Does anyone own a Toyota Prius ?? If so, please read on. Thanks?

therighttouchcleaning

I am considering buying a Toyota Prius and have a few questions. Can anyone help.















1. How often do you have to change the hybrid battery, on average?















2. Is the Prius similar to the non-hybrid vehicles which will last for 300,00+ miles if taken good care of?















3. Is the hybrid much more expensive to maintain?































Thanks for the help!















-Does anyone know if the 2002 Prius gets better/worse/same gas mileage on average that the new ones get?

stlouiscurt

1. The hybrid battery is designed to last the life of the car. That doesn't means that you won't have to replace it but there is no replacement interval.































2. The Prius hasn't been out long enough to say for sure about 300,000 but so far the reliability has been rated as above average.































3. The maintenance on cost is about the same.

Chad F

The Battery will last you a very long time, I have worked on manu with over 150,000 miles.















There is a article I read somewhere about a New York Taxie cab company that is usung them and has over 300,000 miles and running strong.















Maint is normal, OIl changesd and tires, but rember they almost never use teh normal brakes and they will last close to 150,000 before needing replacing.

ray a

the batterry warranty is now like 150k miles....they are about the same to maintain. you just trade stuff..like it rarely uses brakes, so they last 200k miles if you dont abuse it. but they use tires faster than something like a corolla does since there is more weight on a similar size tire.















a prius isnt expensive...22-27???ish depending. if you are only using 2/3 the gas.....at $4 a gallon, how long before it pays for itself?

professorprius

Hi,































I'll answer each of your questions and I'll give you my full detail answer for #3 so you know exactly what you're looking at. Stay with me for the full answer.































1. In the nine, almost ten, years the Prius has been in the US, there has never been an owner who has paid to replace the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery.































There have been NiMH replaced due to accidents or owner abuse or modification, but none otherwise.































Anything else is a myth or rumor. Common sense says if these things were failing it would be all over the news.































The NiMH is a different battery from the 12 volt lead acid battery that almost every vehicle on the road will use. The 12 volt will need to be replaced eventually, just like every other one used in a standard vehicle.































2. The current record I know of is over 360,000 miles in a gen 2 Prius (current body style) with the original NiMH and hybrid system (including the gas engine).































And it is easy to find many Prius online with 100-200,000+ miles on them with no issues.































Toyota has sold over one million hybrids so far, with the vast majority of those being Prius, so there would be plenty to hear about if there were problems.































3. Actually, a full hybrid like the Prius is less costly to maintain because there is less to maintain than in a standard vehicle.































The cost to operate a Prius for each 100,000 miles:































- There is no steering belt or steering pump, the system is electronic and uses electric motors. There is no belt to wear and no pump to lose fluid out of. No additional parts to replace or maintain.































- There is no timing belt, there is a timing chain that is self-adjusting. No part to replace.































- There is no accelerator cable or cable linkage, once again, it is electronic. So there is no loss of acceleration over time from cable stretch and wear like on a standard vehicle. No additional parts to replace or maintain.































- The brake pads should never need to be replaced, they are hardly used due to the regenerative braking system. No parts to replace or maintain.































- As I said, you never touch the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery or the hybrid system, it is self-regulating. No parts to replace or maintain.































- The gas engine is not tuned up for 100,000 miles. At even 15,000 miles per year, that's about seven years. And then...































- four spark plugs run $12.00 each, four is $48.00 (the wires aren't replaced and there are no distributors because each cylinder has a direct injection module and they are not replaced)































- coolant is $15.50 a gallon and you need two gallons, or $31.00 (if you live in an extremely hot or cold climate, you might need to change the coolant 2X in 100,000 miles so figure $62.00 there)































- air filters are $18.00 for the engine and $25.00 for the cabin and are replaced every 15,000 miles. So over 100,000 miles, we'll go high and say 7 sets of air filters at $301.00.































- at 100,000 miles, inspect the wiring, change the oil (might as well, since you're there) lube, inspect and flush the brake lines, flush the coolant if necessary. It runs about $225.00, which includes parts.































- the sealed, continuously variable transmission fluid is not changed until 90,000 miles, about $140.00































- The OEM (Original Equipment from the Manufacturer) Goodyear Integrity's are about $113.00 each, installed. The originals are low-rolling resistance, specialty tires, just like a truck or sports car. They will last about 35,000 or so. Three sets of 4 OEM tires- over 105,000 miles- will run $1356.00 installed (3 sets of 4 at $113.00 each = $1356.00).































- Oil and filter changes every 3000 miles and tire rotations every 6000 miles, just like any other vehicle. Oil changes are about $26.00 and tire rotations are about $18.00, or about $884.00 for oil changes and $306.00 for rotations over 100,000 miles































So, over 100,000 miles, for regular service, a Prius should run about $3322.00, rounded to $3400.00, or about .034 cents per mile.































All of my service and parts amounts come from a local Toyota dealership (not the corner cheapy lube), and do not figure in any kind of promotions, coupons, or discounts. I called on 4/11/08.































With gas at $3.75 a gallon, a Prius will run about $7,500 over 100,000 miles, or about .07 cents per mile (100,000 miles / 50 mpg (I get 51.7 mpg currently as an average, city and highway, auto temp w/air and stereo on) = 2000 gallons of gas X $3.75 a gallon = $7,500).































So a Prius will run about $11000 ($3400 + $7500), or .11 cents per mile, to operate for each 100,000 miles.































If that doesn't cover it, let me know any specifics.