Hybrid owners...question

[lovin'fl]

I am looking at a buying a used 2009 Civic Hybrid. What are the hidden costs of hybrid ownership? I read that battery replacement is more expensive and that it may need to be replaced every 3 years or so. Is this true? Any other more expensive maintenance costs I should be aware of? We may just go with a regular Civic.

 

[Carl]

The batteries do not need to be replaced after 3 years. We're driving a Prius that is 5 years old and there is no indication we need to replace the batteries.

 

[jen1977]

Almost everything is more expensive to fix. We had a problem that dh could have fixed himself for less than $150, but had to takeout to the dealer to get fixed because they had to wear lineman's gloves to work on it because it would be very dangerous not to. We were thankfully still covered under factory warranty, but if we weren't, they said it would have been several thousand to fix. We are hoping to get rid of it, and get something not hybrid before our factory warranty is up! The gas savings don't make up for the straight cost in fixing it!

 

[rwdavis2]

Posters have pretty much covered the downsides. It takes years to save in gas for what you pay extra to get a hybrid, if ever. Plus the extra cost of repairs. IMHO, it is questionable if they make economic sense. But if you buy one buy the one that has been on the market the longest since it probably has more of the bugs worked out.

 

[luvavacation]

I have had a Toyota Highlander Hybrid for over 4 years. The hybrid battery has no issues, though I did have to replace the regular battery last winter. From what I have read, hybrid batteries are lasting longer than originally thought. Not sure if this is how it will be for me or you, but since my family keeps our vehicles for over 10 years, I am sure I will find out!

Expense wise, I do need to use synthetic oil, so a $19.95 oil change is a thing of the past. I have no other repairs on this vehicle, so I don't know if it will be more expensive to repair.

When it comes to gas savings, as I mentioned, we keep our vehicles for over 10 years. I will see a savings with my hybrid, but if you trade in every 3 or 4 years, you won't see the savings. On the other hand, if you just want to help the environment by releasing fewer emissions as you drive on electric (I drive electric in our neighbourhood, as speed limit is very low), then it is great for that.

Sorry I couldn't be more help regarding repair costs. Or maybe that's good for me!

 

[Bilberry]

Maybe the 3 year battery replacement mention comes from electric cars that often use lead acid golf cart batteries. E-cars that use the inexpensive golf cart batteries tend to need replacing every 2 to 3 years.

The nickel batteries used in hybrids though are different, and should last around 10 years or around that long from what I've read.

 

[tvguy]

Insurance will be more. Registration will be more (in states that base registration fees on the value of the car) will be more. Purchase price will be more. And yes, repair costs will be higher.
Some of the hybrids in our fleet are at 100,000 miles, no batteries yet, but if you go on E-Bay you will see an awful lot of used hybrids there with over 100,000 miles have new batteries.

We no longer purchase hybrids, moving to comparable 4 cylinder cars instead. The higher insurance, registration fees, repair cost and purchase price off set any fuel savings based on cost per mile driven........and our corporate owner only looks at cost per mile driven.....and again, that is WITHOUT any expense yet for a new battery. We run our fleet cars about 250,000 on average.

 

[mnrose]

Wow. Some of these opinions on hybrids do not square with my experience. We are a two Prius family...a regular one that is now 4 years old and a V we purchased in January because we loved our first one so much.

Batteries DO NOT need to be replaced that often. Indeed Toyota warranties theirs for at least 7 years. The first Prius that were built are now 10+ years old and STILL no significant need to replace the batteries.

Insurance costs are NOT higher...they tend to be lower because Prius drivers are more conservative drivers.

As for repair costs, I'm afraid I'm not much help because neither vehicle has needed any repairs, beyond regular maintenance which is no more expensive than a regular car. They are dependable vehicles and get phenomenal mileage. The older one is lifetime 50.2 and the newer one is lifetime 50.9. I laugh everytims I fill up. It literally saves me $30 each week compared to my older car. Thus I save over $1500 a year in gas. My car cost about $5000 more than a comparably equipped gas engine. I will save that in 3.5 years. Since we keep our cars a decade or more, the car makes economic sense. Of course, it also has a much higher resale value.

 

[Christopher Robin]

Wow. Some of these opinions on hybrids do not square with my experience. We are a two Prius family...a regular one that is now 4 years old and a V we purchased in January because we loved our first one so much.

Batteries DO NOT need to be replaced that often. Indeed Toyota warranties theirs for at least 7 years. The first Prius that were built are now 10+ years old and STILL no significant need to replace the batteries.

Insurance costs are NOT higher...they tend to be lower because Prius drivers are more conservative drivers.

As for repair costs, I'm afraid I'm not much help because neither vehicle has needed any repairs, beyond regular maintenance which is no more expensive than a regular car. They are dependable vehicles and get phenomenal mileage. The older one is lifetime 50.2 and the newer one is lifetime 50.9. I laugh everytims I fill up. It literally saves me $30 each week compared to my older car. Thus I save over $1500 a year in gas. My car cost about $5000 more than a comparably equipped gas engine. I will save that in 3.5 years. Since we keep our cars a decade or more, the car makes economic sense. Of course, it also has a much higher resale value.

Bolding mine.
I knew Pious had farts that didn't stink, but I didn't realize they were more conservative drivers.
Link?

j/k

 

[AndyLL]

Insurance costs are NOT higher...they tend to be lower because Prius drivers are more conservative drivers.

As for repair costs, I'm afraid I'm not much help because neither vehicle has needed any repairs, beyond regular maintenance which is no more expensive than a regular car. They are dependable vehicles and get phenomenal mileage. The older one is lifetime 50.2 and the newer one is lifetime 50.9. I laugh everytims I fill up. It literally saves me $30 each week compared to my older car. Thus I save over $1500 a year in gas. My car cost about $5000 more than a comparably equipped gas engine. I will save that in 3.5 years. Since we keep our cars a decade or more, the car makes economic sense. Of course, it also has a much higher resale value.

When I bought a car a few years ago it came down between a prius and a honda accord.

With the models I was looking at the prius would have been cheaper. ( to get climate control I had to go to the EX model of the accord )

My insurance would have been cheaper with the prius ( but not a big difference )

With a prius you not only save on gas but on frequency of oil and brake maintance. And of course no starter or alternater.

Repairs of the hybrid systems ( and around them ) need to be done at the dealer and historical can be expensive. ( carMD reports that the common hybrid repairs have dropped 40% in 2012 )

But hybrids need repairs less and Toyota once again had the lowest maintance cost of all the brands.

I never talked to a prius owner that was sorry they bought one.

I went with the accord because 90% of driving was freeway but we'll be buying a prius early next year for my wife.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I commute a lot for work so I purchased a used Prius two years ago. I was spending $400+ a month on gas and now spend $125-$150 a month. I haven't had any issues with it (it's currently almost 5 years old and I've just done regular oil changes) and have put 50,000 miles on it since I bought it (it now has 80,000 miles).

My insurance actually went down and, in Virginia, you can buy clean energy license plates for hybrid vehicles and get all the time access to use the HOV lanes (comes in handy when there's accidents on the regular lanes).

I think there's a lot of misinformation out there as it seemed like everyone wanted to give their two cents when we purchased the Prius from "something they've read" or "someone they know told them". My favorite was that a Prius can't go faster than 50 mph up a hill .

 

[AndyLL]

I think there's a lot of misinformation out there as it seemed like everyone wanted to give their two cents when we purchased the Prius from "something they've read" or "someone they know told them". My favorite was that a Prius can't go faster than 50 mph up a hill .

LOL

I live in colorado and the 1st thing we did on the test drive is take it up I70 into the hills.

 

[minniecarousel]

We have a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid & a 2009 Camry Hybrid. We had bought one of the early Honda Civic Hybrids and passed it onto our son. All of these cars have been dependable. We know nothing about cars, so have always gotten service at the dealership. No major repairs - an occasional recall from Toyota for minor things. We're happy with them (the Civic had the special sticker for here in California so my son could drive in the carpool lane even when he was alone in the car.)

Seems like the people who actually own hybrids are generally satisfied.

 

[clutter]

My insurance actually went down and, in Virginia, you can buy clean energy license plates for hybrid vehicles and get all the time access to use the HOV lanes (comes in handy when there's accidents on the regular lanes).

FYI, I think that is still true in the Va Beach area, but the newest plates no longer get the exemption in Northern Va (I-66 and I-95/395).

Another happy Prius owner. I've owned one (but no the same one) since 2004. I don't think it's any more or less expensive than any other car I've owned. I definitely prefer filling my Prius to my Rav4. Less expensive for a tank and more miles between fill-ups.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

FYI, I think that is still true in the Va Beach area, but the newest plates no longer get the exemption in Northern Va (I-66 and I-95/395).

Truly. I have a cousin who commutes from Hampton to the D.C. area for work and she had considered buying a Prius just for that purpose (her company pays for gas so that didn't matter as much to her). It only comes in handy for me every once in awhile as the HOV lanes are generally open to all traffic when I'm on the road.

 

[mnrose]

Bolding mine.
I knew Pious had farts that didn't stink, but I didn't realize they were more conservative drivers.
Link?

j/k

You don't own one do you? Thought so.

I was told that by my insurance agent (American Family). We were comparing insurance cost and discovered that the V wax cheaper to insure. She said it was the experience of their company that Prius were driven in a more conservative fashion. Īf you owned one, you would understand why. The more conservative you drive them (no jackrabbit starts or stops, keeping your speed art or below posted limits, etc) the better your fuel economy. Many, if not most, owners drive thus way.

There will always be Prius haters and that's fine. Personally, I love mine and I hats to see misinformation spread by those who haven't.
,,

 

[JoiseyMom]

DH has a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid, and we just had to replace the small 12volt battery. THe dealership wanted over 500.00 for it, but he bought it from an auto store for less then 1/2 that and installed it himself. It also needed some more maintenance. DH is hoping to give it to DD next year and get himself a new car. He has a long commute so it works for him.

 

[crz4mm2]

2012 Prius owner here.
Getting 50-58 mpg.
Was spending 60+ bucks a week on gas. Now spending 30...
Just got home from a 2100 mile trip. MPG 56-58.6.....
Insurance the same. Free service for 2 years.

I LOVE it

 

[Squirlz]

There can be environmental concerns. Here is an article to consider: http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Hybrid_Vehicles_Negative_Environmental_Impact

I've always called them coal-powered cars. They just haven't quite found the answer yet.

 

[mnrose]

There can be environmental concerns. Here is an article to consider: http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Hybrid_Vehicles_Negative_Environmental_Impact

I've always called them coal-powered cars. They just haven't quite found the answer yet.

Why would you call a hybrid coal-powered? I get why an all- electric vehicle would use coal (at least potentially) because you plug it in to the grid. However, hybrids are NOT plugged into anything. The batteries in the car are charged by braking and coasting.

And every so-called non-green part of a hybrid discussed in your link is worse in a gas powered vehicle. The whole "hybrids are dangerous" is bogus. Ever heard of even one case of an emergency service personnel being injured? The NHTSA hasn't. Hybrids are not the perfect, green solution, but they are better than a gas powered vehicle.