Hybrid repair garages

[dandreye]

Hi All,

Are there any decent hybrid repair garages (or at least those to be avoided) in the London Heathrow airport area and along the route from there to Brighton (M25/M23) and to Christchurch (M3/M27)? Are those recommended by the AA any good? Fortunately no need in any of them right now, my spouse is just renewing her 2011 CT200h breakdown insurance and I suggested doing some research first in case she opts out of the nationwide recovery (i.e. no restrictions on the towing distance). Any personal experiences with your CT200h or perhaps any other hybrid make/model getting taken to a breakdown insurer recommended garage and getting repaired there would be great.

Many thanks in anticipation!

[Spacewagon52]

13 minutes ago, dandreye said:

Hi All,

Are there any decent hybrid repair garages (or at least those to be avoided) in the London Heathrow airport area and along the route from there to Brighton (M25/M23) and to Christchurch (M3/M27)? Are those recommended by the AA any good? Fortunately no need in any of them right now, my spouse is just renewing her 2011 CT200h breakdown insurance and I suggested doing some research first in case she opts out of the nationwide recovery (i.e. no restrictions on the towing distance). Any personal experiences with your CT200h or perhaps any other hybrid make/model getting taken to a breakdown insurer recommended garage and getting repaired there would be great.

Many thanks in anticipation!

There is no need to use a specific garage for maintenance, provided there is nothing wrong with the traction Battery. However, you will need to take it to a Lexus garage if you want to keep the warranty valid for the hybrid Battery - but that can be done separately from a mechanical service. Around £70 I believe.

[dandreye]

Spacewagon52:

Thanks for your reply. Afaik that hybrid Battery warranty can't be renewed like that forever and ours is just out of the timeframe allowed (I think it was ~10yrs). Maintenance is another story though - and what about any other breakdown cases, if any? I do realize these cars rarely break down but it's still a car after all, so can't imagine not a single one break down for a reason other than its hybrid Battery death.. Of course I'd love to be wrong on that. 

[ColinBarber]

7 minutes ago, dandreye said:

Afaik that hybrid battery warranty can't be renewed like that forever and ours is just out of the timeframe allowed (I think it was ~10yrs)

It is 15 years now.

[dandreye]

8 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

It is 15 years now.

That helps: thank you! Will get it done then.

[dandreye]

ColinBarber:

Twickenham Lexus (Services) say to get that 15yrs extended warranty I'd have to bring the car for the whole (i.e. full and not just hybrid) and so doing the hybrid service alone won't help here. I believe that's the case across the country then... or not?

Update: nothing whatsoever is said about the need in a full service even here:

https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/hybrid-health-check/#health-check

[ColinBarber]

I replied to the statement about the hybrid Battery warranty being 10 years - that was increased a couple of years ago to 15 years provided you get the HHC.

For a warranty beyond 10 years you need an independent one as Lexus only cover up to 10 years. An independent warranty is likely to exclude the hybrid Battery, or limit the payout to less than the cost of a new Battery, so it would be worth getting the HHC done even if you do get a warranty. As with all warranties, read the T&Cs.

 

[stormchaser]

As said you can get the hybrid health check (cost £59 at Lexus) which will give you extended warranty on that although i highly doubt you,ll ever need it as they don,t go wrong.

The only other "minor" failure would be the 12v Aux Battery in the boot if yours hasn,t been replaced or is the original Battery? They only fail due to age and not a general problem on the CT.Mine is a 2011 also and it failed at 8 years old.

Nothing really goes wrong with these if they are serviced when they should be using the correct parts/oil.

[dandreye]

12 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

I replied to the statement about the hybrid battery warranty being 10 years - that was increased a couple of years ago to 15 years provided you get the HHC.

Yes that's the one I'm referring to as well: when I tried booking the car in for the HHC alone they said it won't help get the hybrid Battery warranty above 10yrs, hence wondering if that's the case nationwide or perhaps their servicemen just have no idea what they're talking about. 

12 hours ago, stormchaser said:

The only other "minor" failure would be the 12v Aux battery in the boot if yours hasn,t been replaced or is the original battery? They only fail due to age and not a general problem on the CT.Mine is a 2011 also and it failed at 8 years old.

That one we had to swap earlier this year when the car won't start during the cold weather. I retained the old one and it looks like it's still OKish based on the discharge rate measured daily, so I'll keep it as a spare one for some time before it dies. Those Yuasa batteries are great: never seen a Battery last that long before.

 

[sheamus]

In Ireland, Lexus Galway won't do a HHC on its own and require you to book a service to get it done.

[bukem909]

If Twickenham Lexus is inconvenient for you, try Hayes Lexus / Hayes Toyota. It's very close the M4 Heathrow junction.

I've not seen or heard of this concept before but they are an official Toyota/Lexus service workshop but without the car sales. They have an official page on the Lexus website https://www.lexus.co.uk/centres/hayes/

I've just used them yesterday to service my IS300h and was pleased with their service.

[serbarry]

1 hour ago, sheamus said:

In Ireland, Lexus Galway won't do a HHC on its own and require you to book a service to get it done.

The same does Lexus in Cork.

[dandreye]

1 hour ago, sheamus said:

In Ireland, Lexus Galway won't do a HHC on its own and require you to book a service to get it done.

 

14 minutes ago, serbarry said:

The same does Lexus in Cork.

I now feel perhaps Twickenham Lexus tried playing the same game. I'm just back from their office and eventually after some initial misunderstanding they did admit that the HHC for £59 does the needed (and will carry on doing so for another 4-5yrs until the Battery is >15yrs old). Or perhaps I just wasn't persistent enough on the phone yesterday as they somehow seem to have full warranty and service burnt in their mind 🙂

Thanks @bukem909 for mentioning their Hayes workshop: will keep it in mind for the future.

[bukem909]

9 hours ago, dandreye said:

 

I now feel perhaps Twickenham Lexus tried playing the same game. I'm just back from their office and eventually after some initial misunderstanding they did admit that the HHC for £59 does the needed (and will carry on doing so for another 4-5yrs until the battery is >15yrs old). Or perhaps I just wasn't persistent enough on the phone yesterday as they somehow seem to have full warranty and service burnt in their mind 🙂

Thanks @bukem909 for mentioning their Hayes workshop: will keep it in mind for the future.

No worries @dandreye.

I've known for a few years that Hayes dealt with Toyotas but it's only a few months ago, I saw their "Hayes Lexus" billboard advert on the main roundabout.

I'm sure Twickenham Lexus will perform the HHC. Just make sure they give you a print out of the report (I can't remember if they provided the report when I had a full service a few years ago).

From what I remember, they will try upselling so stick to your guns and stay on the path! 😀

[dandreye]

1 minute ago, bukem909 said:

I'm sure Twickenham Lexus will perform the HHC. Just make sure they give you a print out of the report (I can't remember if they provided the report when I had a full service a few years ago).

From what I remember, they will try upselling so stick to your guns and stay on the path! 😀

Indeed 😀 Btw one of those HHC reports dated March 2020 was enclosed with the car docs when we bought it last August, so I'll be expecting a similar one this time.

[dandreye]

Update: just passed my HHC at Twickenham Lexus, paid £59 incl VAT. Apparently there's no way to lose hybrid Battery warranty completely within the 15-year timeframe: it's just put on hold until another HHC is done. That's handy as ours was due back in March.