[Saruman]

I am wondering what percentage of new owners on here have had their Priuses die while driving and require service?

I know all cars have issues at some time or another... I had a brand new Ford probe die on me years ago (loose battery wire). Luckily i was able to get it towed and fixed quickly.

With this Prius not every garage can handle it and this makes me nervous about long trips to unfamilar areas....

 

[Jonnycat26]

I am wondering what percentage of new owners on here have had their Priuses die while driving and require service?

Mine died at 280 miles.. dropped nearly dead on the highway. Battery power only, and after a restart it wouldn't go into ready at all. Dealer had it fixed in 4 days.

 

[Saruman]

well that's one... any others?

I am waiting to take delivery in October. This will be my only car. I cannot afford to "play" around with my transportation to and from work.

Although I am fascinated by the Prius and all its new technology, and like the "wow" factor of having the next new thing in my town, it still boils down to a $28,000 financial decision.

 

[DAVID]

I will have 12,000 miles on mine today. I got it on February 3rd. No problems.

 

[mdacmeis]

I am wondering what percentage of new owners on here have had their Priuses die while driving and require service?

I know all cars have issues at some time or another... I had a brand new Ford probe die on me years ago (loose battery wire). Luckily i was able to get it towed and fixed quickly.

With this Prius not every garage can handle it and this makes me nervous about long trips to unfamilar areas....

The Prius has proven to be as reliable, at a minimum, as any other high quality vehicle. There have been a few isolated issues, however this happens with every other vehicle. You are subjecting yourself to no extra risk driving a Prius. Most other modern vehicles have parts that require service by a dealer. I really don't think you have anything to worry about, and if you did, forums like this would be flooded with complaints instead of praise.

 

[Saruman]

Thanks for the responses so far... keep em coming...

Anybody else have the update-that-kills-CPU-issue???

 

[03Jill]

We have had our 2003 Prius 18 months, have over 30,000 miles on it and have never had any kind of problem. As far as needing a Service Dept away from home, if you have the Nav system then all you have to do is type (or speak?) Toyota and icons will pop up everywhere. You should have no problem.

Jill

 

[ifftster]

5500 miles and going strong

 

[BIF]

At the risk of making somebody "tsk tsk" me for reporting a "no problem" on a "please report problems" thread, I felt strongly about this, and decided to do so anyway, partly because I agree with the prior post that says the Prius is no more risky than any other new car.

So here goes: No problems at 3,000+ miles.

 

[2PriiFamily]

We have over 57,000 miles on our '01 Prius and 5,000 on our 2004 Prius and have no problems to report. That's not to say that there couldn't be problems in another vehicle.

About 12 years ago we picked up our factory fresh Saturn and had 36 miles on the odometer when the "Service Engine" light came on. We lierally didn't even make it home from the dealership before it broke down. Saturn picked it up and tested it for a week. The said they couldn't find any specific problem with it and they were going to personally deliver it to our home. They never made it - it broke down on them, too. Heh heh. It was a true lemon and Saturn had to furnish us with a different vehicle.

Strange but true - when inquiring into whether or not they ever found out what was wrong with the Saturn we were told that they had found "an unidentifiable substance" in the carburator.

 

[BIF]

...(they) said they couldn't find any specific problem with it and they were going to personally deliver it to our home. They never made it - it broke down on them, too. Heh heh. It was a true lemon and Saturn had to furnish us with a different vehicle.

Heh, I love it! Lucky for you that it broke down on them.

Strange but true - when inquiring into whether or not they ever found out what was wrong with the Saturn we were told that they had found "an unidentifiable substance" in the carburator.

"unidentifiable substance" claims always make me nervous. I wonder if some other person ultimately got stuck with that car?

 

[cfwegman]

4000 miles on 04. Ran like a champ till I took it to the dealer for the diagnostic computer software upgrade Toyota asked me to come in to get done. Its still at the dealer 2 weeks later waiting on a new computer to come in. It locked up tight when they installed the "FIX"!!!!!! No ETA yet on the new computer they ordered.

So, is it a breakdown if the dealer does it to you in their own service bay???? :roll:

 

[artman67]

Just turned over 1,000 no problems

 

[richard schumacher]

1600 miles, running like a clock. Gawd what an excellent car!

Of course an anecdotal survey like this one is nearly worthless...

 

[Prius Maximus]

10,000 miles since delivery in March. Not 1 single problem. I too depend heavily on this vehicle since my commute is over 50 miles each way, and I can not afford to break down so far from home.

As others have said, every car is its own, and may have problems that others don't. But I really think Toyota outdid themselves with this 2004 model.

 

[becky]

On the subject of cars dying in the middle of the highway, go to the General category and read the stories listed under"1000 Mile Thoughts." The stories are not pretty about our sweet babies that have plumb just died on the highway. These stories do not make one feel comfortable....

 

[BIF]

Nearly 5,000 miles, and still no problems here.

At this point, I can honestly say that my Prius has been more dependable than any GM car I have ever owned or driven regularly (I have owned three and driven several others).

In the quality department, my Prius has been roughly comparable to a Mazda Miata and a BMW Z-3 that I have owned, and I assure you that both of those were EXCELLENT automobiles.

 

[AgentElrond]

I think I posted similar elsewhere, but anyway, approx. 2000 miles with no issues.