Taxi company's Prius 'problem'....

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Dino33ca, Jan 8, 2015.

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  1. Dino33ca

    Dino33ca Member

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    So a local dealership service rep was telling me this story after I asked him if he's seen a fair amount of high mileage Priis around. He says yep we service most of the taxis here. We see quite a few gen 2 between five to eight hundred thousand kilometers. I ask him how many of these have had to have their engines replaced he says not too many, most of them still have their original engines. Then he goes on to tell me a story about a fellow in a small city up north (Central Interior, British Columbia). He says this gentlemen purchased a cab company after inspecting it's small fleet of Priis. He was satisfied with their condition and the fact that most of them had less than three hundred thousand kilometers on them.... Or so he thought! After taking them into service to the local dealership he found out that most of them have had their odometer displays replaced and that some of his cabs had close to eight hundred thousand kilometers! Not a happy camper. But hey, not bad for Prius durability! Also, an interesting note from this service rep... He said most of the cases of hybrid batteries going bad that they have investigated were caused by what was believed to be overheating of the batteries caused by pet hair, lint, and other debris plugging up the battery fan vent. He said especially taxis because they get so many customers always traveling in the back seat. Anyways happy driving....
     
    #1 Dino33ca, Jan 8, 2015
    orenji and Tideland Prius like this.
  2. littlehandegan

    littlehandegan Junior Member

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    I thought the odo stops at 299,000....maybe I am wrong
     
    #2 littlehandegan, Jan 8, 2015
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    best car ever.(y)
     
    #3 bisco, Jan 8, 2015
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    You are right with regards to older 2G model years. A taxicab will have difficulty generating revenue if the odometer is not incrementing as it should, so it would be a high priority to replace those displays.
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Jan 8, 2015
  5. Dino33ca

    Dino33ca Member

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    These cars odometers are in Kilometers not miles. I was under the impression that he meant the screen display actually failed, but not certain...
     
    #5 Dino33ca, Jan 9, 2015
  6. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    I've heard that the odometers get replaced due to "failure" on alot of car with high mileage! lol

    You can pay a few hundred to have the "problem" recitfied .....

    Good to see the cars are getting to those mileages all the same
     
    #6 Tony D, Jan 9, 2015
  7. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Tis well known that the gen2 Prius is strong and hardy. The gen3 is whole other matter which has been discussed at length.
     
    #7 GrumpyCabbie, Jan 9, 2015
  8. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    So when combo meter replaced the dealer is not required by law to re-install the odometer setting via Techstream or it cannot be done and the new combo shows 0 miles?
     
    #8 edthefox5, Jan 9, 2015
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    anyone that builds a car to last 800,000 km is going to lose money.
     
    #9 bisco, Jan 9, 2015
  10. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    I agree. I don't think that would be norm though. I'm sure they expect them to be well disposed of at that stage!

    I'm sure that they've made some money on parts / servicing over that mileage, but I'm sure that they'd prefer to have sold at least 2/3 cars in the meantime
     
    #10 Tony D, Jan 9, 2015
  11. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    If a Toyota dealer installs a new combination meter, the odometer reading is supposed to have been set at the factory to the prior reading. Hence the meter would be a special order.

    To prevent the car from logging additional miles while the new meter is enroute, some dealers want the car to be parked at the dealer's parking lot, while waiting for the new meter to arrive.

    I doubt that most cab companies would pay to have a new combination meter installed. More likely a used unit would be installed, which would have whatever odometer reading was present at the time the donor was wrecked.

    It is not possible to set the odometer reading in the field as far as I know. That would certainly be a source of potential fraud, if that were possible.

    I don't own a G3 so I don't follow those forums much. What are the major G3 reliability issues?
     
    #11 Patrick Wong, Jan 9, 2015
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  12. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    Don't even start Grumpy on his issues with his Gen3! You could be here all day LOL
     
    #12 Tony D, Jan 9, 2015
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    agreed. no offense to gc's personal experience, but i don't think we have any evidence of the claim.
     
    #13 bisco, Jan 9, 2015
  14. brucebee

    brucebee Junior Member

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    im with patrick, would like to know because someday will need a new prius. what i had heard they seemed better in everyway
     
    #14 brucebee, Jan 9, 2015
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That's one of the stranger design decisions, what were they thinking?
     
    #15 Mendel Leisk, Jan 9, 2015
  16. Scallywag

    Scallywag Member

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    Also curious.
     
    #16 Scallywag, Jan 9, 2015
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    either way, unless your planning on racking up several hundreds of thousands of miles, they're as or more reliable as any car on the road.
     
    #17 bisco, Jan 9, 2015
  18. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    lol. I'm covered by warranty now (upto 11 years/unlimited miles) and no longer do crazy miles, so frankly don't care any longer :)
     
    #18 GrumpyCabbie, Jan 9, 2015
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  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    c'mon, tell us how you really feel.:p
     
    #19 bisco, Jan 9, 2015
  20. brucebee

    brucebee Junior Member

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    cmon prius brother grumpie
     
    #20 brucebee, Jan 9, 2015
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