I know the prius hasnt been out that long so i doubt anyone out there has over 160,000km on their car. But does anyone know what kind of maintenance is required after the battery waranty is up? will i need to replace the battery, toyota does say that it can last all the way up to 200,000km.

Does anyone have any idea of the cost of the hybrid battery right now?

I bought this car for my GF (she doesnt drive much BTW only to work and back) who will be my wife in the future and I'm planning to keep this car for her until the doors and wheels fall off.
While i change my vehicle every 4-5 years

 

Go to the "Model Comparisons" forum and read the thread "Fleet performance data" for links to a Dept. of Energy study, "...battery testing @ 160k miles." The other fleet reports will have more details about various long-term users of Prii.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

 

The previous model Prius (sedan often called "classic") has been sold in US since 2000, as a 2001 model. The high-odometer poster I see in the Yahoo groups is Eric Metzler who has 191k miles. He said his gas mileage has not decreased, which is one plausible side effect of a HV battery with reduced capacity. A few others check in from time to time with more than 100k miles, but not saying "I just bought a new HV battery". Not that it could not happen, but it appears to be very rare.

The new model Prius has a redesigned battery; nothing about the change makes me suspect that the HV battery will fail sooner.

The numbers tossed around for HV battery replacement cost seem to be in the $2k - $3k range, but one recent new model Prius free battery replacement under warranty had $1100 printed on the paperwork. One could just call a Toyota shop and ask them the price.

If I ever need a HV battery for my 2001 Prius I will probably look to the salvage market. Prius "crash out" of the fleet sooner than they suffer major component failures. I am hoping for 300k miles / 500 k kilometers.

DAS