prius 2010 hybrid batteries dead at 126000km and up on atleast 3 taxis i know of

Last month Autoplus.fr made a survey, and Prius/Prius+ leaded by far in LESS problems than its counterparts as a taxi, and running costs. And in France, diesel is still about 10% cheaper per litre than petrol.
I believe bad news is...having no hybrids out of 400+ taxis in your town...

 

It's interesting to note that New York City has 6000 Hybrid taxis in service. Yes, you read it right... Six Thousand!!! That is 45 % of the entire fleet. Still growing in numbers, I think the question of Hybrid reliability has been answered.

 

Learned something tonight on the UK websites about Toyota warranties and taxi use. The comment above me says that New York has thousands of taxis and no issues - apparently. Well if I recall, New York has the 10 year/150,000 mile warranty being a CARB State. More than double the warranty I got.

It is said that Prii are popular in many European Countries and thus both Socrates and I are trolling. Well it appears some places are also forward thinking when it comes to taxis and positive impression they can give of a car to prospective purchasers. In Norway they offer a 300,000km (186,000 miles) warranty on hybrids used as taxis. Hardly going to hear taxi drivers in either New York OR Norway moan about being hit with big bills like Socrates and I.

Taxi drivers in the UK and Greece are getting 60,000 miles or 100,000 km warranty and are obviously understandably upset when their battery pack goes belly up at 100,000 miles/160,000km.

I'm guessing taxi drivers/fleets in New York aren't going to be too upset if their battery pack fails at 145,000 miles and replacement over 150,000 miles isn't a problem as you've already had your moneys worth out of the car. A Norwegian cabby is going to be even more spoilt.

The Prius could still be a lemon (or highly strung thoroughbred), just they're getting much improved service.


Garantioversikt for Toyota Personbil, Varebil og Taxi

Toyota har en egen avtale for taxier med 5år/300 000 km. Kommer i tillegg til Toyota's regulære garantibestemmelser.

Toyota has a separate contract for taxis with 5år/300 000 km. Coming in addition to Toyota's regular warranty provisions.

 

How many of those are 3rd gen Prius? I don't recall seeing a lot.

 

That's because the Gen II's aren't worn out yet, I would guess.

 

That's is a wild guess.
I certainly did not think of that for a second!

What I do think: Statistics. It is a technical perspective of a performance of a product in a specific duty/service.
And I recently caught that at home: despite buying a previously named as reliable brand, my laptop failed on me.
My event is to be diluted among other users accumulated experience, thus not significantly change the studies' results...

When going for Prii, a taxi driver/owner knows that fuel economy is granted. When predicting parts/servicing/reliability costs it happens that the ICE-only counterparts are to be serviced for sure, and both you and Socrates know that: diesel EGR, DPF, DMF, turbos, injectors, fuel filters and glow plugs are consumable parts...and Prii wear less brake pads and tyres...

 

I think the problem with prius is it's a very reliable car overall statistically speaking, but when something fails, it's something major, and you are looking at $2000-5000 (or more) to fix it at a dealer.

But, after saying this, it clear to me 3rd gen Prius has more problems than 2nd gen. Recent botched brake recall is a good example. I don't recall stories about brakes failing completely in 2nd gen.

 

It is indicative of 'bad' Toyota which caused all the issues that caused the recall problems. I wonder if gen3.5 will be more reliable, as will Toyotas going forward. I think they became complacent and rested on their laurels.

Just doesn't help me.

 

now grumpy, we know you're not trolling. you have a right to complain, there just isn't much sympathy around here. not that it would help your situation. as for socrates, some of us just don't understand his philosophy. especially when he's yelling.

 

hey grumpy ;-)

do you have or others have more trouble beside the battery pack then with a non hyrbrid?

maybe a transmission replacement? thats would be the saem cost as a battery pack right?

you have less brake replacements so overall the same or less cost.

and you save on feul and you doing a better job for the city air...
so overall will it not be the same or better? driving a hybrid in your situation even with the lower waranty and battery replacement.

its maybe just that you did not expect it.

 

I just thought that Toyota reliability was legendary but this car has fallen significantly short of expectations.

I think in America the Prius is a big issue because it gets 50 mpg (UK) where their other cars get 25 or less. In Europe the Prius gets good economy but many similar sized diesels get very close for less purchase cost. The Prius also needs servicing more often (every 10,000 miles) compared to European petrols and diesels (every 15,000 - 20,000 miles). The brake pads lasted me 30,000 miles in my heavy town use compared to 20,000 in a diesel. An inprovement but not the 'ever lasting' the US owners experienced. I believe the Euro pads are softer to give more bite. The replacement cost whilst not high is not as low as a Mondeo for example.

Then we get onto transmissions and high cost items. Sure the Prius transaxel is expensive but so is an auto transmission on a Passat or Mondeo BUT they can be fixed anywhere for 50% lower labour costs than a Toyota main dealer. The inverter is the same cost as a DPF but I never expected one to need replacing at 70,000 miles (112,000km).

So all in all the Prius costs slightly more to keep on the road than a diesel, costs more to buy, is limited in where you can get it fixed, is ever so slightly smaller and will be a financial nightmare when it goes wrong out of warranty.

The positives: It is a super smooth ride and very comfortable. It does get good mpg's on a run, there are some small tax benefits here in the UK and it helps keep the air much cleaner.

So if anyone was thinking of getting a taxi to use in the UK, I'd suggest they get a gen2 (if their area will allow such an old vehicle to be put on the road - age limits apply) or make sure they get a later gen3 with a warranty and get the hell rid of it when the warranty gets close to expiring. The only places a Prius IS viable as a taxi here is in London where you won't have to pay the £10 daily congestion charge fee or York where there are incentives. Otherwise stick to what you know (Mondeo, Superb, Passat etc) and if air quality is a concern to you, get a petrol or lpg. The higher fuel costs will be more than recovered compared to the much higher expense of a hybrid.

 

is it still just 3 taxi's in all of europe with 'premature' battery failure?

 

No reports on the gen2. It also appears (hearsay) to be early gen3's which had the 5 year 60,000 mile warranty.

Was talking to a taxi driver from Leeds a few weeks ago and we talked about the Prius. He said a number of drivers were getting them but were mainly sticking to the gen2 and the 'new one' as he called it, was not as good.

Reputation takes a long time to build (10 years for hybrids to get into mainstream taxi ownership here) and moments to destroy.

 

Cannot agree, but it is my POV...as said before in this thread...

 

And it's appreciated.

My views were if I were buying a car as a taxi in the UK (diesel costs more than petrol and lpg is half the cost). I am no longer a taxi driver and my total commute is now 10 miles a day. My next car will probably be an EV. Would i buy a Prius for my present journey? Maybe. Would I buy one to do 35,000 miles a year in my town? No.

 

Grumpy, would you consider a Prius Plug-in or are you leaning toward all EV?

 

here diesels are more expensif to buy and to taxes.

also compared to a same size car i think the back legroom is 1 class higher.

and you maybe just got the early models prius 3 that got some troubles...

maybe 2013-2014 these things will last longer.

so you needed a battery replacement and inverter?
maybe some things where related and you where just unlucky
and having the internet to tell the world your prius did not do that well

do we read about NON taxis prius 3 that are dropping like its hot?

the numbers still seam to be small with over 4.000.000 on the road today

 

I'd have loved a PIP but Toyota UK have over priced it and over speced it. It costs more than the top end Leaf to buy and with our duty and vat/sales tax, that's one heck of a lot of money for a Toyota. I'd rather buy a nearly new Leaf than the ultra rare PIP. As I've mentioned before, Toyota class the hybrid versions as top spec of a model range and price it accordingly. The PIP is the top of that.

Shame, but that's how Toyota UK like it. Why sell two when you can make almost as much profit selling one seems to be their reasoning.

 

I have a top of the line Leaf and it is great. You'll definitely like it.

Do taxi's have to pay congestion charge in the larger cities like London? If so, a Prius would save a bunch of money if you were consistently driving in and out of the limits.

 

I've only driven in London a few times as it's over 200 miles away but the laws on taxis are strange in the UK as they vary depending on the local town/city and London is a different matter altogether. Mainly there are the black cabs or London taxis which can be hailed in the streets. Then you have what Londoners call Minicabs which are normal cars that can be prebooked by phone. They cannot be hailed. Other towns have a similar system but it's more combined and it's mainly normal cars.

In London the black cabs don't pay congestion charge but the minicabs do (I think). As such, it makes sense for minicab companies to get hybrids (the latest ones don't pay the charge). I might be wrong. But the rules on entry to the congestion charge zone change and I think the emission limits have lowered, so maybe it'll make sense to buy PIP's - probably why Toyota charge a lot for them

In my town there were no benefits to a hybrid. Fuel savings eventually didn't justify the extra cost. Some towns are starting to offer benefits for using a hybrid as a cab and the incentives make them viable.

Clear as mud.