What to do with main dealer washing their hands

baser999

Cousin has a pretty new Toyota hybrid which wouldn’t start. AA, as the assigned breakdown service under the Toyota warranty, attended his home and diagnosed the problem as a dead starter battery. AA state that the warranty doesn’t allow recovery back to the dealers. Cousin called dealers who state it’s his problem, not theirs, they can’t collect the car as ‘their insurance won’t cover them’. So basically washed their hands of him.
Although the AA started the car he wasn’t able to drive it to the dealership himself as he’s presently undergoing chemo etc etc. He’s in Yorkshire, I’m in London so not even possible for me to help.
I reckon it’s pretty shabby treatment from the dealership.
Any thoughts what he can do now? Where does responsibility now lie with this?

Ayr_Rage

The 12v batteries on hybrids are pretty small and do not start the engine, they just power the electronics, but when the do go flat the card is dead.

Infrequent use means that they are prone to losing charge.

Leaving even small accessories on can exacerbate the problem.

If there are no warning lights showing then the solution is to use the vehicle more often or trickle charge the 12v battery, which depending on the model, may not be easily accessible.

baser999

Thank you, perhaps my terminology wasn’t quite right about the ‘starter battery’; this was the gist of the message I got from my cousin and not knowing anything about the workings of a hybrid myself I assumed this was what it did.
He was told by AA there was nothing could be done with that battery, it was dead, and they won’t help any further even though they’re the approved contractor and neither will the main dealer. 

My cousins undergoing various prostate cancer treatments so isn’t able to chase around as much as he’d hope, has no friends or family local enough to help.
Naturally he feels badly let down by the AA and the dealers

WellKnownSid

For future reference, you don’t need to drive the car to top up the 12v battery, just sit in it and have it turned on (ready green) for 30 minutes. The DC/DC converter will charge the 12v battery from the HV battery and the HV battery will start the engine if that needs topping up.

My son is an apprentice for a main dealer and starting / collecting customers’ cars (often who are ill or elderly) with dead batteries due to car underuse is an every day event.

MouldyOldDough

baser999 said:

Cousin has a pretty new Toyota hybrid which wouldn’t start. AA, as the assigned breakdown service under the Toyota warranty, attended his home and diagnosed the problem as a dead starter battery. AA state that the warranty doesn’t allow recovery back to the dealers. Cousin called dealers who state it’s his problem, not theirs, they can’t collect the car as ‘their insurance won’t cover them’. So basically washed their hands of him.
Although the AA started the car he wasn’t able to drive it to the dealership himself as he’s presently undergoing chemo etc etc. He’s in Yorkshire, I’m in London so not even possible for me to help.
I reckon it’s pretty shabby treatment from the dealership.
Any thoughts what he can do now? Where does responsibility now lie with this?

Every new Toyota comes with a 3 year manufacturer warranty followed by a 12 months / 10,000 miles additional warranty, with every qualifying service*. Up to 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first, letting you relax in the knowledge that you and your vehicle are in safe hands.

So - I reckon that your cousin has a fairly watertight case !

legal action may be necessary - but Toyota are responsible !

Bigwheels1111

If it was the 12v AGM battery a jump start as such would power up the car.

It would then use the hybrid battery to start the car and the inverter to recharge the vehicles 12v battery and drive the motors.

The is a pair of relays attached to the Hybrid battery, they stop the car from turning on and starting if any kind of fault is found.

If its like a Prius there is a terminal in the engine bay fuse box to connect to  for jumping or trickle charging the car.

Friend had this issue, his has 190k on the clock.

I would get in touch with Toyota directly. 0344 701 6202

https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre/complaints-and-feedback

Then Im sorry to say use the C word and hit them over the head with it.

Did the same for Peugeot 3 weeks ago, No delivery time on Adblue tank, one call and 2 days later said tank arrived.

Hope you get it sorted.

ComicGeek

MouldyOldDough said:

baser999 said:

Cousin has a pretty new Toyota hybrid which wouldn’t start. AA, as the assigned breakdown service under the Toyota warranty, attended his home and diagnosed the problem as a dead starter battery. AA state that the warranty doesn’t allow recovery back to the dealers. Cousin called dealers who state it’s his problem, not theirs, they can’t collect the car as ‘their insurance won’t cover them’. So basically washed their hands of him.
Although the AA started the car he wasn’t able to drive it to the dealership himself as he’s presently undergoing chemo etc etc. He’s in Yorkshire, I’m in London so not even possible for me to help.
I reckon it’s pretty shabby treatment from the dealership.
Any thoughts what he can do now? Where does responsibility now lie with this?

Every new Toyota comes with a 3 year manufacturer warranty followed by a 12 months / 10,000 miles additional warranty, with every qualifying service*. Up to 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first, letting you relax in the knowledge that you and your vehicle are in safe hands.

So - I reckon that your cousin has a fairly watertight case !

legal action may be necessary - but Toyota are responsible !

IF the 12V battery is dead from lack of use then surely that's not covered by warranty. 

victor2

ComicGeek said:

MouldyOldDough said:

baser999 said:

Cousin has a pretty new Toyota hybrid which wouldn’t start. AA, as the assigned breakdown service under the Toyota warranty, attended his home and diagnosed the problem as a dead starter battery. AA state that the warranty doesn’t allow recovery back to the dealers. Cousin called dealers who state it’s his problem, not theirs, they can’t collect the car as ‘their insurance won’t cover them’. So basically washed their hands of him.
Although the AA started the car he wasn’t able to drive it to the dealership himself as he’s presently undergoing chemo etc etc. He’s in Yorkshire, I’m in London so not even possible for me to help.
I reckon it’s pretty shabby treatment from the dealership.
Any thoughts what he can do now? Where does responsibility now lie with this?

Every new Toyota comes with a 3 year manufacturer warranty followed by a 12 months / 10,000 miles additional warranty, with every qualifying service*. Up to 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first, letting you relax in the knowledge that you and your vehicle are in safe hands.

So - I reckon that your cousin has a fairly watertight case !

legal action may be necessary - but Toyota are responsible !

IF the 12V battery is dead from lack of use then surely that's not covered by warranty. 

^^This^^
Had a Prius for many years. It never liked being left for much more than two weeks - after such a time it would need the 12V battery charging or "Jump" starting by connecting another 12V battery to the charging point under the bonnet, as the battery itself is in the back under the tailgate, which requires 12V power to open!
I don't think the dealer will help, and the AA will start it with another battery and their job is done. Sounds like you need someone to supply and fit a new battery, then get a battery charger/maintainer that can be left connected to the car when it's not being used for periods of time.

daveyjp

A flat battery is an owners problem, not a dealer, unless you can show it is flat due to a warranty issue.

If it starts and can be run it doesn't need a dealer, it needs a battery charger/conditioner fitting if the car isn't being driven.

LightFlare

How old is the car ?

OP just states "pretty new" which could mean anything in reality and could massively affect any possible claim under a warranty that may or may not be in place. Assuming, the fault is covered under warranty, which it seems isn't as water tight as some may think

flashg67

I think the AA are talking carp, unless we're missing part of the story. If they attend and can get the car going by charging/boosting the battery, that is their job done - the fact that the end user can't drive the car is, with respect, not their problem. If they can't start it, then recovery would/should be covered.
Battery boosters are cheap - can a friend not try charging/boosting the battery enough to start the car and drive it to the dealer for them?