How does the Prius hold up? - Page 2

 

I have a 2008 Prius purchased only three months ago. I would prefer a
larger trunk, but its ok. I have a folding bike that spends a lot of
time in my Prius' trunk. Little else fits in there unless I stash it in
the lower compartment. When I take a friend who's wheelchair bound out,
if I fold down the rare seats and shove my bike forward, her large
wheelchair fits in fine.

  Bill wrote:

Consumer Reports rates the Prius tops in reliability.  There's little
maintenance to do (change oil and rotate tires, of course), nothing at
all for the electrical components of the hybrid.  The CVT (continuously
variable transmission) is remarkably simple, no doubt contributing to
the Prius' reliability.  The gas engine is designed to shut off when the
car stops for a red light, etc. and often as one drives, so the gas
engine does not get as much wear as would the usual auto engine.

Here in California the Prius high voltage battery is warranteed for 10
years or 150,000 miles.

Brake pads should last for a very long time because so much of the
braking is done by charging the battery instead of brake pad friction.

You say the Prius is a little small.  On the inside the car (mine is a
2008 purchased in Oct. 2007) seems a lot larger than it would appear
from the outside.  I find the hatchback design is extraordinarily
functional.

The Prius government safety ratings for 2008 are 4-stars except for the
front side crash 5-star rating.  Yes, I would have liked all 5-stars.

The biggest problem I have had is finding my car in the parking lot
because there are so many silver Prius's around.  My fix for that was to
customize my silver Prius by wrapping yellow tape around the antenna.

     Tom

 

If you need space, look at the Camry hybrid or Ford Escape hybrid. Both
are quite roomy.


I've only had mine for over two years and bought it used with 49,300
miles. I expected to replace the tires and did after a year. I've
changed the oil, added a 1 kW inverter and otherwise driven over 50,000
miles getting 52.3 MPG. The new ones get even better mileage and have a
lot more space and performance.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 "Bob & Holly Wilson"...

.... and have less MPG too.


Mine after a year and a third is just fine, no problems at all.  We get
52-56 MPG every tankful (right now the tank is almost empty and it reads
54.7).

Get in one and drive it before you decide it is too small.  It uses the
TARDIS principles where the inside is bigger than the outside <g>.
Tomes

 Tomes wrote:


So you are really getting about 52 MPG. The factory MPG meter is pretty
good but its optimistic by at least 2 MPG. $@^&@ P.O.S. being 4% off...  :-)