I know, I know... no one drives those any longer. However, I kept my 1990 Festiva running because maintenance was minimal and I'm generally pretty frugal. Gas mileage wasn't bad either After the Festiva had basically turned to more rust than functioning car, I bit the bullet and picked up the Prius. So far, it is much more enjoyable to drive than my 20+ year old Ford (shocker eh?) Being that I drive my cars until there is no way to get them to move any longer, what can I expect down the road? I had over 170k miles on my Ford. Any pricey problems with the Prius I can expect later on in the Prius' life?
I keep my cars like you do: until they won't drive any longer. My previous Taurus went to 200K miles and the tranny went out. Congrats on your new Prius and welcome to PriusChat. Honestly, I'm not anticipating any maintenance problems with my Prius believing it will give me 200-300K miles of use. The only way I anticipate another car is if better MPG technology comes along, not counting an all electric unless they can get 500 mile range and instant recharge! That's not asking too much is it? Assuming you've browsed the threads, you'll find very little required maintenance: no belts, pulleys, brakes/pads ought to last for a long time. READ THE OWNER'S MANUAL as you learn a ton of stuff there. Enjoy the MPG, technology and low-emissions.
Somewhere near 200,000 miles you may need a new HV Battery, currently a rebuilt one will set you back around $1800. Budget $200 every 4 years for a 12 volt battery, although of the owners who replaced theirs with a Optima Yellowtop, we have not heard of any failures. The Fob battery is $2, it is a CR2032. Consider replacing fluids each 60,000. My dealer did the transaxle fluid but claimed the brake fluid, inverter coolant and engine coolant were all fine.
I personally dislike AGM batteries. I have had my flooded batteries last well over 6-7 years and gone through 2-3 Optimas in less than a year's time. When the battery does go, I don't think I would go with a deep-cycle either (depending on how the system uses it). I would presume that it acts much like a standard car battery though. I will need to crack open the owner's manual and read a bit more. I'm relatively handy, so fluid changes and such shouldn't be an issue. Thanks for all the insight though
Toyota chose to put the 12 volt battery inside the passenger compartment with you and your loved ones. So they use an externally vented AGM battery to prevent fumes and acid from ever spraying loose inside the car, a good idea given the location. The 12v volt battery never runs a starter motor, so it use is not all that similar to most car batteries.
Sometimes. Look up Tony Schaefer here on Prius Chat and listen to the What Drives Us podcast. Chicago Prius Group
