Lifespan of 2007 Prius

Yep. If you can afford it. That absolutely is your best choice. It is still no guarantee that the work will be done properly. Protect yourself by knowing your repairers certs. You can ask for them.

XT1585 ?

 

It's a keeper...sometimes you can get Toyota assistance on a bad batt if it happens (we are really totally not sure what % of batteries go bad) but especially if you agree to buy a new Toyota you can probably get them to throw a new batt in that old one ...that's one way to get a cheaper batt fix. If you have several Prii that also helps make the replacement battery assist argument with Toyota USA (gotta call the HQ and ask for assist).

 

I have a 2005. 268,000+ miles. Just put front brake pads on it, 1st time. Still running original rear shoes. Traction battery is original. Only repairs done were a clock-spring, a small water transfer pump, and a 12 volt battery. I do all my own work, parts were less than $300. I use Amsoil (I'm a lifetime dealer but don't sell anymore.) I change oil and filters once a year. I have an aftermarket bypass filter that I change every 60,000 miles or so. The standard filter is on the remote bypass block and is 3X the size of the Toyota filter. I change this one once a year. 20,000 to 30,000 miles a year. It will still go an entire year without using a full quart of oil. I've seen new VWs and BMWs that used a quart a month. All other filters and fluids changed on schedule.
Things I have changed that had not failed, just because I can't stand breakdowns or a machine that runs at less that peak performance - Struts, springs, spark plugs, re manufactured fuel injectors, 2 water pump belts, 3 sets of tires. If the traction battery fails now I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new traction battery.
I'm a retired machinist who has worked on my own, friend's and family's cars all my life. This is my first Toyota. I am completely blown away by the reliability of this car. I'm shooting for 500,000 miles without a major repair. I wish they made a convertible Prius with a turbocharger, then I'd buy a new car.

 

My advice: keep driving it for the next year and a half, then turn it over to Jr. There's nothing worse for these cars than to let them sit -- only driving them once or twice a week.

 

It is great to have a vehicle you know when you hand it over to your child. I own a 2006 with 150K miles on it. I also live in Texas in the Fort Worth area so you know the heat this vehicle might have encountered. In the last 10K miles, I have completed a number of maintenance and repair items.
First was an inverter coolant pump, not a difficult nor very expensive repair as I do all the work myself. If you were to pay someone, then something around $300 would be my estimate, other might have actually paid and can share. Doesn't mean you will encounter this but since it is an electric motor that powers the pump as long as the car is powered on, then it will eventually wear out.

Second, I had a front wheel bearing give out, I'd estimate that this repair would be in the 300-450 range.

I had a dash speedometer unit die. The car was drivable but couldn't see my speed, so I had to disassemble the dash and send the unit out to be rebuilt. Cost to me was right at $130 dollars with shipping.- my labor.

Then most recently, I had a battery failure at 150K miles (last week) and I had to do a battery rebuild. Lots of options on this issue, I was comfortable doing it myself but wouldn't suggest this for most people as it does take an investment in the right equipment to load test and recondition the battery cells. I'd not recommend being too concerned that you will encounter any or all of these repairs, but you can take this as what might be a worst case scenario, perhaps so you can plan accordingly. A clean 2007 Prius still has a pretty decent value, even with a few problems, and is still a way above average car in having low cost of ownership. Even if you needed to put $2,000 into your car over the first year or two after you give it to your child, it could still be a much better financial decision than anything else you could do. I have bought and sold hundreds of cars over the last 45 years and can assure you that unless you buy a car with a major dealer warranty (like a new car dealer), then anything else you would buy used will require some repairs amounting to several hundred dollars and you will not know the real history on the vehicle, I don't care what the Fox says,... People sell cars because they know they need some repairs already or they anticipate upcoming repairs or maintenance and simply decide to move on. I have a son who is driving a Gen 1 Prius with over 200K miles on it. I did a battery rebuild with Gen 2 cells and have put two Toyota factory inverter water pumps on it, and a few other repairs but it is still going strong mechanically. He drives a lot in his commute each day into Dallas, so piles up the miles. You Gen 2 Prius is a much better built vehicle than his 2001 Prius, so I'd say things look pretty good for you.

 

i heard that was the case for cold climate while the hot climate hybrids have all cells weak (the middle ones the worst) due to heat. agree, disagree?

 

I think when a module fails from weakness, there is a high likelihood that there may be other weak modules in the pack. If you repair the pack immediately after failure, you may miss the weaker modules. If you have the time and let the failed pack sit for maybe 1 month, the weaker modules will start losing their charge and you'll know right away which ones need to be replaced.....instead of going back in time after time again.

 

Sandie,

I have a 2008 Prius with 108K miles on it. My Daughter turned 16 and is thinking about getting her driving permit this summer. I am keeping the Prius for her. It is a great car and I am sure it will last several more years.

Because of the hybrid system, the maintenance for this car can sometimes be more involved and hence more expensive. Also you can't trust a regular mechanic with this car. Overall the car has been very reliable and on an average the cost of maintenance has been lower than previous cars I have owned.


Zak

 

No see. Here is the problem. Just swapping out the weakest module doesn't fix anything. The ONLY way to get an idea about lifespan for these batteries is to datalog the whole pack while charging and discharging. This can allow you to identify weak modules. The reason it is a "problem" is because the individual cells aren't changeable. If you can find someone that can datalog the whole pack to discern the health of modules, that is great! That information can be used then to match in repair modules. There are probably 5 people in the whole country that can do that properly, so the best bet for most people is to just buy a new battery.