Hi there. I am new to the forums, have always wanted a Prius but never been able to afford one. Anyway, long story short- have been forced to replace my current car and am considering a 2006 Prius (with 70K miles). All well and good. But a friend pipes up tonight and says 'well it might be a myth but the batteries die once they're out of warranty'. Now I know this is a facetious comment. This guy wants an electric Rav 4 when they come out. But it got me thinking that maybe someone on this forum could give me a more informed opinion on if/when batteries tend to need replacing (and the realistic replacement cost). I love the idea of the car and don't want some offhand comment to put me off! Sorry if this is the obvious stupid newbie question and I appreciate any regular user who's patient enough to even read this far- let alone reply! Thanks!
I bought a 2005 Prius used a couple of years ago. I'm up to 85K miles and I fully expect to never replace the big expensive battery in my prius. There is a smaller battery (about $200) that you will need to replace but that's cheaper than a set of tires so I doubt that would scare anyone.
Are you in a state that offers the 8yr/100k mile hybrid battery warranty or 10yr/150mi (here in CA and some others)? There are threads of people who've passed 200k miles on original battery, some 300k, talk of taxi drivers who've gone over 400k. Toyota's parts and labor price is about $3500 which is quite a bit, but it is doable to save $400/ year or more on gas costs. I've heard some can get used hybrid batteries. Browse around the 2nd gen forums and google search here.
Thanks for the replies. I am in FL- so I think it would be the 100K warranty. Which is theoretically a couple of years' use on a 70K car. I did try some searches of past threads but got a lot of threads from 5 years ago with people basically saying anything from 'it's too early to tell' to 'in theory they can run for at least as long as the life of the car- 200K+'. Thanks again for the patient replies!
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/79235-299-999-mile-club.html has a list of people that have already passed 300,000 miles (the odometer stops at 299,999) similar threads for 200,000 and 100,000. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/57091-200-000-mile-club.html http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/29373-100-000-mile-club.html http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...70-what-services-you-need-what-you-don-t.html might be worth a check. You still have to check the car to see if it's been wrecked or if something unusual has failed (why are they selling the car?). But once you weed out the junkers Prius is a low maintenance vehicle.
I have almost 100K on 2006 and no probs. If you do have to replace hybrid battery unexpectedly you can check this site for guidance. This can be done for approx. $2000-$2500 (experts chime in please).
Not buying a Prius because the traction battery might someday need replacing is like not buying any other car because the transmission might someday need replacing. It doesn't seem to stop many people.
I haven't bought a Prius (yet ) but I did a lot of research into the battery life. The people that have complained about needing to replace them seem few and far between. After a lot of reading, all of my battery fears have been assuaged. One good thing is that SO many people own a Prius (more to come) that salvage batteries should not be a rarity, and they are apparently much cheaper than a new one.
My only concern would be 70K miles seems like a lot more than it is if you didn't put the miles on there. Suppose that's a concern with any pre-owned vehicle but 70K is getting up around the area of concern. What is the asking price?
Ha! That is of course completely true. It's a somewhat irrational concern. I got the price wrong in my last post- it's at a dealer and they want $9900 and won't take any less. (Plus tax, fee etc.). Anyone think this is a fair price? I hate to pay the asking price for anything! But can't see any other Prius listings with similar mileage in the same price range... any opinions welcome!
