Can any Prius owners out there tell me about the car?

Question

How good is the gas mileage really? What about the battery? I'm thinking of buying one and just wanted to hear from a few who own one already. Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/...

Consumer Reports puts the Toyota Prius in their Best Bets list for used cars based on reliability.

The Toyota Prius is also listed as a best bet for a new car as well, based on road tests, reliability, and safety:  http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/...

Check out the Consumer Reports April issue if you want further reliability information.

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestbet/a...

The Toyota Prius is also on Edmunds' best bets list for used cars, for reliability, safety, and availability.

The Toyota Prius also makes Edmunds' Lowest True Cost to Own vehicle list: http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/tco/2008/...

The Toyota Prius also makes Edmunds' list of vehicles with the lowest depreciation ratings:  http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/alg/index...

The Toyota Prius is also the most fuel efficient vehicle available in the US today, for both city AND highway driving, at 48mpg city/45mpg highway/46mpg combined:  http://www.fueleconomy.gov/f*g/bymodel/2...

Actual owners report on average mid-upper 40s for MPG:  https://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?a... and http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/milea...

all that for a midsized vehicle!  your actual MPG may vary, depending on how and where you drive.

There are two batteries in the Toyota Prius.  Which one are you asking about?

On Toyota Prius sold in the US, the entire hybrid system (including the hybrid battery pack) is warrantied for 8 years/100,000 miles. In California-emission states, the hybrid battery pack is further warrantied under the CA emissions warranty for 10 years/150,000 miles. That's a full warranty (so no parts/labor charges to you), NOT pro-rated. And yes, the warranties transfer to later owners.

Hybrid battery replacements are extremely rare (in or out of warranty). If you plan on buying the entire pack from a dealer, new it would be about $3000, but then again you could just replace the individual bad cell, or you could get an entire used battery pack from a wrecked vehicle for much cheaper (less than US$1000 on eBay, for example).

To quote Toyota's press release:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_librar...

http://pressroom.toyota.com/Releases/Vie...

<quote>

How long does the Prius battery last and what is the replacement cost?

The Prius battery (and the battery-power management system) has been designed to maximize battery life. In part this is done by keeping the battery at an optimum charge level - never fully draining it and never fully recharging it. As a result, the Prius battery leads a pretty easy life. We have lab data showing the equivalent of 180,000 miles with no deterioration and expect it to last the life of the vehicle. We also expect battery technology to continue to improve: the second-generation model battery is 15% smaller, 25% lighter, and has 35% more specific power than the first. This is true of price as well. Between the 2003 and 2004 models, service battery costs came down 36% and we expect them to continue to drop so that by the time replacements may be needed it won't be a much of an issue. Since the car went on sale in 2000, Toyota has not replaced a single battery for wear and tear.

Is there a recycling plan in place for nickel-metal hydride batteries?

Toyota has a comprehensive battery recycling program in place and has been recycling nickel-metal hydride batteries since the RAV4 Electric Vehicle was introduced in 1998. Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case and the wiring, is recycled. To ensure that batteries come back to Toyota, each battery has a phone number on it to call for recycling information and dealers are paid a $200 "bounty" for each battery.

</quote>

However, the Prius' 12v accessory battery (like every other car has) is used to power the accessories (lights, fans, radio, alarm, etc.) and the computers. Unlike other cars' 12v accessory batteries, though, it is not used to start the car (so it is physically smaller and therefore easier to drain), but it does start the computers. The computers open a relay that hooks up the 200+v hybrid traction battery, and it is really the hybrid traction battery that starts the gasoline engine (using an electric motor). It is possible to drain the 12v accessory battery (leave the headlights on overnight, leave the car undriven for over 2 weeks, etc.), just like on any other car. With age (5+ years, usually) or repeated drainings/misuse, you'll probably need to replace it eventually. AGM style, small physical size, and odd posts, mean that you'll probably have to go to the dealer, $150 - $300 (depending if you need an adapter).

Is there anything more specific that you'd like to know?