To make a long story short, I finally put my order (reserve) on a 2006 package 7, that will be delivered BEFORE Oct 1st...After I have told some people about it, they have told me to be careful about the battery because if it goes, I will be spending lots of cash to replace it. Can someone shed some light on this subject so I can put myself and wife to rest about it? Thanks! ps-how does $28340 sound for a new 2006 package 7? Did we do okay?
Remember that there are two batteries in the Prius. The "big" battery that makes the car go has had very few problems. I read somewhere here that out of 50,000 sold there have only been 2 major battery problems. I had an '01 Prius and now an '04. No problems at all. Remember that the Hybrind system (including the battery) come with an 8 year warrenty. You will never have to worry about the battery. There is also a 12V battery which boots up the computer and runs some accessories. It is not much bigger than a motorcycle battery. The Hybrid battery keeps this battery charged and altho it is not the best of batteries on the market it does fine. It will have to be replaced about as frequently as you replace the 12V battery in any car. It is not under warrenty. If you read much on PriusChat you will see the the main battery is not a problem!
MSRP on a #7 is $28,221. So perhaps your number includes a dealer add-on, a documentation fee (pretty standard & required in some states I believe; it's anywhere from $20-$400 from what I've read on here, but I wouldn't think more than $100 is reasonable), or just the dealer looking for more money...
I wish I had kept the link but last year when I was doing research on the Prius I read that the design life of the high voltage battery in the Prius was 19 years. The fact that it does not ever get deep discharged along with the long design life will insure that there will be very little chance the high voltage battery will ever give you a problem. That is one of the reasons why I finally decided to purchase my Prius. Rest assured.
this is going to get rant-ish, but... i am SO SICK of people making that s*&^ up! seriously... if they don't know what they're talking about, why can't they keep their mouths shut? nooo, everyone's gotta be a smartass about it and go on about how your car is gonna fail. yeah like a car designed to put hybrids on the map as dependable and just as easy as driving a regular car is going to require you to buy new batteries all the time. yeah that's brilliant. here are the facts. 1. this is not like your cell phone/laptop/camera/remote control battery. its state of charge is STRICTLY regulated to maintain long life and not prone to user error unless you run the car out of gas, in which case you would still have to try really hard to run down the battery. 2. there have been, what, 2 or 3 replacements of said batteries in the US and how many prii on the road? uh yeah. percentage wise that's much better than automatic transmissions, i'd say. 3. it would also probably cost less to replace than said auto tranny 4. it's covered under the hybrid warranty: 8 years/100k 5. there are hybrid taxis out there far out of warranty and battery still running strong 6. there are salvage batteries around from totaled prii if you had a non-warranty failure 7. cost $3000, tops, if not covered by warranty and you buy the new battery 8. prices drop with time. by the time you're out of warranty it'll probably be substantially cheaper why does everyone suddenly become a car expert when you tell them you're about to buy a prius? my advice: tell them the above facts. then either tell them to shove it. or tell them it's best to keep your mouth shut and be thought of as a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. freakin' people. :angry: anyway congrats on the order
To add to what Galaxee said, Prius cabs will go out of the basic warranty within 6-8 months and the hybrid warranty with 1-1½ years. There are tons where I live (30 from one company alone.. and there are quite a number of companies with Prius cabs). I believe the cost is US$2,100 for a brand new one a few months ago (might've even been early this year) so by the time you need one, it should be really cheap. If not, there will be a cheaper alternative.
This idiocy is out there everywhere. My dad e-mailed me that someone on a sub-forum of one of his wood-carving web sites had said this same thing and he was e-mailing me to confirm the info.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Aug 27 2006, 12:09 AM) [snapback]310008[/snapback]</div> Geeez!!! Relax Funny that everybody I tell I bought a Prius warms me about the battery hehehe and they probably have no clue on how the Prius works. And whats even funnier is that they drive a gas guzzler HAHAHAHA
Funny that Evan beat me to it. I was going to have you ask your friend which hybrid owner told them about the problem. Or to put it another way, how do they have first-hand knowledge of issues with the hybrid battery? When someone tells me that I'm going to get burned with the hybrid battery goes out, I warn them that Coca Cola will rot their teeth. After all, I read it on the internet so it must be true!!
How many of you have owned a car with a transmission??? If it goes out it will cost you a lot of money.....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Aug 26 2006, 09:09 PM) [snapback]310008[/snapback]</div> In California and northeastern states with the CARB standards, the warranty on the battery and hybrid system is 10 years/150,000 miles.
