2007 Prius: is it time to sell?

Question

I have 50M on it and it is in pristine condition.
I am concerned about the battery life and what happens in six or seven years.
How long is the battery "supposed" to last?
How much will it cost to replace?

So I'm thinking of selling the durn thing and going with a used Honda or another Toyota. Thoughts?

Answer 1

The battery will last a long time.

I have worked on many with 150 to 200K on the original HV batt.

Also you have a 100,000 mile warranty on your Battery, don't sell it because of that.

Do some research and you will find out the truth.

There is a Cab company in New York that has many Prius with over 300,000 miles last I knew of and still running strong.

http://www.allaboutprius.com/blog/1019563_toyota-prius-tough-enough-to-be-a-taxi-anywhere

Answer 2

My standard of determining when to sell a car is based on the car's use value. Mark Salem of Salem Brothers car repair in the Phoenix area put the principle in very clear terms one day on a radio show he hosted. Identify your car needs and do a bit of research to see how much it costs to lease a car that meets those needs. Let's say it costs $300 per month for a car that does what you need. Assuming the car you have also meets those needs and is paid off, the time to retire Bessie is when the monthly repairs are approaching the lease cost and something big goes wrong. For example, if you spent almost $3000 last year keeping it on the road (just repairs, not the regular maintenance and consumables all cars need anyway) and the transmission croaks, it's bon voyage Bessie.



I have two 2002 Prius in the family. I bought mine with 103K miles on it and it has 136K now. I know the first generation cars I have are nowhere near as reliable as your second generation (especially the batteries, which have only about 200K miles real world life expectancy in the first generation compared to effectively indefinite life expectancy in the second and third generations), but so far neither has required any repair except for windshield replacements - everyday stuff here in Arizona - and both are still on the original brakes. They are by far the most reliable cars I have had in 40 years of driving.

Answer 3

There is nothing to worry about in six or seven years. Maybe in 15 or 20. It's a non-issue.



The traction battery (the large one) is something you just don't have to worry about. There are almost no failures. In fact, the mean time between failures isn't known because there just aren't enough Prius out there with 300,000 to 400,000 miles on them.



You should replace the small 12V battery at about five years (just like in any car).



The price for the large traction battery is under $2000 (plus about $600 for installation) and has been going down every year.



My 2001 and 2004 are both on the original battery and have been trouble-free and with low maintenance costs. (The 2001-2003 models have the older style battery which doesn't have the improvements of the 2004+ models).



There is currently every reason to believe that the Prius will last as long as any other Toyota.

Answer 4

If you do sell it I'd like to buy it. You deal with the depreciation and I get a car that car's barely broken in :] 50k is like nothing for modern cars. Those batteries are in a ton of other toyota hybrids (many with much higher mileage) and don;t have problems. I've seen batteries go for around 2k but they go bad after a seriously long time (like 150k+).

Answer 5

I hope you enjoyed your Prius.

I strongly recommend that you sell the car.

There are two sides to the answer: first, technical: the battery life is not as long as people imagine and your mileage should be showing this now. then the battery pack will cost you up to 15000$

On the other hand, excuse me to say that driving a car with an electric motor is the same as driving a fridge or a washing machine. Where is the fun????

Come on people, there is so much more to life than driving these horrid sluggish ugly things. Do you think you are saving on fuel? well I tell you what, go and drive carefully in any car you want, and you will save on fuel. I get better mileage in my 12 year old Mazda than my neighbor gets in his Prius.

Go ahead and get a life, look for a Mazda, it is the only decent company that makes cars for the Young at Heart.

Answer 6

I think with proper maintenance and upkeep it'll last another 50K easily.

Answer 7

If you have 50k miles, be happy you and your car have lasted this long. About 3/4 of Prius owners have seen new batteries in their cars by this time....The other 1/4 of Prius owners have unintentionally accelerated to their deaths.



Such a sad reality.



-TOYOTA SUCKS