r/Toyota•
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Any way to get labor reimbursed? Prius 2006 with brand new OEM hybrid battery that is bad (p

About two weeks ago I purchased a new hybrid battery for my 2006 Toyota Prius at a Toyota dealer parts center ($2050) and had it installed at a different (also Toyota certified) repair shop. After driving about 30 miles I got a red triangle and had a roadside diagnostic since the car went into limp mode. Code was P3023 (bad block 13). Today I brought it back to the dealership I got the battery from and they confirmed it was a bad battery and would need to be replaced, which is covered by warranty.

However I am being told labor is not covered and it is $990 for the replacement process. Called Toyota and had a rather unproductive call where they told me "that is Totoya's stance" with me paying labor, but this is really stressful and needlessly expensive. I get that bad luck happens, but it's insane to me that I have to pay an extra $1000 even though I did everything through official Toyota channels. I am starting to sincerely regret not just getting one of those reconditioned batteries with roadside installation for like $1500 all-in honestly....

Anyone have experience with this kind of thing or know if there is any hope of getting Toyota to cover labor? I'm obviously broke as I'm driving a 20 year old hand-me-down Prius that I'm now out almost $4000 for battery work on...

Thank you

Posted Aug 12, 2026, 8:27 PM UTC

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