What maintenance is required on a hybrid vehicle?

Question

I am considering buying a Toyota Prius but am concerned about hidden costs & inconveniences. What is required to keep them running on a daily basis and is the maintence schedule more rigorous than it would be for a regular vehicle?

Answer 1

they are just like other cars

Answer 2

The Toyota Prius is still a gasoline car.  So, you still have to visit the gasoline station to refuel.  You still have to remember to replace your windshield wiper fluid.

If you are buying a 2004-current model year Prius in the US, the scheduled maintenance is pretty much the same as any other Toyota.  Basically, it's an oil/filter change and tire rotation every 5000 miles or 6 months.  Every so often you'll need to change the engine air filter, and the cabin air filter.  You can go to any mechanic that you like - your Toyota dealer, your other car make dealer, an independent mechanic, or even DIY if you are so inclined.  You can view the scheduled maintenance guide here:  http://smg.toyotapartsandservice.com/

If you are a normal or high mileage driver, you'll find that the brakes last a long time (since the regenerative braking takes a lot of wear off of the brake pads.  If you are a low mileage driver like I am (2001 with about 52000 miles), you'll be looking at an early brake job caused by rust buildup from non-use scoring the brake pads/rotors.

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), so no, you do not have to factor in the price of a new hybrid battery pack.

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...

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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.

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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).

The biggest inconvenience is that you'll have people coming up to you either genuinely asking you about your car, or telling you untruths/rumors that they have heard about the car and that you were stupid to buy it.

Answer 3

Standard maintenance until you have to replace the battery pack. That'll cost you over $4,000.00.

So --- how much gas could you buy for four grand?