Hybrid motor died

Im still confused why you did not check to see if the motor was covered under the 10 year 150,000 mile warranty?

 

This has to be one of the worst cases of failing to help yourself I have seen a while.

You are in southern california which apart from central california is the mecca of Prii. You can't throw a hubcap and not hit a Toyota dealership.

All CARB states are 10yr/150k miles. If the actual problem was what they say it was, then Toyota would fix it for free. As far as I know California is part of CARB (California Air Resources Board).

Then buying a new VW is the icing on the cake. Others have already pointed out why that was idiotic. Even if the Toyota got equal or less mpg's than the tdi, there are so many other reasons to not go that route.

Seems to be a classic tale of not helping yourself and short-term thinking. Waiting until gas was $4.50/gal before buying a Prius at the height of the market, then now completely forgetting that when buying a vw... Also trying to sell your Prius at one of the market lows, just makes no sense/cents. When gas gets to $5/gal again good luck trying to unload your vw for the new flavour of the week.

 

Perhaps the Prius was not initially sold in Cal.?
I agree with the opinion that the change in models was not wise. However, frustration often can cause people to do strange things. My concern about VW is its long term durability.The current diesel models are getting a lot of positive press. I've owned 6 in my life and they all began to disintegrate after 3/4 years. I wish the OP well and I hope he'll stay in touch to report on his satisfaction ,long term, with VW.

 

Hi pkhoury,

There is more petroleum in diesel. You can make more gas, with the same amount of petroleum. So, when the $/barrel goes up, the $/gal of diesel goes up faster. Its more complicated that that - Jayman will tell ya. But, to the first order issues, thats it.

Winter diesel is more refined than summer diesel. Around here, the winter diesel is about as more expensive than gas as gas is above summer diesel. Its about a wash most of the time. Except back when petroleum was up above $150 / barrel. Its around $110 a barrel now.

What are you going to need to replace over the long term of the Prius? The only thing different from TDI is the traction battery, which matches up nicely with the Turbo maintenance costs. And the batteries are not wearing out fast, so there are plenty of salvage batteries around at low costs.

 

Hi pkhoury,

Ok, I read through this thread.

As uart pointed out, on at least one occiasion the failure of the transaxle was linked to the connector being cracked in the impact, and internally, it was fine.

So, replacing the whole transmission might have been premature.

The reason there is not a diesel hybrid yet is costs. Costs about as much to make the block in the diesel engine, as the inverter and block in the Prius. The metal that has to be used in a diesel is very hard, which wears out cutters, and uses more electricity to run the spindle motors. Which is why the diesels have the block longevity. The Prius of course, just runs the engine at many fewer reciprocations per mile of typical metropolitan service. So engine life on a per miles of typical metropolitan service basis between a Prius/TDI are comparable.

So, a diesel hybrid would have esenstially twice the hybrid cost adder, or be about $26 k base level, versus $23 for the Prius/TDI. The mileage advantage is then 50 mpg to probably about 65 mpg (new EPA, 60 to 80 old EPA). And as we know from reciprocal math, that is not that much less fuel consumed/1000 miles, and the cost of the diesel is more - close to an economic wash? Probably....

 

I thought you had mentioned you bought it when petrol was $4.50+/gal and you "only" paid $3000 above sticker. When you pay above sticker there is a reason, and that is because buyers were in a panic, i.e. short term thinking. Not foreseeing gas getting up to $5/gal is again short term erroneous thinking.

I still dont understand your logic. Your concern with the Prius was "how much stuff I need to replace over the long term ownership of the vehicle". The Prius has no conventional transmission to break down as your VW does. The Prius' brakes dont need to be replaced until over 100,000miles unless you drive like a bat out of hell vs every 20,000mi or so. Toyota's reliability is unprecedented, and VW's are dubious at best. Traction batteries last hundreds of thousands of miles, basically the whole car is robust. The "stuff" you need to replace longterm is going to be much less and less costly than all the stuff you will need to replace in your VW.

If you like the VW, then fine. But any rational you have provided is warped with the exception of the legroom. I am not that tall, so I can't comment on the differences. Economically you are taking a huge hit. Reliability just went south fast. Repairs and maintenance just shot up in frequency and cost. Daily usage cost in petrol vs. diesel just increased. Efficiency in general just decreased.

Sometimes you just want something shiny and new and that seems to be the case here. Illogical on all bases but it makes you happy.

 

can you start and stop a diesel engine a million times a day like the pri?

 

I thought Citroen was making a diesel hybrid for the EU markets... I believe it has start/stop, but information is limited currently.

 

Yes

 

I have a good working ENgine that I can sell you...it also from a 2007 Toyota Prius with only 36K miles!!! PM me if interested. I got all the paperwork & title.

 

Came upon this thread roundabout ways from another. TDI probably will be more enjoyable in general to drive so I won't denigrate that decision.

For the record, though, the VW brand in general is substantially and demonstrably less reliable than Toyota. This is continually backed up in data I come upon, like Consumer Reports' recent issue. You look at the dings that VW gets vs those of Toyota and Honda (still the two premier for quality) and there is a world of difference.

Also, the TDI jetta is rated 30 mpg city, vs 51 for the Prius on (at least around here) cheaper fuel. So they are not really comparable cars, OP is really moving from one class of vehicle to another. I think VW is kind of sub-luxury brand; better than the mainline brands out there but not on par with Acura, BMW, etc. The main problem I have with them is their quality.

 

:welcome: