What's the news?
Toyota, which is currently the world's biggest seller of hybrids, (sales are currently ticking up to just over eight-million, worldwide) has a brand-new Prius just around the corner. To help make sure that all those existing Prius (Prises?) and Auris and Yaris hybrids stay in tip-top condition, Toyota has just launched a new Hybrid Service Programme.
There are two parts to this - a 'Hybrid Health Check' and a 'Hybrid Battery Extended Care.' Hybrid Health Check is a five-step annual service undertaken by specialist Toyota hybrid technicians using unique tools and computer diagnostics to test the complete hybrid system. At the end of the process, Toyota's Hybrid Service Advisor presents the customer with a detailed report. Toyota says that it's the ideal way to make sure your Hybrid system is operating as it should, hopefully alerting you to any issues and helping, it claims, to maintain optimum performance.
The Hybrid Battery Extended Care stems out of that Health Check - as standard, all Toyota hybrids come with a five-year, 100,000km warranty for the hybrid drivetrain components. Get your annual Hybrid Health Check though, and that warranty is automatically extended for another year, and 15,000km. Toyota says that the warranty can be extended out to ten years using this process.
A Toyota Hybrid Health Check is now included with any Hybrid Service, which is priced at €160. If a Toyota Hybrid is not due a service, a Hybrid Health Check can be completed by a Toyota Dealer/Authorised Repairer for €50 (all prices include VAT).
Paul Murray, After Sales Director of Toyota Ireland said: "The quality of after sales service is a major contributing factor to customer retention and brand loyalty and that's why at Toyota our pioneering hybrid cars are matched by equally advanced servicing. The Toyota Hybrid Service programme provides the peace of mind that your car is being maintaining to the highest standards and that its long term value is being preserved."