What would you have bought if not a Prius?

Thanks for speaking up. One of the problems I had with the Volt was finding out what kind of options there were because at the time the Volt driver user community was still new. Nice to know there are cheaper L2 recharging solutions - the L2 solution is faster and the better solution for the Chevy Volt. One of the reason I picked a Prius was because the Prius driver user community was pretty much established and very active - it was the safest path for a technological neophyte - to run behind the coat tails of the pioneers... (9_9).

I didn't qualify for the tax rebate because my income level wasn't high enough so the tax incentives never were part of my purchasing equations..

I was estimating that the HV battery Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf would last 16 years before it needed replacing ( at approximately 15 years I was estimating that the Li-Ion battery pack would retain about 75% of it charge - losing about 10% of it charging capacity about every 6 years). I was basing that on my research at the time on Lithium Ion battery pack and the specs initial spec that I was reading on the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The reason - I tied the lifespan to the HV battery was because I didn't know how far either GM or Nissan would support providing a replacement HV battery and whether third party HV battery vendors would be allowed - given the squabbling about IP rights about HV Battery Pack in the past. Actually 16 years is a long lifespan for a Lithium Ion battery - some of the 2nd gen Prius after market Li-ion battery packs were only rated for 6 years ( about 66% charge capacity left after 6 years - this is because aftermarket Li ion batteries were allowed to drain down to 20% capacity before switching off).

 

Something that doesn't have 16.5 degrees tilt in the driver's seat cushion at the lowest height setting. Too much. Have two data points showing '02 Civic and '92 Mazda626 top out at 14 deg tilt. More data to come and will be looking to see if Prius (and maybe Corolla) are outliers vs. other brands. What is Toyota trying to accomplish with so much tilt? Makes it a pain to reach the gas pedal without undue pressure on the legs.

 

1) Subaru impreza sport which is just as practical and has more options than the Prius. But with worse fuel economy.

2) Or a 2014 Mazda 3 hatch, but quality is not as good as Toyota and less headroom and overall interior room

 

walt,
One more point that surprise me when I read it.
The Volt HV battery replacement costs are LOW:

HYBRID COMPONENTS / HYBRID COMPONENTS / BATTERY / BATTERY
BATTERY Volt
MSRP Core ? Online Price
$2,994.64 $0.00 $2,347.80

Found here: 2013 Chevrolet Volt OEM Parts - GMPartsOnline.net

Plus as you said, by the time you may need one a new tech battery may be offered.

The Volt has a liquid cooling/heating system for the battery and use only 10Kw of the rated 16.5Kw.
The Leaf has issues with cooling its HV battery. Only ambient air, I think. I don't know the details.

I read the newest PiP has only one Li-Ion battery that displays as two separate batteries.
What does it have for a Thermal Management System?

 

The PiP has blower motors for the battery.

 

Honda Accord. I even looked at the Insight but did not like the look.

 

I would probably opt for the Honda Accord. My wife wants an Avalon Hybrid (we have a 2001 Avalon that runs great, looks good imo, and I got 27 mpg on the last tank, but its 13 years old and she wants a new car!).

 

'55 Chevy, '69 Camaro, Scion F-RS, M3... But since we needed a family friendly, gas saver car we chose the Prius. Funny thing is that it was supposed to be my car but the wife seems to have forgotten that fact!!!


iPhone ?

 

Eldo,
I assume you mean the PIP uses air sucked out of the cabin for TMS of the HV battery.
Like a normal Prius.
But when the car is sitting in the sun and being charged at the same time, that is not cooling air.
I think that is the issue with Leafs in hot areas. Ambient air is not cooling air.

And in very cold weather Li-Ions work better if warmed to a decent operating system.
On the Volt the HV battery is cooled with the AC compressor or heated with its own heater as needed,
while charging or being driven.

The most Gas Saving cars don't use any gas,,, when you don't need it!

 

I would have purchased a 2006 Honda insight but they no longer make a standard transmission with 3 cylinder that weighed 2000 lbs. Fuel was a big concern and I had to settle for something fuel efficient. If fuel economy wasn't a factor I would have purchased a Acura RSX Type S.

 

My understanding is that this is the battery pack hardware only, with no battery modules included

As far as I know, GM does not sell a complete pack even to dealers. Battery failures are dealt with by tearing down the pack and diagnosing and replacing individual bad modules. So cost is a function of diagnostic time and how many bad modules / parts are found. From what I've read, dealer quotes for a compete replacement have been as high as $34k, but I believe this is purely speculative based on what they think it might take to diagnose and completely rebuild an entirely failed pack.

 

$34K ?!? That's more than I paid for the whole dang car !!

I'm afraid you got that number from a particular news network or just about any AM talk radio source.
But, , Dittos on this info!
You know these same sources were putting out some outrageous claims about the Prius, remember?

I'm believing the parts catalog and all the sources I have about this amazing American made car.
Besides, I have 8 yrs or 100K miles to find out if there is even any measurable battery degradation.
It only uses 10 Kwh of the 16.5 Kwh rated pack.
Some say SW can start using that reserve to make degradation not apparent to the driver.
Only time will tell...

 

The source was from this greenautoblog article, quoting a dealer service manager. I didn't say it would cost $34k, that's just what the service manager speculated it could cost in the unlikely scenario that you needed to completely replace the pack. The bottom line is nobody seems to really know, because there is not a single part number for the entire pack. Its not intended to be a single replaceable unit.

Chevy Volt replacement battery cost varies wildly, up to $34,000

FWIW I was one of a number of people that looked into this a year or so ago, as 16kWh of lithium batteries for $2300 would be of interest to a lot of non-Volt owners. That's when we figured out that this part number doesn't actually include any battery modules. Its meant for replacing a damaged casing, from an accident or whatever. You'll notice that is what is actually shown in the parts diagram on the page you linked, compared to the "fully loaded" casing pictured in the article.

Rob

 

This GMauthority review of that blog entry reaches a similar conclusion. The $2300 part doesn't include the actual batteries, no one really knows, meant to be rebuilt not replaced, $34k sounds high if you did have to replace it.

Chevrolet Volt Replacement Batteries Could Cost Anywhere From $3,400 To $34,000 To Replace | GM Authority

 

A replacement battery for Chevrolet's Volt costs more than the car? | Page 2 | PriusChat

 

isn't it grand!

 

Last new car time I decided I wanted to try one of those new hybrid cars. I read many good things about the Toyota Prius, but thought we should cover more bases by also checking Honda. Had never before owned a Toyota or Honda.
I kind of liked the more conventional looking Honda with a "normal" trunk, but thouight Prius hybrid system was better. Very glad we bought the 2010 Prius. Toyota quality, superior hybrid system and the large cargo capacity of the liftback with the rear seats folded. We were going from a Dodge LWB minivan and thought we would lack room for big shopping boxes and such with a car. In 5 years, have not found much of anything that will not fit in the rear of a Prius. Anything larger / heavy, I know enough to take the pickup. Have never regreted the Gen 3 Prius.
Always hate the 2-3 winter months when we switch from the Prius to the 4x4 pickup. My fuel consumption goes up 300%

 

Only 2-3 months of winter, North Dakota! Yeah! Right! I lived in Fargo for a year can't fool me!

 

Whups, you got me, I guess I should say when the winter snow is deep enough to trouble a Prius with only 4-1/2 inches to clear hard drifts.

 

I would imagine that moving air, hot or not, would be better than stagnant air when charging the battery.