Is Toyota subsidizing maintenance on the Prius?

[kidtwist]

I came across a thread on another forum in which people were saying that there are numerous problems with the Prius and that they're only economcially viable to own because their under warranty. One guy said he owned a Prius and had had $18,000 dollars worth of warrantied work done on it.


Here's the "Are hybrids reliable?" thread on the other forum. Some of these messages are old but others are pretty recent.

Since most people on this forum own one I thought I'd ask here, how much warranty work have you had done on it? Are we likely to be in deep guano when they're out of warranty? I'm guessing no, because Toyota wouldn't be expanding hybrid technology into their other cars if it was costing them that much, but I worry when I see something like this. I've still go my heart set on a Prius, however.

[mikepaul]

I never went in for the free alignment during the first year, because I never noticed a need. MAYBE the outer-edge tire wear I see now could have been prevented, but it's a little late for that now.

Other than that, one recall done with the brake switch one waiting until the part comes in. Nothing other people haven't reported comes to mind, but one can't-change-volume incident here and one can't-start-car-maybe-pedal-wasn't-worked-right incident there isn't something I would go to the dealer on demanding answers. I'm a wait-until-towed-in person, normally...

[finman]

I've had the MFD (the touchscreen) replaced under warranty. That's it. Would have cost $400 exchange if not under warranty. That's per my dealer. Other maintenance issues are not even applicable to the Prius: no 'transmission' to burn out; brakes last longer due to regenerative braking (electric motor slows you); high reliability in electric motors (only one spinning/moving part). Not to mention the overal quality of a Toyota. This is proven technology (7 plus years in the making). I would buy another in a heartbeat. The 'hybrid' warranty of 8 years/100,000 miles tells me Toyota is pretty proud of the technology. I know I am! Love my
Prius.

[KTPhil]

In an era of increasing gas prices and more restrictive pollution standards, a car with the advantages of a hybrid is a key selling point. Don't forget that GM has no equivalent vehicle (and is likely to be five years away from one), and that Toyota is gunning for #1. It looks to be a key selling point for their entire line soon.

Then consider that the popular 2nd gen Prius will be running out of warrantee in about five years, too, and you can figure the LAST thing Toyota wants is to have this key technology get a bad rep just when they want to cash in on their market advantage.

I bet the 100K (150K Cali) warrantee is conservative. The 1st gen hasn't had more than a handful (if any) battery replacements needed for failures.

This situation, plus the above mentioned tranny and brake reliability, make me confident that my usual 200K-plus miles will be trouble free.

Even I hedged with the extended warrantee, though!

[hdrygas]

On thing to remember when looking at boards like this is that people with problems post and though you see a lot of "I LOVE THIS CAR" it does not reflect the total numbers of people with out problems. CR says that the Prius is a reliable car based on at least some data.

[kidtwist]

I'm starting to feel better already.

I seem to remember someone saying the MFD costs $3000 to replace so that made the guy's claim that he had $17,000+ in repairs seem plausible.

If it's only $400, well, that's a lot better.

[drash]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hdrygas\";p=\"70314)</div>

On thing to remember when looking at boards like this is that people with problems post and though you see a lot of \"I LOVE THIS CAR\"  it does not reflect the total numbers of people with out problems.  CR says that the Prius is a reliable car based on at least some data.
[/b]

They based their reliability on 1640 responses from Prius owners. I believe they reported 4 problems per 100 cars which is an extremely low number, one of the best.

[DanMan32]

and I bet some of them were stuff like the dirty O2 at about 500 miles.

[dupreesdiamond]

ONe thing to keep in mind is that, in general, an unhappy customer is a LOT louder than a happy customer. And either the majority of Prius owners are the exception to the rule, or there is nothing really to complain about so far.

I have been lurking here since the beginning of the year and it is amazing the lack of complaints, There was one thread (to lazy to look it up) that was specifically asking for complaints. and after a couple of minor issues it degenerated into a discussion regarding the lack of or validity of rpm, temp and other idoit gauges.

As for me it took one afternoon listening to a friend who builds race car engines (and holds several patents) expound about how wonderful his 6 month old prius is. When asked about his complaints "the control stalks on the steering wheel are to close for my liking and the traction control is a bit to sensitive." SOLD!!!! I placed my order two weeks later. (late october)

Just got the VIN# for my seaside blue pkg 5 (AI) this afternoon. Taking delivery on the 14th!!!!!

Take care

[jayman]

Ok, let's compare the warranty and non-warranty history of my 2004 Prius to my last vehicle, a 2000 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4. I'll leave out the nit-picky stuff like ergonomics and feature list, as this is something you should be able to discriminate while test driving or shopping.

2004 Prius:

-It seemed to wander a lot at Trans Canada speeds. Dealer gave free alignment that helped a lot, but didn't cure it. May just be design of front spoiler (Search for threads on folks who have made different spoilers and reported they cured the wander).

-Headlights misaimed: way too high. Dealer sent me to an Autopac Collision Centre (Note Metric spelling of "center") equipped with a sophisticated digital headlight aiming machine. My headlights are now the best I have ever owned, see no need for HID conversion.

-It conked on me the beginning of November and needed to be towed. There is a TSB out for this, the computer needs new software. Has been fine ever since.

If I had to pay for the wheel alignment and headlight aim, maybe $120? If a PCM conks in any car off warranty, the cost could hit $1,500 or much higher. How often does the PCM on a car conk? Ok, maybe if you jump start it wrong.

2000 GMC Sierra, special ordered:

-One week old and less than 150km, puddle of gear oil on the garage floor. Pinion seal bad from factory, local GMC dealer replaced.

-One month old, less than 800km, parking brake pedal return spring broke. Had to manually reach down to pull the pedal up. Had to wait almost a month for a replacement parking brake pedal assembly. Realized too late I had a putrid POS on my hands.

-Also noticed headlights misaimed: badly crosseyed. Sent to Autopac Collision Center and put on sophisticated digital headlight aiming machine. Technician commented the headlights had the worst beam pattern he had ever seen. I concur.

-Two months old, less than 1,400km on it, engine began to idle so roughly it felt like a solid lifter cam in a hotrod. No Check Engine either. Dealer had TSB to reflash PCM. Never did have what I would call a smooth idle.

-One year old, less than 15,000km on it, recall for airbag logic. Reflashed PCM. Autotrac transfer case started acting up too, random and no trouble codes. Adjusted rear "drum in hat" parking brake, very weak and won't hold.

-14 months old, less than 16,000km on it, "Service 4WD." Bad front reluctor speed sensor. Replaced. Also adjusted (Again) rear "drum in hat" parking brake as not holding.

-18 months old, less than 22,000km on it. Ditto. Also had to adjust rear "drum in hat" parking brake, not holding (Again).

-Two years old, 35,645km on it, "Service 4WD." Bad rear reluctor speed sensor replaced. Recall campaign for rear brake line interference. Created annoying rattle over bumps. Also - surprise surprise - adjusted the rear parking brake.

-Three years old, 58,980km on it, "Service 4WD," bad front reluctor speed sensor. Adjusted (Yawn) the rear "drum in hat" parking brake. This is getting old ... and just going off warranty

-Four years old, 67,000km on it: "Service 4WD" again, bad switch selector logic board, $175. Rear wheel axle seals leaking, rear "drum in hat" parking brakes worn out and oil soaked: $490.

-Four years old, 67,001km on it: For Sale ad placed in paper ...

So despite the fact my 2000 GMC Sierra had *much* better seats in it (I had the top-of-the-line SLT with leather bucket seats), everything else about it was *much* crappier and expensive to repair. Off warranty I'd have to guess $1,500?

I think Toyota does have a lot of confidence in their HSD or they wouldn't have such a long warranty on it. More than likely, a really pricey component will fail while new or under warranty.

As far as "subsidizing" maintenance, I compare the "normal" scheduled maintenance of my GMC to the Prius and they compare well.

About the only catch is if you own a domestic or foreign brand that has a timing belt, that can get pricey. Prius has a "lifetime" timing chain.