Advice Please

Hello!

This is my first Prius but I will say I plan to have it for at least 15 years. There is an 8 year warranty on the hybrid system and I believe first 3 years of maintenance are included. I had a European car before and although our mechanic could do anything with my husbands RAV4, I had to go to the dealer for specific issues. I'm not sure how well normal mechanics would deal with hybrids but they are becoming more frequent. Once your free maintenance ends, there is probably no reason you'd need to go to the dealer except for the hybrid system. Others can speak better on that.

As for snow, we've had snow a few times since I got mine and it did great, even on unplowed/unsalted residential roads.

 

The "all season" tires that come on the car are fine for regular driving and for roads with a small amount of snow. For serious snow (I lived in the Pittsburgh area as a child so I know what you're talking about) either (a) lay in a stock of food before the storm and stay home (if that is an option) or (b) put on a set of real snow tires in the winter. I use General Altima Arctics and they are amazing in snow, but there are other good ones. To avoid paying $85 for mounting/balancing every time I swap tires, I'm going to get a set of steel wheels for the winter tires. Tire Rack is one source for steel wheels.

For seriously deep snow (more than 5" of packed snow), the Prius, like most low-slung sedans, may bottom out so option (a) is the way to go in those conditions.

 

@Mollyg: If this would be your last car I gather that you are "of a mature age", so perhaps you are concerned about mobility in a snowstorm, as in getting to medical care if you need it. If road conditions are bad just dial 911. Once when I had persistent chest pain (which turned out to be just a muscle pull from unpacking boxes at work) and it was snowing heavily, my wife was afraid to drive so I drove myself to the hospital. Really stupid. Later when a friend had serious migranes with nausea and again when I had a ruptured appendix, I didn't hesitate to call 911.

 

Molly, Toyota just brought out a RAV4 hybrid that also comes in an AWD version either of which will have more ground clearance than the Prius. It will also get (IMO) significantly less fuel economy though. Sounds like you're an older person so getting in/out of the car becomes more important than many other factors. The RAV should be much better in this respect.

FWIW

 

My 2004 has needed almost no maintenance in 12 years and 130,000 miles other than the normal stuff - tires, oil, wipers, 1 12V battery, etc. It's the lowest cost to maintain of any car I've ever owned at less than 3 cents a mile - 5 times less than my wife's Nissan Pathfinder.

Great in the snow and ice due to low CG and electronic stability control, horrible in deep snow due to low ground clearance.

 

With the exception of the brakes, most routine maintenece can be done by any mechanically inclined person.

Repairs are rare, but potentially expensive, when finally needed. (Your brakes commonly last 250,000 but then are a dealer repair)

 

I just had my brakes checked at 130,000 miles and they were 80% of original thickness.

 

I live in Pa also. We are on our third Prius. They work wonderfully for our winters. I've never bought snow tires either. If you did it would be even better.

Maintenance is free for the first 25k miles through toyota and after that it really is just basic stuff till you get way up there in mpg.

 

I live in upstate NY, where the winters can be rough. I found that 4 snow tires in the winter were just as effective as AWD on my CRV. Your mpg will take a hit due to the snows & cold temps, tho.
Only routine maintenance so far: oil changes, tires, etc. No downtime due to repairs. Very reliable & inexpensive to maintain!

 

Molly, I've had my 2015 Prius through two Wyoming winters. I drive 2-3k miles per month on all kinds of roads, from interstate highway to one-lane paths. The first winter I left the oem all-weather tires on it, thinking brand new all-weather tires should do well. I wasn't happy with them AT ALL. This past winter I installed 4 Bridgestone Blizzaks (snow tires). They made a HUGE difference. I waited until after the first snow, so it was easy to compare... except that there was no comparison! That said, we had a warm, dry winter this year, so there wasn't much deep snow. I wouldn't drive it in any snow more than 5-6 inches deep, because there's only 5" of clearance. And getting the Prius "unstuck" is quite a trick, thanks to the transmission, etc. You can't really "rock" it to get out. It won't let the tires spin either. I did get stuck once shortly after I bought the car last year, and I was only in 4-5" of snow. (However, it was a very wet snow, and had settled some.) I did a lot of digging with my boots, then a little "rocking" (about 1 inch), then more boot digging and more rocking until I was able to back out. With the Blizzaks I'm pretty sure I could have just plowed through and not gotten stuck.

With just about 40K miles on the car, I've yet to spend a dime on it other than fuel and tires. Maybe there was one oil change that I had to pay for... not sure. Oh, correction. I bought a little black plastic piece that goes into the wheel wells. Toyota dealer replaced two of them for me, then charged me like $20 for the last one. They seem to fall off. I know at least a couple are missing now, and I give up. It's probably from some of the rough country roads I drive on.

 

I just sold my 2010 V and the only thing I replaced in 62000 miles were small battery, tires and normal air cabin and oil filters. It was a really great car. Drove it from Ohio to California 3 times and it averaged 46.5 mpg. It does fine in snow as long as it's not too deep. I would take it to Toyota for service and the battery is guaranteed for 8 years or 100K.
I've had a 2016 Prius Touring for a week now and I like it other than the back bar system is really leaves a lot to be desired and no spare tire. Averaging 56.9 mpg for the first 250 miles.

 

Jump in the water it is fine. I like the Touring as the tires have a good solid firm feel on the road. After 9 hybrids and numerous other vehicles the Prius has been the most trouble free vehicle I have ever owned. Better than a Mercedes. I always go to the dealer and turn down everything except the oil change unless it is free. Free is good.

Need all those safety features in the Four Touring with convenience package.

My next car will be self driving. Take me to ER and then lunch.