Gen II Prius Life Expectancy

[mpg_numbers_guy]

What are you guys' thoughts on the Prius' transaxle reliability? It's a $4000+ fix. I know the CVT in the Prius is reliable, and the battery is a normal hybrid concern, but the transaxle failure risk seems potentially alarming..

PS if you think I should make a separate thread for this just let me know.

[Daox]

I've never heard of a 2nd gen transmission failure. It should be just about as reliable as a manual transmission. Its just a bunch of gears and a couple motors. There aren't clutches or CVT belts to wear out or anything like that.

I know the 1st gen Prius had some transmission issues. But, its transmission fluid change interval was 30k vs the 2nd gens 100k miles. I bet that had a lot to do with it.

As a side note, my 2004 has about 160k miles on it and still runs just fine. I have to add a bit of oil between my 10k mile oil changes, but not bad at all.

[Lemmy]

Mrs Lemmy's early 2008 Gen II Pious went to just shy of 150,000 miles and was still driving perfectly when she sold it. Unfortunately, it was getting pretty lacy underneath, but the drivetrain was spot on.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by S Keith

Sample size: 167

Mostly Gen2 Prius
About 12 Gen3 Prius
About 6 Camry
Two Highlanders

High degree of confidence that the batteries were original. Known reconditions or replacements were omitted from the data.

One of note: 2008 had its pack replaced with Toyota new in 2014. Failed in 2018 after approximately 4.5 years; however, the pack went 120,000 miles.

Average mileage at battery failure: 160,000 miles
Minimum: 91,000
Maximum: 290,000

New hybrid = high benefit potential, low risk potential
Used hybrid = high risk potential, low benefit potential

Factor in other somewhat common issues like failed inverters, ABS actuators, head gaskets, combo meters, etc., the chances of multiple multi-thousand $ major repairs are substantially higher.

Easy to say "my car this" or "my car that", but it's a sample data point of 1, and it has zero meaning beyond your own experience.

All or mostly AZ cars? Is heat an issue? While it's a much smaller sample size, I know a bunch of people in the Northeast with a Prius. Most have over 160k on the original battery.

[broski499]

I bought my 08 prius in 2014 with 34,000. I just hit 84,000. I had the engine light come up about 2 years ago complaining about the water pump. Luckily I was still under warranty and Toyota replaced it.

Besides tires, brakes, and oil changes, I had one of my wheels bearing need replacing. One day started getting a lot of noise on the right side. Beyond that I haven't had any other expenses.

Although, my the engine is starting to burn oil so I'm going to be checking the dipstick monthly and topping off according. I use royal purple synthetic and usually get it changed every 10,000. j

Battery is going strong. The price to get these replaced has dropped a lot too. A quick check online and a new pack with installation is $1500. Same company had a 5 year warranty on the pack.

[S Keith]

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

All or mostly AZ cars? Is heat an issue? While it's a much smaller sample size, I know a bunch of people in the Northeast with a Prius. Most have over 160k on the original battery.

Yes and Yes. Milder climates tend to add about 40-60K before failure occurs.

Originally Posted by broski499

Battery is going strong. The price to get these replaced has dropped a lot too. A quick check online and a new pack with installation is $1500. Same company had a 5 year warranty on the pack.

That is not a NEW pack. Thats a reconditioned pack that you should expect to have replaced 1-2 times in the warranty period.

If you're looking at the Chinese "new" kits that replace the Toyota prismatic modules with "D" cell batteries... run.

I've never heard of a 2nd gen transmission failure. It should be just about as reliable as a manual transmission. Its just a bunch of gears and a couple motors. There aren't clutches or CVT belts to wear out or anything like that.

I know the 1st gen Prius had some transmission issues. But, its transmission fluid change interval was 30k vs the 2nd gens 100k miles. I bet that had a lot to do with it.

As a side note, my 2004 has about 160k miles on it and still runs just fine. I have to add a bit of oil between my 10k mile oil changes, but not bad at all.

You should check PriusChat. Handful of documented issues there. In 2.5 years, I have personally encountered FOUR. I work with a garage that has done about 18 of them in the last few years. These were all P0AA6 failures where the motor winding insulation broke down and created a high voltage path to chassis ground.