The maintenance of a Prius

In common experience it's less expensive. There is much less wear on brakes and there is no fluid transmission or clutch to wear out. Fewer than 20 traction batteries are known to have been replaced out of more than 500,000 in service.

 

If I lived in Italy I would buy a Smart car in a heartbeat! They're so small and cute and you could probably get 2 or 3 for the price of a Prius and still park them in the same space that 1 Prius normally occupies

 

Think of it like this: the only real difference is the Hybrid power train, and that's covered under a 10 year warrenty... all other aspects are the same as a car. As stated above, there is actually less "regular" maintainence done, since the brakes wear out slower due to the frictionless regenerative braking. While the car really isn't too old yet, there's tons of data which suggests there will very few items that need addressing and aren't covered by toyota, at elast in the first 5 years or so.

 

So far, in my limited experience, I've found that the cost of driving & maintaining my Prius is less than than my previous car when it was still (almost) new. Each oil change (yes, I'm one of those who takes it to the dealer to get serviced) has been a mere $60 every 5,000 miles (I now have just over 10,000 miles on it). My Saturn, if memory serves me right, was more like $75 every 3000 miles; and the Saturn techs were ALWAYS seeming to find something else on my car that needed fixing when I took it in for routine maintainence so I finally stopped going there. I also plan on purchasing the extended warranty for the Prius before I reach the 36K mile mark.

 

The "Smart" car really ain't so smart- here in Canada, they run about $25k delivered vs. about $37k delivered on a Prius, so no, you couldn't buy two or three.. The mileage of the small car is marginally better, but it doesn't have the acceleration, range, comfort or utility of the Prius.. You could buy two Yaris' for the price of a Prius though, and if you're in the market for a small cute car, the Yaris is definitely a "smart" choice..

 

My Smart-A** remark was a bit tongue-in-cheek. It's definitely no good as a family car, and I wouldn't trade my Prius for one (or even 2!).

As for maintenance, I have a friend with an '01 Prius who has never had it in the shop except for oil changes. That's fairly low! We'll see in a few more years how we're all doing, but I think it's looking good so far.

 

no, its not...esp. compared to an Alfa, Lamborgini, Ferrari, but it is more compared to say a Lambretta, Vespa or Piaaggo !

 

I have no knowledge of maintenance costs in Italy. In the US, routine maintenance performed that the Toyota shops costs just as much but not more than other Toyota models it seems. However there are opportunities to reduce that cost by doing the simple stuff oneself, and making a few other reasonable adjustments to the maintenance schedules.

In almost all cases the brakes last a very long time. In almost all cases the transmission does as well, which contrasts to conventional automatic transmissions. I believe that one of the important savings is not having a conventional automatic transmission. In almost all cases the hybrid battery does not require service.

The spark plugs last about 100,000 miles. The air induction system needs periodic cleaning. There are no periodic 'engine tuneups' in the classic sense.

The 12 volt battery is small, and will eventually need replacing. Tires and suspension components will probably wear out much like any similar sized vehicle.

I have a 2001 Prus now with 93,150 miles and my overall maintenance costs have been about 2.5 cents per mile incluidng tires.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AlbertoC67 @ Aug 22 2006, 09:42 AM) [snapback]307483[/snapback]</div>

<tic>Three of them might be. </tic>

ducking...

 

From what I've seen of the oil changing process, the Prius will automatically be cheaper right from the start. My wife averages 5000 every two months (if not sooner), and each oil change is usually around $30 for regular oil, more like $44-$60 for synthetic. It appears that the Prius is fairly easy to change the oil on - it's even possible to change it without jacking the car up.

Combine that with the fact that it is a Toyota, which should make it very reliable.

 

At 35k miles I have had only oil and filters. The mechanic says the brakes are 95% good but unused is closer to the truth. I did have my transmission oil changed at 35k miles because it looked dark and do a lot of pulse and glide driving and there are questions about cooling during the long glides. Cost me 50 US what is that now about 10E . May not have been necessary but it made me feel like I was protecting the car. All in all I am using less gas, less oil less of everything and I am polluting less. Does it get better than that. I sure hope so.

 

Classic 2001 Prius- previous owner followed Toyota's service intervals to the letter up until I bought the car; had the free TSBs for steering, battery sealing and fuel tank filler done, but no other major maintenance. Since I've owned it, I've driven it up to 210,000 km, and have had absolutely no issues with the hybrid system; in fact, the car's reliability has been stellar and overall maintenance costs have been much lower compared to other vehicles I've owned: heck the car still has its original brake pads which were 85% when I bought the car and are about 70% now!! I'm doing regular oil changes (which I'm doing roughly at 8000-10000km intervals- I use synthetic and basically change twice a year, in the fall, just before winter and in the spring), and I've started transaxle fluid changes. The only major mechanical work required: I recently replaced a front wheel bearing (which lasted over 200,000 km, so that's pretty darned good), but that's the only mechanical service it has required, so I'm well ahead in both fuel and maintenance costs..

On the other hand, the car does eat tires much faster than any other car I've owned.. Figure on getting at best 50-60% of rated mileage on the tires, even at higher inflation.. I put on a new set of Michelin Hydroedge at about 160,000km, and at 210,000km with 45 psi, regular rotation and alignments, the edges of the tread are just about down to the wear indicators, although there's plenty left in the centre.. This has been claimed to be because of the extra weight of the vehicle, but I've driven heavy vehicles before without this kind of wear, so I'm thinking its got to be something fundamental with the design of the front suspension and steering, especially as the rear tires seem to wear much more evenly, despite the extra weight of the battery..

 

<_< Hi Ichabod

LOL... You don't have to wait or be in Europe to buy a "Smart Car." They're available in the U.S. now. CUTE but of very limited utility. So... rush down and trade your Prius for one. [Very much tongue in cheek]