Are hybrid cars expensive to repair? How long do the batteries last, and how much to replace them?

[Honeycombe8]

I'll be buying a new car within a year or two. I'm disappointed in the gas mileage that's available; there doesn't seem to have been any advance in that since I bought my last car in 1997.

I'm scared to get a hybrid because it might be expensive to maintain. Will the battery go bad in five years, and then cost several thousand dollars to replace? I've googled that and haven't found the answer (yet).

[Taverner]

1. 8-10 years of life

Right now the only option is replacing them, however very very soon you will be able to refurbish them and pay half price

The batteries are expensive (I think around $4K) but gas is even more expensive

[SheilaT]

2. I was told by a Honda dealer

when I looked at a used Honda hybrid a couple of years ago, that they'd been told by the company that when the batteries did come up for replacement, Honda would do so for free. But as pointed out, they have a very long life span.

[Taverner]

3. Wow! Even better!

Now is a great time to buy a used Hybrid

[Honeycombe8]

10. That's good news. Thanks! nt

[Buck Laser]

4. I've had a Civic Hybrid for five years and I love it.

It's the least expensive car to maintain that I've ever had. The only unusual expense is that it uses a special grade of oil (0-5) that's available only from Honda dealers. BUT an oil change at the dealer is $19.95, and it's a 6000 mile interval. The motor battery pack carries a full 100K warranty. After 100K miles, it's prorated.

My opinion is that somebody's actively dissing hybrids--or that car people are basically Luddites.

By the way, when I bought mine in 2004, the cost premium was only about $1000: it's a good bit more now.

[Honeycombe8]

9. Thanks for the info (and thanks to all the other responders, too!). Very helpful.

By cost premium, I guess you mean how much more a hybrid version would cost over the non-hybrid version?

I saw the Civic Hybrid on the road recently. Nice lookin' car.

[navarth]

5. Hondas are good quality, but

in the present environment I think I'll just be buying American, to the extent that is possible.

It's not easy to do so, there's a lot of foreign content in the cars.

Sorry, I'm REALLY not looking to start a flame war.

I hope our domestic automakers will be producing good quality hybrids for us soon. The Chevy Volt looks good so far.

[Honeycombe8]

7. Actually, many foreign cars are now American made. In Texas, Toyota has a truck factory.

Toyota has factories in other states to build the Camry and other models, as well as plants to build electronics and engines for all its vehicles.

Honda has a similar setup.

Don't know about Subaru, but Subaru has a Subaru of America (subsidiary, I guess), and Toyota owns 15% of Subaru. (GM used to but sold it after 1999. That doesn't sound like a smart move.)

Pontiac has a factory is CA, but the Pontiac Vibe is a twin of the Toyota Matrix, so I'm wondering if Toyota owns part of Pontiac.

It's hard to buy strictly American these days. But of course, I looked at GM and Ford first. Unfortunately, because I keep my cars so long, reliability is a key issue for me, and all the top reliable makers are "foreign." They're Honda, Toyota, and Subaru. Some of the foreign makers are not reliable, so you can't just buy Asian and think it's reliable. But most of the unreliable cars are Chrysler, Dodge, GM, etc. Some of the Fords are reliable, though.

So I'm concentrating on being green, if I can, and buying something that's made in America at least partly. I can't wait any longer for electric cars, which was what I was hoping. My car is looking pretty bad, altho the engine is still in great shape. (I have the first model Subaru Forester. Talk about reliable. Wow. If the body didn't look so bad, I'd keep it.)

[NYC_SKP]

11. Also, Toyota plant in Kentucky...

http://www.toyotageorgetown.com/

[david13]

17. My Honda was made in Ohio,

so I don't know what would be 'foreign' about that. I think it is 'mer'can made!
My Nissan was made in Tennessee. Is that or is that not part of the 'good ole' usa?
dc

[tinrobot]

6. Ford Escape Hybrid owner here....

It's a great car, very well built. The drivetrain warranty is 8 years, which includes the battery.

The maintenance for me is actually a bit lower than standard cars. I think it's because the electric drivetrain takes some of the wear and tear off of the rest of the parts. They suggest oil changes every 10,000 miles instead of the standard 7,500, for example. That's probably because the gasoline engine sees less use. My brake pads also last a LOT longer because the regenerative braking helps out there as well. I'm almost at 50,000 miles and the pads still have plenty of life left.

[Honeycombe8]

8. That's very good to hear. I was considering it until I read the Consumer Reports

test drive on it and other test results. It fared okay, but not great. But I don't recall the details. I'll look that up and read it again.

How's the a/c? I live in Dallas, where it's really hot in the summer (100 degrees a lot of days), so I ALWAYS consider how effective the a/c is. For instance, I test drove the Honda CRV in 1997. One of the reasons I got the Subaru Forester over the CRV is that the Forester cooled the car off (it was 98 degrees that day)in less than 15 mins., while the CRV was still hot after I let it sit for awhile and even drove it around the block. That was my experience when I owned a Honda Accord hatchback years ago, too. It's the kind of compressor they use, I think.

[tinrobot]

12. AC works fine....

I'm in Los Angeles, we get 100+ days here as well.

The AC runs off of the gas engine, so it has plenty of power. There are two modes, one keeps the engine running constantly (even at stops, using more gas), the other lets the engine stop normally, so the AC starts to cool off when the car stops or uses the electric motor. I also have a sunroof, and that helps vent the hot air quickly.

[MountainLaurel]

13. Prius for 2+ years

And the only work on it other than routine oil changes, tire rotations, etc., was body work from a car accident. (FWIW, I was rear-ended and the body took the impact really well. The external case for the battery was cracked, but the battery itself was just fine.)

And the batteries are under warranty up to 100K, I believe.

[Kablooie]

14. I've had a Prius for almost 5 years now.

Maintenance is exactly the same as any other car.
Oil changes, rotate tires, periodically replace fluids, tighten belts etc.

No extra maintenance at all.

As to the main battery, there has been no Prius that has had a
battery wear out from use yet, and that includes the first generation
that has been around since 1997.

A taxi driver in Canada got nearly 250,000 miles on his car without any
battery issues. Toyota gave him a new Prius and took the old one to do
research long term battery wear. His next Prius got nearly 300,000 when
it got into an accident.

The Prius also has a regular 12V battery that has a normal 12V battery life.

And just to illustrate the mileage I get:

I've driven from Los Angeles to San Francisco several times, about 350 miles.
I can do that on one 9 gallon tank of gas.

[JohnWxy]

15. Cars direct shows Civic: $15.3K - $25K, Hybrid: $23.6K

Civic MSRP: $15,305 - $25,190
City: 21 MPG - 26 MPG
Highway: 29 MPG - 36 MPG ...combined: 28-30?


Civic Hybrid: MSRP: $23,650 - $23,650
City: 40 MPG
Highway: 45 MPG ..combined: 42?

[geryorama]

16. Hybrid cars

Hey guys!

Hybrid cars are not more expensive to fix than regular gasoline powered cars. The hybrid battery packs are designed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle, somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, probably a whole lot longer.

I would suggest you to take a look at Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius Hybrid. Also check out the Hybrid car pros cons.

Hybrid electric cars

[ramapo]

18. My experience

I bought my Prius last September, right at the price peak. I love the car. It is fun to drive and quite comfortable. I downsized from a Volvo S60.

I got between 45-50mpg before the winter set in and have gotten 40-45mpg during the cold weather. I look forward to improved mileage soon.

Maintenance is minimal. Nothing but change the oil/rotate the tires every 5K miles.

You will pay a premium for any hybrid. I felt it worth it to promote the technology plus eventually you catch up (even at today's lower prices).

My friend has a 2002 Prius with 200K+ miles and it isgoing strong. No major problems, batteries are fine. His overall maintenance has been low, even the brakes last a long time and the car seems to have fewer things to break than a conventional machine.