Autoexpress here in the UK have just stripped down their long-term test Prius after 60,000 hard miles. Inside the engine and transmission, everything was barely different from new and the motor was indistinguishable from new. They did note some changes from brand new to 60,000 miles later however. 0-60 time was 1 second quicker and fuel economy was up by 4 mpg after 60k miles. Their only concern was that the latch for the tailgate was rusting but is hard to spot from the outside as it is hidden behind the bumper.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clett @ Jan 5 2007, 05:04 AM) [snapback]371168[/snapback]</div> That's good to hear. Except for the hatch part, but that seems pretty minor compared to what's under the hood/bonnet.
geez why strip down a Prius with only 60,000 miles they should have purchased the Vancouver Yellow Cab with 500,000km's =300,000 miles and had a look at that. 60K is just getting broken-in. The cab with 500K hasn't had any hybrid problems at all. Just normal wear and tear items.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clett @ Jan 5 2007, 05:04 AM) [snapback]371168[/snapback]</div> Rusting? Oh great, lot's of road salt here in winter ...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Jan 7 2007, 04:59 PM) [snapback]372254[/snapback]</div> It's not that big of a problem. The thing is, the latch is.. well latched every time we close the hatch. Eventually, the black paint will be gone, exposing the metal.
I quickly went to the parking garage and checked over the latch assembly. No evidence whatsoever of rust. So I'm not going to worry about it.
