How Many Miles Should I Expect On My "05" Prius?

That's silly. Waste? It's not a saving account. Not alot of people buy a new car hoping to keep it 16 years based on 12,000 miles average a year.
People buy new cars to avoid the hassle of a used car. 6 years later (American average) they do it again.
200,000 miles is alot of miles even on a hyper maintained car.

200,000 miles on a Prius is really rough because what I am seeing is most people seem to think its a space ship and only need to have it docked at the dealership a few times. Barely maintained. Just have it docked and filled up with vat oil and maybe a $200 fuel injection service (can in the tank lol) and I'm good to go! Not a care in the world!

Majority of posters here go through the trouble of joining and posting about an issue there having before they even open there hood on there car. Its bizarre.

Because of this I would be very leery buying a used high mileage Prius. Unless the owner was a car guy and paid it some personal attention.

135,000 over 5 is 27,000 a year. Thats double duty. Was the maintenance doubled? Doubt it.
Well maintained on this site usually means vat oil every 3,000 miles (dealer prepaid worst oil ever) an everything else original.

 

Not these days. Automakers cannot build rust buckets that expire in 100K miles any longer. That's so 1970. Most Hondas, Toyotas, and even some "gasp" American cars easily make it to 300K in their 15 to 20 year lifespan.

When a car costs $25K new, it had better last at least 200K miles without major problems or it's a P.O.S.

 

No, I have not ran a single query on the subject. I have been observing here and elsewhere for a long time. Did you not see a fellow PC user here who post's under Jefe recently? Ended up going to Reinvolt. That is one of many post's here on PC that reference traction battery failure.

This is one of many: Getting my 2005 HV battery replaced | PriusChat

Also, read through the many post's about HV battery failures here when doing a search on PC.

Search Results for Query: traction battery failure | PriusChat

I base my logic on multiple sources as well as hands on experience. If you only go by your personal experience and a select few and ignore all the others then your facts are biased. You have to look at the BIG picture.

You asked the question about insiders at Toyota. Have you actually discussed this issue with your dealer? It does happen, not often but it does happen. Again, the Prius is a great car, but it is not 100% foolproof. Some get better life out of theirs, other's don't. It is a fact of life and the reality is it all boils down to luck as well as how the car is maintained.

Ron

 

I said they were doing a $30k car. While that is not all that expensive these days it is hardly a loss leader.

 

Again strongly disagree with you on the 200K or POS Jdman. Very rare a person will own a car for 15+ years these days. After just 10 years the maintenance becomes a real pain. On a Prius its downright scary.

So many ECU's, the hybrid battery, the brake actuator, the cvt, the clockspring, the mfd, the steering system.
So many ways to lose. All major. All become a worry and a roll of the dice after 150K.

See many 2003 Prius's or older on this site? I never see any on the road do you? Mostly because a major component failed and it was totaled. There's a 2001 Spirit on a car lot on my way to work. Nice car. Clean. Been sitting there for months.

 

Who said anything about a loss leader? Tesla is not in business to lose money (and can't afford to either).

But guess what. Someday the federal tax credit will end. No more $7500 subsidy from the feds. The EV is still in its infancy - after more than 100 years of trying. Still needs training wheels.

If Tesla is able to sell a $30K EV with a 200 mile range at a profit without depending on a tax credit to reduce the buyer's cost, then they'll have accomplished something. Until then, it's just a dream.

 

Jdman, since you posted 75% of Gen II batteries will last 200K or better, can you show me how you came up with this number?

The following is your post from another string.

Ron

 

Remember the thread title, Ed? This isn't about the Gen 1.

I never said the 15 to 20 years had to be one owner. Many 1992 Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys are still on the road with more than 300K miles on them. How many owners have these cars gone through? Who knows.

All right Ed, you've convinced me. My Prius is a P.O.S because it has 200K miles and it has the original traction battery, MFD, combination meter, brakes, inverter, transaxle, 12V aux battery, struts, steering system, ECUs, etc. Any of which can fail at any moment. But they won't - well maybe the 12V aux battery is going to fail soon.

But I'll keep driving it just to prove that YOU are wrong. Since I drive 20K+ miles per year, the odometer will max out at 299999 miles less than five years from now. And if I decide to buy a Gen 4 before then, surely the third or fourth owner will reach it.

 

My opinion. I didn't say I had "research" like you did.

 

Thanks for the clarification. That makes me ask this question. On what facts do you base your opinion? Or to ask another way, what brought you to that opinion? Is it based on your personal experience with your own Prius or what?

Ron

 

Even if the HV battery or some other major/expensive component needs replaced somewhere between 100k and 200k, that still doesn't make it any worse than the average car. Most automatic transmissions will need replaced or rebuilt within that mileage. If you want a car that will never break or have any issues, you better get used to walking.

I would buy a Prius with 150k over most other cars with the same mileage. If you can do the work yourself, they shouldn't cost much to maintain.

 

Sure, it's based on personal experience with my Prius and with the 20+ other cars I've owned since buying my first car in July 77 - A 71 Dodge Dart with 47K miles if I recall - which I don't. The newer model cars I've owned (except for the dreadful 2000 Chrysler Voyager minivan and the 99 Buick LeSabre with the defective plastic intake manifold ) did not require major repairs up to 200K miles.

As to the reliability of the Prius specifically, I question the validity of some of the posts I see. There are trolls who get their rocks off by stating that they've had the traction battery replaced on their "phantom" Prii. There should be a Turing Test to weed out the fake Prius owners out there (not practical in the Google age, unfortunately - sigh). I don't know what motivates these morons to pretend to be someone else. But they exist. Have you seen MTV's Catfish?

And even if most of the claims are true, it's difficult to judge the total number of failed traction batteries for the entire population of Gen 2s for example. Enthusiast forums skew the numbers - good and bad. How many Gen 2's have been sold worldwide? At least a million, right? So, do the math. 100,000 traction battery failures is only 10 percent. By 2029 it will be 95%. The first Gen 2 was produced in late 2003, so we're halfway there on the oldest Gen 2s. I would guess (and a wild one at that so don't hold me to it) that only 5 to 10% of Gen 2 traction batteries have failed so far.

And there are folks who have been replacing parts "preemptively". Why? It increases the cost of ownership and provides minimal benefit. The 12V aux battery comes to mind.

 

The traction battery on mine died at 81K before I bought it. It was replaced for free and I got a great deal on it, far less than $25K. I don't EXPECT my Prius to last beyond 200K miles but I'll be ready to get a new used one by then.

 

Failure while still under warranty technically doesn't count as a strike against reliability. Toyota ate the cost, not the owner before you. And they've been eating the cost of replacing HV inverter water pumps too, which they really didn't have to do.

Even Toyota makes lemons, I suppose. It's inevitable. Chrysler makes nothing but lemons.

 

All I am saying Jman is 200K is alot of miles on any car. I've never owned a car that had that many miles. And even our beloved Prius will struggle to get there without dropping some $$$ if not properly maintained.

So I'll leave it at that. Peace.

 

Over 750 used 10 year old or older Camrys and Accords with over 200K miles currently for sale.

Used Toyota Camry - in 60477 Area - on Cars.com

 

Its a conspiracy from the military-industrial complex, to thwart those wearing aluminum foil hats to keep aliens from listening to their thoughts.

regards
rich and elite Prius owner.

 

I am just shy of 150,000 miles on my '05. I will probably cross that hump this week.
The HV battery pack was just replaced by the dealer when I purchased the car - which was at 145k miles, so I am relatively new owner.

My train of thought is this ... I didn't buy this particular Prius because of the notion that they are low maintenance . I am well aware of possible $$$ that will have to be spent as the wear/tear continues. However, I did get a FANTASTIC deal on the car. So I chose the option to get this car at a steal price and gamble on the big ticket $$$ items rather than spend a-lot more money I don't have and hope that all it needs is preventative maintenance.

We'll see how that pans out over the next few years ...

 

I'm sure there are. Good luck selling them.