Yikes...question for everybody

2 steering racks? The steering racks on the 1str generation should have been warranty. I have never heard of replacing a transmission in a Prius.And the HV battery is warrantied till 100k,but you don't need to change it then. I have also not heard of one replaced either. The highest mileage one I have worked on was about 80k and it was still ok. As for the 2nd gen the highest was an 04 with about 55 k and looked like new. I think there are some members here that have a lot of miles and hopefully some one will post there experiences for you. For the most part you will find Prius owners proud of there cars but I am sure there are some horror stories too.

 

I bought a 2001 here in Japan with 75k kms on it in December 2004. We have already put 7k (about 4,500 miles) on it and it looks and drives like a new car.

The first Prius in Japan was sold in 1997. I have been tracking the auction prices here - and the resale value of used Prii are increasing weekly now due to the proven reliabilty, yen ($) saved per mile, and recent media coverage and consumer awareness of the car.

This week in the auctions, I saw a 1997 Prius with 264,000 kms that sold for nearly $5,000 US - and it is rare here for a used car to sell at all if it has over 150,000 kms.

My wife has been reading Japanese Prius web sites and there is no evidence of major repairs or battery problems that initially worried us - and believe me - if there is a problem, it would be major news here!

Since we bought ours, 3 of our neighbours have made a decision to buy one - and Japanese really do their homework before making a purchase.

If the car has been well maintained, I say go for it!

 

Someone posted either here or in PriusOnline that they had gone something like 240K for something like 3 years before needing a battery replacement. They found one at salvage. Cost them $1800 with installation.
By the way, it isn't only mileage that affects the battery, but time as well. Even with low miles, over time, the battery will eventually lose efficiency. However, it is warrantied for 8 years if you don't use the miles first.

 

what is your question

 

His question is, should he buy the car, and is what he was told about batteries and transmission true.

 

This is a double-post.

In the early models, there were a few (I heard about two) cases of PSD (the Prius equivalent of a transmission) failure. Both were due to early failure or factory error, and both were quickly taken care of by Toyota. Due to the nature of the PSD, this should be about the last part of the car to break (or was that brake?) under normal usage.

The traction battery is a wear item, meaning it will need to be replaced eventually. How soon that "eventually" gets here is still unknown, but chances are that you won't be worrying about this for another 75,000 miles.

Replacement cost by then will hopefully be in the sub-$1500 range.