NHTSA Complaint #10193390 — 2004 TOYOTA PRIUS

AUXILIARY BATTERY ON TOYOTA PRIUS 2001 AND TOYOTA PRIUS 2004 FAIL IF THE CAR IS NOT DRIVEN AT LEAST EVERY 7-10 DAYS. THIS PREVENTS THE CAR FROM STARTING. WE PURCHASED A 2001 PRIUS USED IN MARCH 2004, AND A NEW 2004 PRIUS IN JUNE 2004. THE AUXILIARY BATTERY FAILED ON THE 2001 PRIUS TWICE, AND WE REPLACED IT ONCE. RECENTLY THE DEALER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME THE BATTERY HELD A CHARGE UNLESS DRIVEN EVERY 7-10 DAYS, AND SHOULD BE DISCONNECTED"IF PARKED FOR PROLONGED TIME." THIS WAS POTENTIAL SAFETY PROBLEM FOR CAR NOT STARTING, SUCH AS IF RETURNING ON PLANE AFTER 2-3 WEEK VACATION AND NOT BEING ABLE TO START THE CAR, RISK FOR VULNERABILITY AWAITING JUMP START. TOYOTA'S ONLY RESPONSE WAS WELL, IT WAS A HYBRID. THEY CLAIMED THE HUNDREDS OF COMPUTERS IN THE CAR DRAINED THE BATTERY WHEN PARKED. THEY COULD HAVE DESIGNED IN SOME AUTOMATIC OR SIMPLE SWITCH TO ADDRESS THIS. ALSO, THEY COULD NOTIFY THE POTENTIAL CUSTOMER OF THIS DESIGN FLAW. THEY DID NOT INFORM US, OR ANY OF THE OTHER PRIUS OWNERS. WE HAVE RECENTLY DISCUSSED THE ISSUE WITH. THE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR 2001 MODEL MADE NO MENTION OF IT. IN THE 2004 MANUAL THERE WAS A BRIEF MENTION OF NEED TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY IF PARKED FOR"PROLONGED TIME, BUT DID NOT DEFINE THAT. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH OTHER FEATURES OF THE PRIUS AND OTHER TOYOTAS WE OWNED IN THE PAST WE CONSIDERED THIS TO BE A SERIOUS AND RISKY DESIGN FLAW. FURTHERMORE, WE CONSIDERED TOYOTA'S SALES PEOPLE AND SALES BROCHURES FAILURE TO NOTIFY US OF THIS PROBLEM TO BE A SIGNIFICANT BREACH OF GOODWILL AND RESPECT FOR CUSTOMER SAFETY AND SATISFACTION. *AK