Is it more expensive to give maintenance to a Prius vs Gas car?

The G3 has a light maintenance schedule. It's not cheap to buy, but it is cheap to operate and maintain. They seem to have an excellent reliability record, and as long as you don't let the dealer talk you into daffy extra's like air-conditioning refreshers, or fuel system flushing, the G3 will, on balance be cheaper to maintain than most cars.
There are no belts on the car.
The brakes are reputed to last longer than non-regenerative brakes, however (comma!) I've never had a set of brakes fail me or need servicing in the first 150,000 miles on any vehicle that I've ever owned in the last three decades.

You should be OK.
Familiarize yourself with the scheduled maintenance for this car and follow it assiduously, and there's no reason that you cannot get 200,000+ miles on a new one or a (non-abused) used example.

Good Luck!

BTW....

Greetings!
Welcome Aboard!!
:welcome:

 

Generally speaking the Prius costs less to maintain than an equivalent gas only car. They are very reliable so repair cost is very low and the only really expensive parts are warrantied for 100,000 to 150000 miles. The engines are beltless which reduces wear and the brakes will last over 200,000 miles if you drive conservatively.

For those that think repairs are expensive, have you ever priced out a replacement automatic transmission in a modern car? I mean a reasonably priced car, not a BMW or Mercedes. The repairs on those cars cost more than a used Prius.

 

welcome! i have done nothing but tire rotations and oil changes on my 08 with 30,000. my daughter has done the same on her 04 with 90,000. she has replaced the tires.

 

Why a 2011 Prius early next year? Are you planning to buy used? If you're buying new, I think you should get the 2012.

You can see the maint. and repair work done on the Priuses at Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity - Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

Who told you "it's newer technology the maintenance is more expensive"? Do they own a Prius?

Yep on the brakes lasting a long time. There have been many cases of people being past 100K miles on the original brakes. Yep on no belts on the Gen 3. Also, take a look at http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...ery-reliable-vancouver-yellow-cab-update.html regarding how often they change the brakes on Priuses vs. Corollas used as taxis. The 250K km mentioned is ~155K miles.

 

I want to do a "good news, bad news" report.

I have 73,000 on my '09 Prius, every 5,000 I get an oil change and tire rotation. (Gen 3 is every 10,000, but they use synthetic oil) I also got transmission fluid, tires and wiper blades about 60,000. I have used 2 pairs of air filters. All is well, all is cheap.

Two areas it pays to spend money. Any brake job where you need to replace brake fluid, you should use the dealer. All the 'tricks' the brakes use to get Regeneration, engine braking, and save the pads means that they are not simple to work on. It is fortunate they need work so rarely.

Second, somewhere after 4 years the 12 volt battery will die. Do not wait, replace it immediately. Yes, it is expensive, but jump starting your Prius incorrectly can cost you $4500 for a new inverter, so do not mess around jumping your Prius. (Never jump other cars from your Prius)

 

Something to keep in mind is the fact Toyota is still offereing free 2 year/25K mile Toyota Care maintenance on new 2011's. This offer may extend to 2012's, but that's yet to be determined. I have had my Prius 14 months, have over 13K miles on the clock and have yet to spend a dime on maintence! Wish I could say that about accessories, but that's another story...

 

Yes, if there are plenty of dealer and manufacturer incentives to be had.
We bought our 2010 new in early Jan 2011 and paid $4k under msrp.
Welcome, with future congrats!

 

The car has two batteries, the HV battery that drives the electric motors and the 12V auxilary battery for booting the car up.

The 12V auxilary battery is the one that will need changing about the 4th year, like most other cars. You are correct that the more expensive HV battery can go 200,000+ miles.

 

There are three Batteries

The HV Battery (Traction Battery, 201 Volt battery) should last 175,000+ miles but is warrantied for 100,000 at least, 150,000 in CARB states.

The Accessory Battery (starter battery*, 12 Volt battery) like any 12 Volt Lead Acid battery in any car is on borrowed time after 4 winters. The Prius needs an externally vented AGM battery with odd posts. *while it starts most cars, it does not run a starter motor in a Prius, it does start the computers.

The Fob Battery a small 'watch' battery. Your Prius does so much with the Fob, you will hate yourself if you let it go all the way dead.

I feel you can ignore the HV Battery until some warning light comes on, the computers monitor it closely and make all the adjustments needed.

The 12 Volt Battery and the Fob Battery need your wisdom to know when to replace.

 

A transaxle fluid change is recommended before 100,000 miles and will cost approx. $100. Can be a DIY item.

Spark plugs can easily go without changing for 120,000 or 150,000. DIY item.

E ngineand cabin filters should be changed as needed. DIY item.

PCV valve can be replaced or cleaned at around 120,000 miles. This can be a DIY item.

The MAF neededs occasional cleaning as does the throttle body. DIY items.

 

i think 4 years is a little early for the battery, unless you're into that type of preventative maintenance. are you talking about the air filter? we check it and the cabin filter regularly. amazing how long they last though. although the cabin filter seems to get a lot of crud for some reason.
system flush, spark plugs, radiator? i don't think it's time yet.

 

We bought our 2004 Prius in November 2004. It has about 250,000 km on it. We have had the brakes done for the first time in the past year. We are still on the factory 12 V battery after almost seven years. Aside from that it has been scheduled maintenance only.

 

The current Prius doesn't have belts, a starter motor, or an alternator. So, you'll have no maintenance or high dollar replacement costs there as you will on a conventional car. "Normal" braking, not hard and/or panic stops, uses regenative braking via they hybrid drive system and doesn't use the conventional brake pads/rotors/calipers so those will last a lot longer than on "regular" cars.

Both the hybrid and conventional 12volt battery can give you many, many trouble free miles. Take a look at post #372:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/79235-299-999-mile-club-38.html

 

Perhaps for the Type A's.

 

I'm not sure you'll save $3500. That sounds like a lot, but then again, I haven't been in the market for a Prius since late 05. Pickings of color, model and equipment level will get slim the further into the 2012 model year you wait for a 2011.

If you hadn't noticed, the 2012 model year is a minor refresh w/some changes that aren't so minor (e.g. 3 door SKS w/o having to go up to model Four, standard backup camera on all models instead of having to buy nav, available HUD, available Entune, etc.) I don't believe 2012 prices have been announced yet. See http://priuschat.com/news/exclusive-2012-my-prius-changes-and-additions, http://priuschat.com/news/2012-prius-mid-cycle-refresh-official-details and http://priuschat.com/news/2012-prius-mid-cycle-refresh-official-photos-released.

Key fob batteries should be <$3, if one goes to the right place.

The OEM 12 volt battery has a MSRP of $138.70, although many folks including myself replace it with Toyota Prius 12 Volt Auxiliary Battery with install kit for 2004 - 11. But, there's supposedly a new version that doesn't need the adapter kit (w/new terminal and negative cable): http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...-12v-yellow-top-d51-battery-pencil-posts.html.

 

Last year in November we took advantageous of $3000CAN Toyota Discount on a new 2010 Prius. With the Tsunami, this year might be different though.