I bought a 2008 prius a couple of weeks ago and did not buy the extended warranty at the dealership.

Forums in this website indicate that I could possibly buy an extended warranty (7year/75000/0 deductible) for ~$700 or less from "Troy" in MA or from toyota super store in KS.

I am sure this topic has been beaten to death by now but ...

would that be a waste of money even if it's "only" $700?

According to consumer reports Prius is very solid in reliability + some of the "electric" components have warranty to 7 or 10 years (?)

in other words, what are the chances of something breaking down 4, 5, 6, 6 1/2 years from now that would cost more then $700 to fix?
to me that probability is high but I could be wrong.

how are 2001-2003 prius holding nowadays?

any help is appreciated.

thanks to those who responded to my previous question

It depends upon how 'risk adverse' you are. First check if your state is in the California umbrella with the extended battery warranty.

It is hard to say because we don't have ready access to vehicle registration data, insurance and wrecker data. Some of the 2001 Prius are now 7 years old and the highest mileage Prius was lost in an accident after ~325k miles. We are seeing some evidence that these first generation, prismatic batteries are aging and may need refurbishment. But I've already started experiments in this area:


The preliminary data looks encouraging:


We've also had some success getting folks to look at and change transaxle oil early. The test results indicate this is a wise thing to do.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

thanks for the response Bob.

I read somewhere (maybe the manual) that the battery's life expectancy is ~150,000 miles. Being aware of that, If my battery needs replacement after that, I would not be devastated. By then, I would probably invest a few thousand $$ to convert it to a plug-in.

other that batteries, are there common well known problems with the prius
that occur over the years?
that's probably hard to answer

I have a couple of friends that have 2004 models and no problems of any kind. That's only 2 data points.

did the prius with ~325k miles have the original battery?
I've never had a car for that long


thanks again

Some of us are following NHW11, 2001-03 Prius closely and looking for trends. So far, we see:

• transaxle oil needs changing and tested 30-60K miles (30k in dusty areas)
• throttle plate cleaning needed probably at least every two years but it is cheap enough to do it with the annual engine air filter change
• rear wheel alignment is under investigation but it looks like this needs to be checked within the first year and a shim kit used to zero the toe and minimize the rear camber to extend tire life
• two oil / service changes per year, one in the Spring after the pollen slows down and one in the Fall before the first freeze

Original battery, transmission, engine and all other moving parts.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

Interesting isn't it that to sell you the car you're told how reliable and trouble free the car is, and on the other there's the sense of impending doom when your milage starts climbing over 50,000. I think it will depend on how confident you are in the car. I am, but on the other hand I did buy the extended warranty in 2006 because in the '05's I think it was which had problems.

Not helpful, I'm sure.

I didn't buy any extended warranty on my new 2008, although the finance guy (why do they always have the finance guy do it?) pushed it pretty hard.
I had a 2001, put 127k miles on it before I totaled it in an accident. Never had to do anything but change the oil, tires, and air filter every once in a while.

It's like insurance. Looking at it strictly from a monetary standpoint, it doesn't make sense. The odds of needing one or more repairs that would cost you what the warranty costs are small. If the peace of mind it gives you is worth the price, go for it.

If you buy one, I suggest waiting until the bumper-to-bumper factory warranty is close to expiring. You can buy the extended warranty anytime before then. There is little the extended warranty can do for you until then, and by then you'll have a better sense of the reliability of your model year.

I came close to buying one as I approached 36K miles. The only reliability issue that concerned me with my model year was potential MFD failure. Multiple reports of MFD failure have popped up in 2004 and 2005 models. Turns out, it was a factory defect that seemed to have been corrected after the early 2005s; mine is a late 2005. (Toyota never has acknowledged the defect publicly. The defect and the subsequent factory correction were identified from the meticulous and excellent diagnostic work of Hobbit -- a member of some of the Prius forums.) After being somewhat reassured that my model wasn't affected, and after hearing of no other major repair trends for my model year, I chose not to buy it.

If I had bought one, I would have bought it from Troy. He comes highly recommended from other Prius owners.

Jim

Lifetime fuel mileage:

After learning how to hypermile:

I DID buy mine from Troy mostly for the extra pece of mind. Hopefully I wil not need it very often, as the Prius Is rated vey dependable. I only have 5300 miles so far, so I can't really say much about if I will end up using enough to pay for it or not.

I DO Have an ongoing Navigation System Quirk whereby I cannot input my home street as it cannot see it, even though this subdivision is 15 years old.
My dealer has an open ticket on the Nav system. I reported the mising street to Navteq.

Hopefully becaue this abnormality is an ongoing thing, seemingly without any type of a solution, my dealer will have to supply me with an update disc free. Let's hope that's true.

You need to look at this objectively and make your decsion based on affordability for you.

Good Luck, Robert

I would have to agree with not purchacing the warranty, but if you must purchace one, wait until your factory warranty is set to expire. You have no idea if you will still own the vehicle then, what if you sell it, somebody hits you and totals it, steals it, or whatever...Keep the money and be happy that your car is covered 5yr 60k miles for powertrain and 100k miles on the hybrid stuff i think.


I just signed the papers for mine yesterday, the finance lady tried to tell me that the extended warranty from toyota was the ONLY one that would cover any hybrid parts. Well, I decided to analyze the fine print and right under the "not covered" items was the hybrid batt, etc that she was insisting i needed covered. Not to mention the longest extended warranty they offer expired at the same 100k that the toyota warr did.

The only real coverage you gain is powertrain past 60k and electronics past 36k IF you purchace a top shelf warr that covers those items