Whatever country you live in, we all see really old Toyotas still being used. They might be rusty, their engines don't run like new anymore and their interiors are scruffy, but they're still running. What will a really old Prius be like? I'm thinking 12 to 20 years old. Will it fail as gracefully as the old Toyotas? Will the dash suddenly light up like a Christmas tree because some computer has decided that some sensor reading is too far off? Will it still run? What will it look like? What are the experiences of G1 owners so far?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lowlander @ Apr 22 2007, 02:10 PM) [snapback]427926[/snapback]</div> good point but note that most of those old Toyotas we see are probably base models. They have no A/C or power windows. Some do but most don't. I guess it'll run like an old computer (with original programs of course since newer programs will just suck up all the memory and slow it down). I expect the engine to last forever since it isn't used as often. The suspension should hold up fine though the shocks may or may not need replacing. I don't know if the engine noise will get coarser as the engine wears.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lowlander @ Apr 22 2007, 04:10 PM) [snapback]427926[/snapback]</div> The model is already 10 years old. The oldest cars will be from Japan.
Certainly some of their batteries will poop out. Not mine I hope, because approaching 105k miles the max and min battery-block voltages remain really close. Some exhaust systems probably also, because Prius likes to keep the numbers tight. do not know if the O2 sensors can be done alone as a partial. Hoping that transmission fluid changes will make that a 'forever' thing also. Maybe that's just me... Engine oil analyses imply that it could very well be immortal. The timing chain certainly ought to be. Patrick Wong (over at Yahoo) is about to take a peak at his valve 'buckets'; other than that I have heard little about their wear potential. So far, Prius are 'crashing out' of the fleet faster than they are wearing out, so we all just have to drive carefully I guess. Suspect they will be on the road until increased fuel costs force us into something else.
