Hello Everyone, I am currently researching the Prius C #2 models. My husband (who has been in the auto industry for 20+ years) has always said he would never own a hybrid. First was because the batteries were so expensive to replace and only lasted about 4 years and weren't covered under warranty. Well now they are. So now he says that they have too many service problems with them. For those of you that have had yours for a while, have you had any issues? I know they are new as of 2012 so they have only been out a little over a year. I have a dealer close to me that has 2 new ones that I am ready to go and look at but I don't want to waste their time or mine if there are tons of service problems with them. A friend of mine just got hers on Halloween so she hasn't had hers long enough to have an opinion on this. I really like this little car and it would help me gas wise as I do a good amount of driving each week. Looking forward to your replies. Thanks so much!
They only went on sale early in 2012... it was April here in Australia and I think something like March in the US. It was being sold in Japan as the Toyota Aqua for about a year before that, but I don't think we've had any Aqua owners frequent this forum. You might want to have a read of Have you experienced any problems with the C? | PriusChat Personally I've just passed 3 months and 2500 miles, without issues.
It shouldn't be much different from the reliability of the regular Prius, and many of those have gone a few hundred thousand miles without issues at all, let alone battery issues. That's part of the reason we see so many Prius taxis (along with fuel savings, of course). Plus, I don't believe the batteries are expensive as you probably believe (not cheap, but again, you very likely won't need to replace it).
Looks like your husband is a hater just like I used to be. The purported battery and other reliability issues mentioned are just justifications for not wanting the Prius. He might have other deeper reasons for not wanting the Prius. Oh, on a side note, I've been a golfer for over 20 years, and I still suck at it.
Thanks guys! I went to the thread you mentioned Rob and read the posts there. Thanks so much. Ashley, my husband is a master certified mechanic. Battery replacement outside of warranty for Toyotas will run you between $3,000 and $4,000. Of course, some of that will be returned for core credit. Born_again, you are right, he is a hater! The salesman will have an uphill battle when he meets my husband. I have a very busy life...I have a dog I train agility with, a horse I train dressage with, elderly parents, a jewelry business plus my everyday errands. I am on the go almost all the time. I really think this will be a perfect little car for me.
My wife bought her Prius V before I got my C. And I was in hater mode when we went to get her V. It worked out very well. We got a killer deal mainly thanks to my hating. Our salesguy was great. The hater in me is now long gone. It went away the first visit to the gas station. LOL
I'm sorry to read your husband is intentionally pigeonholing himself in ignorance and misinformation. Likely your husband has irrational fear or simply hates new or foreign or whatever and simply is making things up to "back up" his decision. I used to "hate" sushi based on food poisoning ignorance until I actually tried it, now it's one of my favorite foods. I also used to hate convertibles based on structural engineering principles until I drove one; now they're decidedly the most fun method of motoring. Making up an excuse to hate doesn't make it accurate, it likely only makes you look like an uncultured dolt. Take a look at the battery lifecycles for the 1st gen Prius (1997-2003); most of them are still on their original battery. Also, the Prius C powertrain is almost identical to the 2nd gen Prius (2003-2009), and I'm sure you see tons of those on the road motoring along peacefully. There's no good reason to conclude the C will have an unreliable powertrain, because the engine, HSD, and batteries have all been proven over the past 17 years.
The prius has a proven reliability record. There were Prius Taxis that had over 300,000 miles on the original battery. I have read that battery replacement (including labor and core rebates) comes in closer to $2,000 however its unlikely that it will be needed in the Prius - who has proven its battery longevity for years now. I have owned a 2010 (Gen III) Prius and put 50k miles on the car. It went to the dealership 3 times for free oil changes at 10,000 mile intervals, then I changed the Oil twice at home for the next 2 oil changes. I checked my brake pads at 50K miles and they still had probably 80% of their useable life left. With a hybrid the regen braking slows the car before friction brakes, so the brakes for the most part will last the life of a typical car. The only other issue I had with the Gen III Prius was that I had to put new tires on it at 50,000 miles. Car ran flawlessly, and got me great gas mileage. The 2010 was a lease and I traded it in early to purchase my 2012 PriusC. I am approaching 10K miles on the C and am getting close to my first (free dealer) oil change. I have had no issues with the vehicle and from what I have read that seems to be the norm with this car. The technology has 15 years of real world use and is proven and reliable. I fill up my tank empty to full for about $30 ($3.25 gas). My lifetime average according to my trip B which I reset on purchase it 47 MPG driven like a regular car, if I hypermile, I have been able to achieve MPG's in the high 60's and low 70's. Proven reliability, lower cost, great car.
The only issue so far is that it seems less efficient in the cold weather. I'm considering seeing if there is a block heater or if that would help and be more efficient. It gets bitterly cold here and it's only starting.
I did the same thing with the trip B. I am still on my second tank of gas, and I plan on keeping track of my lifetime fuel consumption. I think having the "lifetime" mpg average showing will often times make me want to go into hypermiling mode in the hopes of improving that number. Which in turn will net in even bigger savings.
I am a first time hybrid car owner (Prius C) with just over 4700 miles on the odometer and loving this car more every day. Drove 324 miles today averaging 50.1 mps with primarily freeway/highway miles. Saved gas and enjoyed the drive. If you can get your husband to test drive the various Prius models, he may be shocked at how well these cars handle. If not, best wishes in your future car purchase. Prius C has the highest reliability rating according to Consumer Research ratings for 2012 vehicles.
We're on our second Prius Liftback. Wife commutes in it and we use it for all trips. We had a 2005 Prius for 7 years and 150,000 miles. No mechanical problems developed. The most reliable car we've ever owned. Just change the oil, rotate the tires and wash it. Battery was working fine when we traded it in for our 2011 on the last day of February 2012. 50+mpg was exceptional. The Prius c reliability shouldn't be any different. If I drove a lot like you do, I would have a c in my garage right now. I don't really pile up the miles on the car as much now, so I'll have to wait until I either wear out my current non hybrid car (that will take some patience at the rate I'm doing it) or find an excuse to put more miles on a car. Go buy the car and I'm sure your husband will quickly learn to enjoy hypermiling and smiling when he sees how efficient a car can be. It will save you some money, too! Let us know what which c you end up getting. Good luck!
^^ This is probably true - I am a long time car guy who learned to love my prius. I got a prius based for the low operating cost. Hard to believe just several years ago I was racing away from every stoplight getting 12 MPG in my tuned firebird. Once got pulled over doing 120MPH in a 55 zone. Today - I dont even care about speed, I just watch my MPG's soar and my gasoline expense stays very low.
This sounds like an arranged marriage that worked out for the better. The love came later on in the relationship!
It was on HWY 65 DSM to Marshalltown, I got off easy - Cop wrote ticket for 74 in a 55 and called my parents... Needless to say my car ( which I had paid for ) was sold by my parents and replaced with a 2.2L S-10 with 95 HP.
We don't know the service history of a Prius C yet because the car is only less then one full year old and very few have had problems. Ask again in 5 or 8 years. But if you look at the "standard" Prius these seem to not have as many problems as non-hybrids. In my city all taxies are required to be hybrid or alternative fuel and almost ALL taxi drives have a Prius. So far many of these taxis have 300,000 miles with just oil changes and new tires are required. They are driven all day every day. There is very little scheduled maintenance. I don't expect problems and if you are really concerned buy one of those 100,000 warranties. (I've heard the price varies so do shop around)
I am completely sold on a Prius C and since I am the one that does the majority of driving the car, I'm pretty sure that is what I will end up with. I have found a dealer in my area that has 2 of the #2's and 1 of the #3's. I am going to try to get up there to look at them this week before Thanksgiving. I had already planned on getting the extended warranty. I really think my husband will be won over with the fuel economy. He prefers a mid-size car but I like the more compact (doesn't make sense with as much horse tack as I carry with me). I have done a ton of research between all of the hybrid cars and it seems the Prius C or even the regular Prius is hands above the rest.
