24th Feb 2011, 14:36

"The braking system is very nice when it works, but is typically expensive to repair"

Sadly, everything on the Prius, and most hybrids, is horrendously expensive. Just look up "Prius problems" and you will find plenty of horror stories about repairs that cost more than the cars are worth. Lots of mechanics will not work on hybrids, leaving customers at the mercy of unscrupulous service departments at dealerships that often charge up to 10 times as much (or more) for common repairs. I have heard of people actually paying $900 to $1500 for a simple brake job on NON-hybrid cars at dealerships.

As a mechanic, I strongly encourage owners to learn enough about how cars work to be able to diagnose and repair them themselves. My last brake job cost me $34. My friend paid his import dealer $1000 to do the exact same thing to his non-hybrid import that I did to my GM.

I like the idea of saving oil and helping the environment, but let's face it, at this point hybrids really do NEITHER very well. At 35 mpg my 4-cylinder non-hybrid cost much less and it would take a comparable hybrid 600,000 miles (without ANY problems) to return the difference in cost. Until a car is affordable, reliable and gets at least 100+ miles per gallon, the American driver will keep opting for the non-hybrid cars. At this point, the hybrid is basically disposable transportation due to complexity and high repair costs. In addition, they pose very serious threats to the environment due to the highly toxic and outrageously expensive batteries.

The oil companies are at present once again fabricating "what if" scenarios to raise gas prices yet again, but even at $5 per gallon, a hybrid would still not be a break-even deal due to high price, high repair cost and high maintenance costs.

16th May 2011, 13:11

Amen to all your well thought out thoughts!! So come on all you car makers, and get with the program!! "We are mad as hell and aren't gonna take it anymore!" (to paraphrase a good film.)

28th Sep 2011, 16:42

2005 Prius T4 UK 120,000 miles.

Good points:

Still drives like new!

Very reliable, low service requirements & costs.

100k miles from a set of brake pads due to electric regenerative breaking.

Quiet smooth refined ride with plenty in reserve for overtaking using combined ICE & hybrid electric, giving 120+ bhp.

Almost silent at low speeds using electric only.

Superb in traffic jams with seamless engine switching

Average 53 miles per gallon, with petrol being cheaper than diesel at the pumps.

Cruises happily at 70 mph legal motorway speeds.

£10/year road tax.

Bad points:

Plastic interior panels.

Body work & alloy wheels already showing minor rust.

12 volt aux battery can discharge after only 2 weeks standing, needing a jump start, solved by using solar battery charger.

Bleeps inside instead of outside when reversing. (minor niggle).

Overall:

Great relaxed economical clean car, easy to drive, feels more like a Lexus.

Never going back to diesel only, hybrids are still the future.

Good job Toyota. (my other car is an MR2 MkII)

8th Nov 2013, 05:14

This is a classic case of false economy. High MPG, but pay through the nose to achieve it. I would rather have a simple new American V8 that rides better, has better performance and isn't in the shop. The engines work easier with all the power accessories, and with modern overdrives they run at nearly idle speed on the expressways. I drive a lot, and get out refreshed vs beat to death in an econobuggy. I would be quite upset paying this individual's parts prices, let alone labor.