- toyota is extending its hybrid battery warranty from eight years/100,000 miles to 10 years/150,000 miles.
- the new warranty will apply to toyota's entire 2020 hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell lineup.
- other components of the hybrid powertrain (including the motors) will retain the eight-year/100,000-mile warranty.
toyota announced today that it will extend the battery warranty for its hybrid and electric vehicles to 10 years or 150,000 miles (whichever comes first), an increase from the current eight years or 100,000 miles. the change will affect 2020 hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicles sold by toyota and can transfer from the original owner to subsequent owners. there are eight eligible cars in the lineup: the camry, corolla, prius, rav4, avalon, and highlander hybrids, plus the prius prime plug-in and the mirai fuel-cell vehicle. toyota says the longer warranty term is designed to help overcome the hesitation that some buyers feel toward purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle.
the eight-year/100,000-mile warranty will continue to apply to other parts of the hybrid system, including the motors and modules that control the system's power output. an eight-year warranty for hybrid components is fairly standard across the industry, but toyota is not alone in offering more coverage. hyundai offers a lifetime warranty for the ioniq's battery, although that warranty only applies to the original owner.
this isn't the first sign that carmakers trust their hybrid and electric vehicles' batteries to last for the long haul. nissan has said that they expect leaf batteries to last 10 to 12 years longer than customers will want to own the cars. tesla is reportedly developing a battery technology that can last for a million miles.