Longevity expectations for Prius

That's a great question.

Has it been broached before ?

Who out there in PC land has the most miles on thier Prius ?

 

Yes, there have been many threads on PC about this. The standard bearer was a taxi in Vancouver which went two-hundred and some thousand miles before Toyota traded the owner for a new Prius (they wanted to tear it down and see how it help up). That was an early Prius, so we can expect better from the current ones. The Prius goes pretty easy on its traction battery, so you should get more than the 100K warranty miles. Also, by the time you need to swap the battery, costs should be down considerably.

I think you will find the Prius easier with maintenance costs than a conventional auto.

Tom

 

This was discussed in another thread. http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=17192&

Short answer is: don't worry about the battery.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(San_Carlos_Jeff @ May 11 2006, 11:54 AM) [snapback]253630[/snapback]</div>

I read that Toyota has built the Prius for a life expectency around 250K miles, just like any other Toyota.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Begreen @ May 11 2006, 12:58 PM) [snapback]253680[/snapback]</div>

one has to wonder if there is excessive wear on the engine with it constantly turning on and off....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mdh @ May 11 2006, 04:31 PM) [snapback]253723[/snapback]</div>

Nope.

Once you study the design, you'll wonder how engines with traditional starters could survive... since they lack benefits of the hybrid system.

The hybrid starter is dramatically more powerful, allowing it to spin the engine all the way up to idle speed (800-1000 RPM) rather than a speed barely fast enough for ignition. And since the hybrid also has a dramatically larger battery, the startup process is much longer... allowing oil pressure to first be established.

In other words, the hybrid start-up is far more friendly... so much so that the on and off is basically just fuel-cut. That's it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mdh @ May 11 2006, 02:31 PM) [snapback]253723[/snapback]</div>

Actually, no. Someone with more technical knowledge can provide the details but the gist of it is that MG1 spins the engine up to 1200 RPM before applying fuel and spark. This is much less harsh on the engine and oil is given a chance to get where it needs to go before the engine is subject to the rigors of combustion.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(devprius @ May 11 2006, 02:39 PM) [snapback]253729[/snapback]</div>

very very cool. just wondered about the wear of constantly turning something on and off. Golf carts come to mind.

 

So far there are no indications of any reliability concerns at all. If the batteries were problematic the gen1 priuses would be presenting with bad batteries by now. They are not and the current gen's batteries are better and more protected. I think it's likely I'll get 250k out of mine just like the rest of the car.

 

http://john1701a.com/prius/owners/jesse.htm

 

check our local rag for a article on the Prius note the one with 400,000km on it.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/dri...d0-dd5c4902c78e

 

Here is a 2001 Prius now with 87k miles. I was originally thinking in terms of 300k miles, and that along the way a new windshield, shocks and struts will be needed. Ball joints too, maybe, because I drive dirt roads.

Engine oil analyses from my (and other) Prius show startlingly little metal wear. Even though only a few transmissions have failed, some of our friends are working that issue hard. HV batteries are good and very well managed in Prius. Next year I'll probably be replacing my original windshield wipers. Dangit!

Now I begin to wonder if the real reason to discontinue use will be that fuel eventually will become unavailable or ridiculously expensive. If you want it to be, Prius can be the last car you'll ever use.

Of course any of us could smash it up tomorrow, or get t-boned in an intersection. Just watch it out there on the road everybody, and the car will take care of itself.

 

We got our 2001 Prius before navigation was an option, even before crusie control was available. My wife has put just under 90k miles on it, and the main battery failed. She's a home health nurse, and makes several visits a day, with 6 to 12 short trips of less than 5 miles, and the engine off for about 30-45 minutes at a time. It seems this type of driving is pretty hard on the classic battery. The Toyota Service people replaced the whole unit for free, since its under warranty, so we consider it a blessing, as its like having a new Prius (although a "classic" one) .

Symptoms for a dead main battery (be sure your tank is not empty!):
<blockquote>The screen of death: [PS] [+/- Main Battery] [!], along with indicators and "check engine" lights next to the odo. display.</blockquote>
<blockquote>The battery meter, when you finally get it back (Display/Trip Information) shows one bar, then, if you go down a long hill, it will charge all the way up to "full", then, in an instant, will drop back down to one bar</blockquote>
<blockquote>The battery colling fan will run almost continuously due to continuous charging</blockquote>
<blockquote>When at a stop, and the battery is showing neither "Full" or one bar, the ICE will switch on for 2 sec., then off for 4 sec., then on for 2 sec., then off for 4 sec. as long as you're stopped.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Cruise control won't work any more (we had cruise control installed by the dealer in 2002). This is some kind of fail-safe mode according to the mechanic.</blockquote>

Just so you know - the battery can wear out with some kinds of driving. <_<

The only other "major" maintenance we've had is ridiculous wear on the toyota tires until we changed to Michelans (pressure is kept at 42/40). And we blew a shock/strut assembly driving over particularly huge crators and potholes.

Cheers,

Mike in Oakland

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(flashmayo @ May 11 2006, 01:48 PM) [snapback]253583[/snapback]</div>

The FTC (or one o' them guv'ment agencies) tested the Prius battery to 160,000Mi and then just gave up because the battery was showing no signs of degradation. Also, remember the battery can be REPAIRED. If there are any premature problems, the individual cells can be replaced.

 

The Dept. of Energy conducted the hybrid fleet performance, 160,000 miles for a pair of NHW11, 02 Prius, two Honda Civic Hybrids and two Insights. That report and more details are available here:

http://avt.inel.gov/hev.html

Bob Wilson