I'm thinking of buying a prius but my family is concerned that the car is too new and if it breaks down no one will know how to repair it. Even though I can take it back to a dealer to repair it, I'm worried of what will happen if I'm not around one. Any Prius owners have any useful info they can give me about the feel of the car, view, or engine problems? Also sharing your experiences maintaining and repairing or having one repaired would be nice. thanks

 

The Prius has proven a very reliable car. It isn't even "new" anymore, as the first-generation has been out for five or so years, forgetting even the three years it was only in Japan. The second-generation has been out for two years. When I got mine, it came with Toyota roadside assistance service just in case. Also, there are enough on the road now that they aren't too unique.

 

I agree with Jason that it has been out a while and has proven dependable.

BUT not too unique???? Are you implying that they're main stream enough to take to Joe Mechanic?

Newguy, you will need to take the Prius to a Toyota mechanic if you have a problem. It's something we hybrid owners all know and accept. Fortunately, you shouldn't ever be too far from a dealer.

Maintenance choice is certainly worth consideration, but if you want a hybrid and don't get one, you'll always regret it. I think you can see by this board that there are very few regrets!

Good luck in your decission!

 

Well, it depends what the problem is. If it's with the hybrid system, sure. What's so horrible about taking it back to a Toyota dealer?

 

All new Prii come with roadside assistance. Toyota doesn't want unhappy hybrid owners. They'll take you to the dealer, I'm sure, and make sure all your needs are met. Because Toyota wants to be sure this technology has a good name.

Unfortunately most major work MUST be done by a Toyota dealer/Prius Tech. Otherwise you're running a risk of someone really messing up your car and/or getting electrocuted. Minor things like oil changes can be done elsewhere but for warranty's sake most people go to the dealer anyway or do it themselves and get the warranty book stamped.

All in all there are very few problems with the Prius. Many (I stress MANY not ALL because some people just do stupid things to their cars) problems are covered under warranty, and in that case you'll have to go to the dealer anyway.

 

I'm willing to admit that I might be the fool here, but all vehicles I have owned, I have done the basic maintenance myself and taken them back to a dealer for more involved service. Now, a 20 year old vehicle may not have anything in it which would require the expertise, or rather the equipment that a dealer must have to service their brand's vehicles, however the newer the vehicle the more computer systems and sensors there are on the system. This means that whoever services a vehicle has to have diagnostic equipment.

With OBD and OBDII, a well healed independent mechanic can get the equipment to scan for codes and start a diagnosis that way, however manufacturer diagnostic equipment usually can go many steps further. A basic code reader also requires referencing a code book for that manufacturer to get an on board diagnosis. However, dealer equipment can usually give the mechanic plain English descriptions of problems, and do more advanced engine control and monitoring.

I don't know too many independents that have the money or the resources for the best of the third-party diagnostic systems which offer the same capabilities as dealer/manufacturer hardware.

So, after all those words, it comes down to training, documentation and equipment. The Prius right now requires a Toyota dealer to properly diagnose and service these cars, beyond normal maintenance. As time goes on, this may change and improve and independent shops will gain more capabilities to service these vehicles, but that remains to be seen.

 

My 2 cents here: I'd be worried by NOT buying a hybrid, especially the Prius! The tech in the current Prius has been around 8 years. It's proven. It's reliable. It's time to get over the worries of "new" and "Hybrid". The Prius has far outdone any of my expectations of what a reliable, fun, roomy and fast-enough-for-me car should be. Cars, machines, computers...they're all a crap shoot. Heck, all things are a crapshoot in life. Some are just less of a crapshoot, like a Toyota. Go with the Prius and never look back, it IS the futrue and the future is green.

 

We had similar concerns when we got the 2001 Prius, and what I recommended was to buy the shop service manual. If you are technically inclined you can eventually service the vehicle yourself, and if not then at least you can provide the service techs where you take your vehicle to with adequate information about service and repair procedures. Not that a properly trained Toyota service technician with years of experience is of no advantage, but you can certainly ease your worries about future service if you have the proper documentation.

We tend to keep our vehicles beyond the timespan most people keep new cars for, so that's the main reason I suggested to buy the service manuals. They are not cheap, but they could be looked at as a wise investment, especially if you plan on holding on to the car for it's lifetime.

But... On the other end of the argument is reliability, and a cab driver in Vancouver bought a 2001 Prius and put ~400,000km on it by 2003, so Toyota offered him a new 2004 Prius in exchange for his very well used 2001 model, obviously he accepted their offer, and they promptly shipped his old Prius back to Japan to be dismantled and examined. To their supprise they found a lot less wear on the hybrid system, including the new fancy drivetrain than they were predicting. As far as I'm concerned if a Prius I can survive being a Taxi (some of the worst driving conditions) then I think casual drivers will indeed be very satisfied with the reliable performance of a Prius.

The most worn parts in a Prius are all in the ICE because we're still dealing with exploding gasoline vapor pushing metal parts, high temperature fluctuation and all the other various harshness involved in operating your typical hydrocarbon burning engine. That being said, the Prius is one step ahead of most cars because the ICE is much less taxed and can therefore be tuned for low emissions, less RPMs and somewhat less need for high compression. That all adds up to longer lasting ICEs in general, so I think the Prius is a much safer bet than your ordinary non-hybrid cars.

The Prius II is even more improved over the Prius I with it's larger battery and larger electric motor, so expect even better longevity out of the newer models than the first generation Prii. Toyota put a LOT of R&D into these cars, probably more R&D than any other car they ever built, and it shows, both in functionality and reliable performance, not to mention the price tag.

 

Since most of us using this site are enthusiastic hybrid owners, you will likely continue to read very positive replies. I add mine.
Several of the 2004 Prius 2-G owners now have over 25,000- 30,000 miles. Their posting on several discussion groups have indicated no major repairs, in fact mostly things like running over nails in tires, small rocks pitting front end etc--things any car owner could experience--nothing unique to the hybrid. Note though that the earlier 2004 models did have some TSB--technical service bulletins that usually invovled software changes primarily related to the fuel bladder/tank/gauge.
I think the best recommendation comes from the April 2005 'Consumer Reports' annual car issue. Out of over 1100 different vehicle models the tens of thousands of subscribers voted the Prius as the number one to buy again (94%).

 

One fellow admitted on the yahoo-Prius group that he was one of the 6% that voted not to buy the Prius again. But it turned out he had misunderstood the question, and was actually a quite satisfied owner.

He was the subject of some ... errr ... critique, but it died down pretty fast. lol