface. According to one complainant on record at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “My 2010 Toyota Prius has a serious braking problem, the car lunges forward after (I) apply my brakes over a bumpy surface. This is very unexpected and luckily no one was in front of me otherwise I would have hit them. This already happened several times, took my car to the dealer and no solution, I don’t know what to do with a brand new (car) like this.” There are many complaints with similar descriptions around braking/acceleration problems when encountering even minor bumps and potholes with the 2010 Prius.

Brakes in the Prius and other hybrids operate differently from those in standard cars. Hybrids use an engagement system between their braking system and electric motors to generate electricity for recharging the batteries along with standard brakes. The braking problems could lie within this engagement system.

This latest issue with the Prius is on top of Toyota’s recall of 3.8 million cars in November 2009 to fix accelerator pedals and software to address what has been reported as sudden acceleration problems. Toyota dealers were making modifications to the gas pedals by removing inches from the bottom so the gas pedals would not get trapped under the floor mats. Toyota then followed up that recall with another recall for sudden acceleration on January 21, 2010. On that day Toyota Motor Sales announced a recall of 2.3 million vehicles which included:

* 2005-2010 Avalon
* 2007-2010 Camry
* 2009-2010 Corolla
* 2010 Highlander
* 2009-2010 Matrix
* 2009-2010 RAV4
* 2008-2010 Sequoia
* 2007-2010 Tundra

According to a USA article titled “100 Toyota drivers filed complaints before recall”, “she would become one of more than 100 drivers, according to a USA TODAY search of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration complaints database, who over the past few years have had their Toyota vehicles take off when they weren’t expected to.”

Apparently Toyota was not as aggressive at dealing with the issue as they have let on. According to LaHood, “The recalls involving pedal entrapment and possible sticky gas pedals on Toyota vehicles are some of the largest in automobile history. Every step of the way, NHTSA… officials pushed Toyota to take corrective action so that consumers would be safe.”…”Today, Toyota is apparently taking the right steps to address these safety issues. Unfortunately it took much effort to get to this point.”

During a Congressional hearing on Weds, February 3rd, the Transportation Secretary said that owners of recalled Toyotas should stop driving them until they are repaired. He was quoted as saying, “… stop driving it, take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.”

Toyota has stated that they have a solution to deploy for the accelerator issue, but there hasn’t been any official Toyota release regarding the 2010 Prius braking problem. Toyota’s U.S. sales have plunged 16% in January as an apparent reaction to the sudden acceleration recall, even as sales of other automakers rose. What the affect of this Prius issue will be, no one knows. It is apparent that Toyota’s image has suffered severe damage and we’ll have to wait and see how long it will take for it to recover.

To read an in-depth article on this situation from a 3rd party go to Consumer Reports article on the Toyota recall.

Albert Hunter

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Toyota Prius Battery Problems

The Toyota Prius battery is an excellent powering device. It has numerous advantages over the other leading products for supply of power. However, there are certain problems which are noticeable and quite prominent in many cases. Some of the familiar and mass experienced Toyota Prius battery problems are:

- The battery from Toyota has to be charged once every two weeks to maintain performance and to prevent discharge, in the event the vehicle is idle for a longer period than two weeks.

- The car some times, as reported by some owners, goes dead. The car battery simply breaks down without a reason.

- Service is not up to the mark and the service guys are not always ready to help.

- Batteries are powerful yet very surprising as no one knows when it is going to become discharged and it will die without warning.

These are the some very common Toyota Prius battery problems faced by the Toyota users.

Any problems faced by users within the warranty period are taken care of by Toyota themselves but after that it can be very costly to pay for the battery replacements and services.

There are options to fix your battery in the event you are not under warranty. Most of them will cost you anywhere from $1500 for a used battery and around $3800 for a new one. The best option which will save you a lot money is the guide to re building your battery.

This is the best solution for your Toyota Prius battery problems. The problematic batteries can be either disposed off and a new battery can be built or the old battery can be used and rebuilt to a fresh one. The best fact about the guide for Toyota battery problems is that it offers one of the best methods for recycling your old car battery instead of buying a new and costly one.

Why would you pay high for a new battery for your old car? When there are scopes for making use of the old battery in the best possible way and there is no need to spend a lump sum on the Toyota Prius hybrid batteries.

Keep in mind you do not have to rebuild these batteries yourself if you do not have the time or don’t like this type of work. There are many local mechanics which will rebuild the battery for you when you provide the guide for them. This option will cost a little more than building the battery yourself however it usually will only cost you about $500 dollars to get your Prius back on the road.

You can carry out the research work as I did however I would like to offer solutions for the Toyota Prius battery problems you may be having, as I am getting good results from my own rebuilt battery. I was able to rebuild it myself for only a few hundred dollars.

Stephen R Williams

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Toyota Prius Battery Life

Posted by admin on Thursday Mar 10, 2011 Under Toyota News

What is the average span of the Toyota Prius battery life?

There hasn’t been a for sure answer found on the estimated life of the Toyota Prius hybrid battery. There are people who are not getting longevity with their Toyota Prius battery life. Before this started to happen it was found they can run for over 200,000 miles and for about nine years.

The Toyota Prius battery life does last longer compared to the others because of the fact that they get only 60% charged. This also offers scope for regenerative braking. Normally the system usually offers the battery to vary its charge level by a maximum of 10- 15%. Therefore the battery is never allowed to get fully charged.

In the US the entire hybrid system has a warranty of 8 years for 100,000 miles and it does include the Toyota Prius battery life. When you live in California, you can get a longer lasting warranty for your Prius battery. They offer a warranty of 10 years or 150,000 miles.

According to Toyota they have not made a single replacement of their battery till date.

Toyota’s nickel metal hybrid batteries are expected to last for 150,000 miles while other brands are estimated to last for only 36,000 miles or three years. This estimation of the Toyota Prius battery life has been based on the laboratory bench testing.

Statements regarding the Toyota Prius battery life by Toyota say the life of their Prius batteries is not determined by the time. Rather they are calculated depending upon the mileage. It has proved to be worthy of 180,000 miles quite easily. But they also state that some Prius batteries sold, already are running for more than 200,000 miles without having any problems.

The expectancy of the Toyota Prius battery life is about eight years and you can expect them to last for nine years without any wear or tear. After eight years it might need some replacements. Those who face problems regarding their battery are suggested to try out all the options which are easily available to them. We have found 3 main options you can consider,

* You can buy a brand new battery from a dealer. This will set you back between $3000 and $4000 for something Toyota should have never let happen.
* You can check out eBay there are some people are selling Toyota Prius batteries for half the cost of the Toyota dealers. They are usually ranging from $1500 to $2500. This can be risky because you will not know how much were and tear or how many miles the battery will have on it.
* The best option I have found was on the internet. You can find a guide on the internet which will show you how to rebuild your own Prius battery using just regular old tools you would have in your garage. Some people feel this is a not a task they can handle. They can still save money using this option. There are shops other than Toyota dealers which will actually use the Prius Guide you provide for them and will rebuild the battery for you. This option is a lot cheaper than any of the above options because in most cases you can have your battery rebuilt and your Prius back on the road for about $500 dollars.

For more information on the Prius battery guide you will find it at the link I have posted below. Check out the guide it may be what you are looking for and you will keep a lot of money in your pocket and not Toyota’s.

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IRS Announces Tax Credits For Toyota Prius

Posted by admin on Monday Jul 26, 2010 Under Toyota News

The Toyota Prius is the vehicle that started the entire hybrid vehicle craze. It continues to dominate the market and the IRS has announced the tax credits for this year.

IRS Announces Tax Credits For Toyota Prius

In an effort to promote energy efficiency, the federal government has instituted an energy program that provides financial rewards for energy efficient products. The government realizes prodding us with words is not going to work. As such, it has decided to issue tax credits to motivate us to conform our activities to the desired goal. In this case, reducing our oil dependency is the key.

The Toyota Prius was the first mass production hybrid vehicle. It was such a hit that Toyota could not come close to filling orders the first few years. This is still the case to some extent, a reflection of our rising environmental consciousness and high gas prices. The tax credit you get with a purchase provides another reason to buy this peppy little vehicle.

The IRS issues tax credit amounts for hybrid cars that meet its standards. Various manufactures have been approved including Ford, Lexus, Honda, Mercury and, of course, Toyota. In this case, the tax credit is £3,150. You must purchase the car new from a dealer to qualify for the credit and the sooner, the better. The tax credit is graduated, which means it gets reduced as more cars are sold through the year. The full credit is only available through the quarter of the fiscal calendar of the year after which Toyota sells the 60,000 car. If you buy in the following two fiscal quarters, you can only claim half of the tax credit. The subsequent two quarters see a reduction to 25 percent of the tax credit. After that, you cannot claim any of the credit.

It is important to understand the difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction. A tax deduction is taken from your adjusted gross income, which helps a bit. A tax credit is a pound for pound reduction of the amount of tax you owe. In this case, the tax credit could be used to reduce a 10,000 tax bill by £3,150 to £6,850. That is a huge savings any way you cut it.

Obviously, hybrid vehicles are hot sellers and make sense on a lot of fronts given outrageous gas prices. The tax credits that come with each purchase certainly adds to their popularity.

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