newbie here...recommend for high mileage driver

1) YES! 5-6 cents per mile for gas, oil changes every 10,000 miles (2010 forward), no belts of any kind (2010 forward), brake service approximately never, generally low operating and maintenance costs. Just rotate the tires.

If these are highway miles, you could look also at a HCH or a Hyundai Sonata (or Hybrid) or Elantra, or Ford Fusion Hybrid. Sonata has more passenger room, but the prius hatch is pretty nice for cargo other than sheet material.

2) No help here...

 

I drive 30,000 miles a year, minimum of 55 miles on a 55 MPH road each way every work day. Once the Prius warms up, mileage is wonderful. I am over 55,000 miles so far I have done oil change and tire rotation at Toyota's schedule and one each engine and cabin air filter. The original tires went about 53,000 miles.

An observation, those getting HUGE battery mileage are taxis: the car is rarely off, the computers are always babysitting the battery, and they run up those miles in very few winters.

Those getting small mileage on the HV Battery are those who park the Prius for weeks at a time and do not drive many miles per year, so it sees many winters. Also, Toyota's design after 2003 is better than the 2001 to 2003 battery design.

I have begun discouraging prospective buyers who plan to let their Prius sit over a week at a time routinely.

BTW, badly jump starting with a Prius can be much more expensive than the battery. If you routinely jump start others, or routinely need jump starts, the Prius is also not ideal for you.

 

Uhh, where you have seen people needing HV battery replacement at 80K miles? Failures at that low a mileage are very rare. The HV battery in non-CARB states is warranted for 8 years/100K miles and non-CARB states for 10 years/150K miles. I suppose if you needed a replacement right before mileage expiration, you could consider yourself lucky in that you'd have new one good for a lot longer.

See the story and watch the video at http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...ery-reliable-vancouver-yellow-cab-update.html.

 

I know its been posted on here before but this should help put your mind at rest;

CTV British Columbia - Hybrids prove very reliable - CTV News

 

Welcome to PriusChat.

You'll have no problem putting high mileage on your Prius especially since operating costs are very low. Many corporate fleets are putting the Prius into use, so that should be an excellent indicator for you that high mileage is defnitely not a problem for this car. The hybrid battery is warranted for 100k miles, but will perform for many, many miles beyond that!

I bought my 2010 Barcelona Red III from Jim White Toyota last May for 19,500. It had 5,500 miles on it. It was a dealer demo. I was willing to drive from NC for that deal! I located the car using Toyota Certified Cars online.

Best wishes as you search for a Prius. The ride, performance and technology make it an awesome car.

 

Hey there,

It looks like you misunderstood the battery replacement threads. You've likely seen people asking about the 12v battery, which has to be replaced relatively infrequently like all cars on the market. This is the accessory battery that helps starting the car, etc., and is just a couple hundred.

The main battery that would cost thousands (or less on eBay, it seems), is only a problem in the rarest of cases, and shouldn't be a cause for concern when you're looking to buy a Prius, especially as it's covered under warranty as others have said.