I too had bought a brand new '07 HCH with all the issues... no heater, worn out back tires, no acceleration, degrading battery. A year and a half of problems with a dealer who wouldn't fix. Traded it on a new '09 Prius, which has been a wonderful car over the last year and a half. Don't drive the car off a cliff, sell or trade it off and don't look back.

 

yeah i used to own a 2004 prius that was rebuilt and had 171,000 km on the odometer... i ran it to 232,000 km with absolutely no problems at all. I got to sell that one and get a new car but personally I wouldn't want a prius again because lets face it, it isn't the most exciting car to drive... but I'm very tempted with the current HCH II prices on the market... but with all these complaints from previous owners I'm worried about jumping the gun...

but **** those prices are nice for a used HCH II....

 

You might look into getting a battery pack rebuilt for around $1675 from Re-Involt Technologies. They go thru the whole pack and bring all cells up to snuff. When my time comes (I have 108,000 on my 2008 HCH and still getting 46 to 48 mpg) I will be going there. http://www.re-involt.com/Prius_Battery-.html
Scroll down to read about HCH.

 

Honda is far behind Toyota when it comes to Hybrid technology. Until they get these issues resolved, Toyota will continue to own the market. Yes, the prius and Camry Hybrid are not as fun to drive, but reliable they are.

 

I Can attest , My HCH2 is currently (FINALLY) having the battery replaced after 5 months of "Its Normal", My average mileage for the last 4 months as 29 ish mpg, While its in the shop, i have a regular non hybrid civic rental, and I am currently getting 39 MPG on it and im not overly easy on it,

so in MY experiences with my 07 HCH2 that ive had for 7 months, the non hybrid is way more fuel effecient than the hybrid, by far, and that 39 mpg is with the ac on.

However we will see how it does after the battery is replaced.

 

I second that- just got a new 2012 Prius and the powertrain is just light years ahead of HCHII. If I am not paying any attention to how "green" I drive, I get 49mpg. If I do- I get 55-60. And the car has plenty of power when needed. That's with AC, hills, mixed driving (all the things that usually kill HCHII mileage)

 

Honda chose a path of optimizing the gas engine to maximum efficiency, and they still have a far more efficient gas engine design than Toyota. Toyota chose a path of maximizing the transmission efficiency and making the most of the electrical/drive by wire system. In the long-run with the trend moving ever towards plug-in hybrids, Toyota's advantage will grow and Honda's will fade.

But Honda's gas engine design in the HCH remains significantly more efficient on its own than any of Toyota's designs - you really have to be impressed with it.