[Phyton]

My 2003 Toyota Prius now has 59,000 miles on it. To date, I have replaced two tires (Switched to Michelins.) and have had the nav computer replaced once. Continues to get right at 44mpg (Over the past 8,000 miles.).

Our 2001 Prius was rear ended by a fast moving young lady in a Mustang. It was totalled. Collapsed properly absorbing shock. Wife was driving it. Uninjured. Bags did not deploy. (Rear ended.) Had about 44,000 miles on it at the time.

Been waiting on a 2004 now for over 6 months. Looking for "Option 9." Hybrid Honda Civics (used, low mileage) are being pushed by local Toyota dealer as alternatives. I will wait for a Prius.

Let me hear your experiences! Will you keep your Prius beyond 100,000 miles? What do you think a new battery will cost. My dealer looked up retail today. It was listed at about $5,400.00. Thought they had gotten cheaper!

 

[Brian]

I have had my Prius since March 29. It has 1322 miles on it. I really love it. I will keep it for as long as it will last or a better one comes out.

 

[LPMcM]

More than 100,000 miles

I have a 2002 Prius, purchased in the fall of 2001. I now have 101,700 miles. Last week I would say except for finding the correct tires my experience has been incredible. However last weekend I took my car to the dealer because there was a wobble in the steering (a problem that was supposedly fixed at 20,000) to find out I need a new steering rack... the price tag for the part and labor...$3689.25! I was stunned and am trying to figure out how a single part (not and entire new engine or transmission) can cost so much in a $20,000 car. Anyone had this experience?
:shock: Linda

 

[RSnyder]

I'm hoping to keep Pikachu for over 10 years as I've done with each of my previous cars. But experiences like Linda's have me worried. It seems that Toyota isn't selling individual parts for much of the equipment, forcing people to buy full subassemblies. I'm not sure if this is specific to the Prius due to its low production run or if it's standard policy for all new Toyotas, but it's a really bad sign.

At 81K miles, Pikachu just got a bad case of the P1120 accelerator pedal position sensor problem. A lot of Pruis got this early enough to be covered under warranty. I think it was delayed in Pikachu because I mostly drive with the cruise control, so the accelerator pedal doesn't get a lot of use. I'll soon know how much they want for a new accelerator pedal assembly. You can't buy just the sensor for that either.

Well, the accelerator pedal assembly isn't likely to be a bank breaker, but Toyota is showing pretty bad faith with its customers if it won't sell a part of the steering rack assembly that's known to be prone to failure, thereby causing owners to have to pay a huge price for Toyota's bad component selection. I thought they were supposed to be famous for having processes that avoided these kinds of systemic problems.

 

[AgentElrond]

10K+ on the 2003 (16 months), just over 1K on the 2004 (2 months); no "warranty issues" with either. As far as "retention", we'll likely keep 'em 'til they're both paid off, and probably then some... depending on what's available when my 2004 is paid off. :wink:

 

[richard schumacher]

Five stages of any project:

1. Confidence and enthusiasm [after 1200 miles I'm here].
2. Disillusionment and anger.
3. Search for the guilty.
4. Punishment of the innocent.
5. Reward and honor for the non-participant.

 

[RSnyder]

I ordered a new accelerator pedal assembly today for $330. Its supposed to be in tomorrow. I looked at the repair manual and it looks really simple to replace, just two bolts and an electrical connector. Hopefully it's not a tight fit to access its place under the dash. So a bit pricy, but given the easy of replacement, I can see why they might not have bothered to sell individual parts of the assembly.

 

[Langley]

My miles and steering issues

I bought my 2002 Prius used - with lots o' miles (52K) in Nov '03. I love this car! It now has 63K. A week ago, the "power steering" warning light came on. I'd noticed that the steering column had been sounding a little "squeaky" when I turned, but I hadn't been too concerned until the light came on. I took it in on Monday (6/14/04) and had it checked out. They reported good news and bad news - the first bad news was that my steering rack assembly needed to be replaced. The worse news is that the part alone costs roughly $3300. The news that almost made me cry was that this was not covered by my Certified Used extended warranty. BUT - the service manager told me - "just TEN days ago, Toyota extended the warranty to cover this part." This additional coverage was so new that the dealer didn't even have the info on it yet, but the service guy had called the 800 number to check on the exact details of the warranty. The weird thing is that I was told that it is safe to drive, even though this part is faulty and needs to be replaced. Is this some limited recall on this part? Has anyone heard anything else on this?

Needless to say, I was extremely relieved to hear that this repair is covered.

 

[bradca21]

So far, had the car 6 months (as of 6/16/04) and I currently have 8500 miles. This includes a 3000 mile trip from Los Angeles area to Seattle and back, including a stop over all throughout the CA bay area (San Francisco) on the way back, and a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada while in Seattle.

Simply put... LOVE IT!!!

8) :wink: 8) :wink:

 

[snlcross]

Remember the old Toyota adds where they jump up in the air and click their heels and say "I love what you do for me_Toyota", my sentiments exactly. This car represents one step in the right direction toward oil independance and lower polution.

 

[FIXIT]

Re: More than 100,000 miles

I have a 2002 Prius, purchased in the fall of 2001. I now have 101,700 miles. Last week I would say except for finding the correct tires my experience has been incredible. However last weekend I took my car to the dealer because there was a wobble in the steering (a problem that was supposedly fixed at 20,000) to find out I need a new steering rack... the price tag for the part and labor...$3689.25! I was stunned and am trying to figure out how a single part (not and entire new engine or transmission) can cost so much in a $20,000 car. Anyone had this experience?
:shock: Linda

I understand toyota has recently extended the warranty on the rack to 5yrs (your now covered) unlimited mileage. Your dealer should be (made) aware of this. If you paid, get reimbursed by contactin the dealers customer assurence representative (or service manager).

 

[stevewa]

We just passed 45,000 on our 2002, so far no major issues except for alingment-induced tire wear (Toyota realigned and provided 4 new Bridgestones), and had the door weatherstrip (the part on the body) replaced on both doors due to wear.

Have run the car on Mobil 1 synthetic oil (5W30) since the first oil change. I can usually get around 44MPG according to the computer.

 

[Richard]

I have had my Prius since March 29. It has 1322 miles on it. I really love it. I will keep it for as long as it will last or a better one comes out.

I guess my commute is longer than yours. I've had mine since March 15 and I already have over 4k on it.

I'm starting to notice many more new Priuses in the LA/Orange County area. One day on the way to work driving past Long Beach on the 405, I saw a red one and five blue ones! And on the way home driving past Long Beach that same day, I saw a green one and a brown one. And all of that sucked because that was during the two weeks my Prius was in the shop for repairs (rear-ended). You never realize how much you love your fancy gadget car until you have to drive a -gasp- normal car!

 

[SiJ2000]

Love my 2001 Prius... Mine too started squeaking after 30k miles. Same as you, my steering rack was replaced.

As far as I have heard this steering rack was part of a recall on the classic prius.

 

[stagemonkey]

Wow, I think I might have the high score for the new model. I picked up my 2004 in mid-January from the dealership (fleet model) with 1075 miles on it. Right now, I'm at 22,350 or so. In late February, I took an Eastern US trip that took me from Louisiana to New York and DC and back. A week ago, I took the 1700 mile (each way) roundtrip to Las Vegas to see a friend of mine who's working there for the summer. I have also delivered pizza in this thing for the last couple of months, while looking for greener pastures.

Let me say that it has been an utter love affair. Every single moment. The gas mileage is wonderful, the car rides and handles wonderfully (belive me, I deliver pizza at high velocity). The SS/SE makes the car so easy to get into and out of, I consider it more like a piece of clothing than an automobile. I just don my magic shell that transports me where I want to go in relative comfort and for very little gas. When I get there, I hop out, and thumb the "lock" button hanging on my waist. It's just too easy.

I have had very few problems with the car. I did back it into a solid object due to the rear-visibility of the prius. I did have a problem with water getting into an electrical connector while on my eastern trip (a problem expertly handled by the nice folks at Toyota of Hattiesburg, MS). Recently, my cruise control acts a little funny at times (something I must find time to get looked at). Even for these few problems, the car has been an utter joy. Everyone I know who rides in my car wants one immediately. I like living in the future. So it doesn't fly yet, but Toyota can only do so much at one time, and this is more than enough for me.

 

[Arvin]

got the car since 6/9/04, right now I have 1200 miles on it. Its not my only car but it's my daily driver. So far everything's great. Got the leather install and the windows tinted last week and can't wait for my XM radio kit.

 

[ALoLA]

About 5600 since Feb.

 

[BIF]

About 5500 miles since I got it at the end of April. No problems with the car. I've had one oil change and tire rotation, and I had them put Mobil-1 in. My last tank was over 56 MPG.

I maintain my mileage history as well as my voluminous notes over at http://www.greenhybrid.com .

Overall Database: http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/all.php
Prius I (classic) page: http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/priusths.php
Prius II page: http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/priushsd.php
BIF's mileage page: http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mile ... hp?cid=196

Add-ons:

1) Tinted the windows. Llumar's the best! Don't do it yourself unless you are a professional window tint installer. It's worth it to pay for a professional to do the job. It looks like my glass was tinted that way at the factory!

2) Lojack (police tracking) + Lojack Early Warning (pages, telephones, and emails you if your car is moved without the special fob being present).

3) Floormats from Wallyworld (Wal*Mart)

4) Eclipse Sunshades

5) bungie cords for tying things down in the back

 

[patrickg]

Took delivery 3 July and today, 1 Aug, had exactly 1000 mi prior to going for a drive in the country and a visit to a pizza buffet (we go for pizza 2-3 times a year sometimes, or less.

Still haven't studined thte manuals enough to be fluent in buttonology.

Wife averages about 40-43 mpg. When I drive it I steadily improve the tank average. I started the day with 43.3 (she had been driving) and finished at 45.1 with over 300 miles on the tank when I started.

Pat

 

[finman]

troublefree...

10,500 miles, 49.7 MPG, nearly zero emmisions. NOT ONE SINGLE PROBLEM!! This is a great car, bar none. Tires look great even after some gravel roads and 'non-pavement' road construction on a 3200 mile trip from South Dakota to Oregon/Washington and back. Air cond works perfectly in 103 degree temps at 70 MPH. Entire trip fuel-wise cost $140. That's it. Stealth mode is great fun, especially with the EV mod installed. Just oil changes (using Mobil 1 syn now) and tire rotations (using 44 front/42 rear now). And the attention you get with this car is cool, showing a REAL car that is fast, comfortable, has great features (smart entry/start to name one) and gets 50 MPG. Yeah, I'm only mildly satisfied. I'm still giddy as a school-boy when I drive my Prius. I just can't help it. Drive fun, drive clean, drive Prius!