Man Fixes 2010 Camry Hybrid Battery Pack Himself for $10; Toyota Wanted $4,456!
#31
That is true, if dealerships were electrical repair shops, but they're not. And suppose they do see corrosion on the terminals, then what? They can't replace them because Toyota does not sell individual contacts (can't even find a P/N on them). Sure they can clean them, but what for? That's not their business. The owner of the Camry could have taken his car to a dedicated battery shop for a 2nd opinion.
#33
From the pics he posted, I'd guess his actual time spent working on this was in the 4-5 hour range at most.
If that guess is correct, and to use your theory of all time having equivalent value, this guy just paid himself $1,114/hr to do the repair, vs. having the dealer do it.
If that guess is correct, and to use your theory of all time having equivalent value, this guy just paid himself $1,114/hr to do the repair, vs. having the dealer do it.
When you buy a new battery you do get a New battery plus your old one will still have resale value that you can get back.
#34
#35
Lexus Fanatic
Because it's more profitable for them to replace parts than to spend time taking things apart. If someone comes in with a fried ECU, the dealer isn't going to take it apart, find the blown resistors/caps, run to RadioShack for $5 in parts, replace it for you, and charge $30. They're going to replace the whole darn thing regardless of how simple the fix really is. Plus, they're not trained to do something like that so I wouldn't want them hacking up my parts.
And don't tell me this doesn't happen I have numerous documented examples.
#36
This goes both ways. For warranty work, it is awesome. For after-warranty, you have a choice to go to specialized hybrid shop for these kinds of repairs.
Same goes when your AT, turbo, fuel pump, starter, alternator and many other parts go... in many cases dealers will only replace parts while there is huge industry around repairing them outside the dealer network. And of course, during the warranty, you will also want everything replaced with new product.
#37
Lexus Fanatic
Because it's more profitable for them to replace parts than to spend time taking things apart. If someone comes in with a fried ECU, the dealer isn't going to take it apart, find the blown resistors/caps, run to RadioShack for $5 in parts, replace it for you, and charge $30. They're going to replace the whole darn thing regardless of how simple the fix really is. Plus, they're not trained to do something like that so I wouldn't want them hacking up my parts.
#38
Lexus Fanatic
There is a core charge for the old battery, meaning Toyota takes it and the battery is recycled.
#39
Super Moderator
I'd put his work time on it between 20-50 hrs, just taking out the battery from under the car alone I would guess will take half a day then to take the battery out of it's protective casing and going throu each individual copper connectors is not something that can be easily done in a day or two. We also have to figure in trial and error time as he probably the first time working on a hybrid car battery, that alone will probably be the most time consuming work out of it all.
From there, there's a couple of covers to remove (looks like 6 bolts for the main cover), and two buss bars to take off (56 bolts total). That process should take no longer than 10 minutes. One of the articles mentioned that he spent two hours doing exhaustive tests of the pack as a whole and the individual cells, and about an hour cleaning the terminals (not including the 30+ hours of soak time, of course). How exactly are you getting to 20-50 hours?
#40
Like I mentioned in my previous post it's a guest-estimate time as I have no knowledge in hybrid batteries I am also assuming the guy in the OP has not either. Just because you watched a 24 minute how to video doesn't mean you can do it in 24 minutes, the guy in the video is probably a master tech or something. The video is edited right? So that means it takes a lot longer than what it would suggest.
#41
That is true, if dealerships were electrical repair shops, but they're not. And suppose they do see corrosion on the terminals, then what? They can't replace them because Toyota does not sell individual contacts (can't even find a P/N on them). Sure they can clean them, but what for? That's not their business. The owner of the Camry could have taken his car to a dedicated battery shop for a 2nd opinion.
#42
Super Moderator
Like I mentioned in my previous post it's a guest-estimate time as I have no knowledge in hybrid batteries I am also assuming the guy in the OP has not either. Just because you watched a 24 minute how to video doesn't mean you can do it in 24 minutes, the guy in the video is probably a master tech or something. The video is edited right? So that means it takes a lot longer than what it would suggest.
I'm not saying I could get it out in 14 minutes, but I also don't think it'd take me a half day to pull back the carpet, remove 3 cables and 4 bolts and yank the thing out. I think I'd probably fall in the 30-40 minute range.
#43
Lexus Fanatic
brilliant. I am sure he will be a BIG DEAL on the Camry forums for figuring this out. Reminds me of a member in the LS forum that fixed the LS wind noise issue on his own for pennies.
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