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The official hybrid vehicle owners thread.

DMG said:
I put a couple hundred thousand miles on a 2nd Gen Prius. Toyota has hybrids figured out. The RAV4 hybrid and even better, RAV4 prime are both great.
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That's what I'm thinking, I've seen Prius Taxis that have 500k on the clock.
 
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Our shop hybrid is a Ford C-Max thingy. Has a plug in feature that might work well for a short full electric commute, but you can take it on road trips without silly issues and get high 30s MPG. When the gas and electric motors both kick in it has more than enough power.

Had a road gator come up and hit the front end, and the cosmetic damage was minimal but it was 5K in louvers and heat exchangers to fix it.

My brother's wife has a RAV4 hybrid, seems like a solid machine no issues yet. They paid way over sticker because Covid BS but I don't know the details on that just a supply and demand problem at the time.
 
Stingray said:
Not sounding that impressive.
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My wife's 16 Highlander only does ~21 mpg and doesn't have the more real back seat that his has so I would take it.

Only thing I have to add is my little sister bought an 08 Camry hybrid with 200k on it a few years ago. 50k later other than oil she hasn't done anything and it averages like 42 mpg versus 27 for my 3.5 and 29 for my other sisters 2.4.
 
2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe

Had the coolant heater replaced. Shares the same part with the Pacifica and is a common failure.

Pretty uneventful ownership.

Xtra power is super nice. Full electric option is nice.

The hybrid option was a no brainer with the $7500 tax credit.

Wihout the credit it does not finacially make sense.

I save about $2 a day on fuel charging it once a day. I think I paid $2000 over the cost of a non hybrid so it will pay for itself. If it didnt have the tax credit it would take too many years and would not make sense at all.

Battery and hybrid components warranty is 8 years 100,000 miles which is nice.
 
No complaints. This is my daily. The wife uses it on the weekends to run errands or the ave MPG would be over 40.

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2022 Ford Escape plug in hybrid.

Currently has 85000 on it, I picked it up with 300ish. On my second set of tires and done about 5 oil changes. No issues, no CELs, no recalls.

I get about 45 mpg in the summer and 38 in the winter. That doesn't include electric mileage. On a full charge I can go almost 40 miles.

In the last 10k miles or so I've noticed the electric motor grabbing a little bit harder. It used to be completely seemless but now you can notice the switch.
 
2013 Prius is my DD. Was never a fan of the Prius, but the 3rd gen is the only one I like aesthetically and Wife wanted it, so we bought new. My regular commute is 90 miles round trip, so the fuel economy is appreciated. I do 95% highway speeds at 75-85mph, it gets a consistent ~45mpg, (9-10-gal fill up at 400-450miles); worst mileage I've seen was mid-30s driving it like I stole it, best was 65mpg from crawling along in construction traffic. I used to commute in a 2001 Corolla S (had 260k and got a consistent 37mpg highway).

Has 180k, the only thing that's broken was the head gasket this past March at 165k. Mobile HG service did it in my gravel driveway in under 4hrs for only $2200 with a 1yr warranty. Grilled the repairman about these cars and he said they will all have HG issues due to the actual gasket Toyota used, but the Felpro they use hasn't had return customers; their business is pretty much only Prius HGs. Was doing the 10k oil changes per Toyota's schedule, but now do 5k per recommendation of the repair guy who said the only other issue they see on these cars is sticky piston rings. Just got it serviced a week ago and finally getting close to needing front brake pads, lol. 3rd set of tires and the huge flat windshield seems to be a rock-magnet -- but it's still been one of the cheapest to own/operate vehicles I've ever had. Doesn't seem to have an random rattles/squeaks, nothing's broken on the interior, overall it's been pretty solid.

Closest Home Depot is 10mi away, so I always pickup materials on my way home from work instead of going to get my truck. I've wanted to take a sawzall to the back of this thing and make it into a little truck for years, but wife won't let me, so I always park under a tree that looks like it'll fall on it haha - if/when Toyota makes that concept Stout hybrid truck I've been seeing online I'll probably buy one, I'd love a hybrid truck that's smaller than the Tacoma. If someone had retrofit hybrid swap kits available, I'd probably make my 75 Hilux a hybrid.

Probably end up buying a Sienna hybrid in the future, we rented one for a road trip and I was getting tank averages in the mid-30s doing 80-90mph
 
Mileages reported here not impressive. My '19 ICE Corolla bangs out 42-44mpg all day. Yeah, I know its a 'lil shitbox, but I'd be disappointed with anything with a battery that can't get 50mpg or greater >. Why bother with the added complexity.
 
FlexyTJ said:
Mileages reported here not impressive. My '19 ICE Corolla bangs out 42-44mpg all day. Yeah, I know its a 'lil shitbox, but I'd be disappointed with anything with a battery that can't get 50mpg or greater >. Why bother with the added complexity.
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Depends on your commute I suppose, the hybrid pays off big in stop and go traffic. Coworker with a second Gen Prius gets 50+ in the same shitty traffic I deal with.
 
FlexyTJ said:
Mileages reported here not impressive. My '19 ICE Corolla bangs out 42-44mpg all day. Yeah, I know its a 'lil shitbox, but I'd be disappointed with anything with a battery that can't get 50mpg or greater >. Why bother with the added complexity.
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I did a shit ton of research and basically it comes down to size/weight of the car. I don't want to drive a corolla. My drivetrain in your car would get 60. But it's in a WAY bigger car. Are you really getting that mileage or are you looking at the lie o meter on the dash? My numbers are true MPG.

Corolla weight: 2870
Avalon weight: 3715
 
FlexyTJ said:
Mileages reported here not impressive. My '19 ICE Corolla bangs out 42-44mpg all day. Yeah, I know its a 'lil shitbox, but I'd be disappointed with anything with a battery that can't get 50mpg or greater >. Why bother with the added complexity.
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Silly to compare your exact car to anything else unless its in the exact category. I'd imagine the hybrid corolla gets 20% better mpg and pays for itself.

My Jeep hybrid gets in the 20s or 30s, sometimes 40s. better than the under 20 a non hybrid gets.

The less efficient a vehicle is the faster the hybrid option pays for itself.
 
MattS said:
I did a shit ton of research and basically it comes down to size/weight of the car. I don't want to drive a corolla. My drivetrain in your car would get 60. But it's in a WAY bigger car. Are you really getting that mileage or are you looking at the lie o meter on the dash? My numbers are true MPG.

Corolla weight: 2870
Avalon weight: 3715
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Point taken, hence the 'lil shitbox comment. I regularly ride motorcycles so the 'risk' of the little tin can doesn't phase me. It's not for everyone for sure. Yes, calculated mileage, Fuelly has data that supports others that tiptoe them get similar. Not sure about those weights, I'd like to get mine on a scale out of curiosity.
kmkommes said:
Silly to compare your exact car to anything else unless its in the exact category. I'd imagine the hybrid corolla gets 20% better mpg and pays for itself.

My Jeep hybrid gets in the 20s or 30s, sometimes 40s. better than the under 20 a non hybrid gets.

The less efficient a vehicle is the faster the hybrid option pays for itself.
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When I did the research prior to buying this little death trap commuter, the facts at that time did not support this. A hybrid Corolla does not net >20% greater than what I'm getting. Guys Prius at work barely gets 43-44, and his inverter burned up, as well as some other EV specific issues. One big "EV" problem and this fantasy of a hybrid having a lower cost of ownership in any way disappears instantly. The year I bought mine, the break even on the Corolla vs. the Prius was well over 10+ years of ownership to break even - that's a lot of dead dinosaurs. It didn't make sense for me, and still doesn't at the current time. ymmv.

Good points all around though.
 
Agree with the above every time I shop new ones, the hybrid isn't worth the premium. Used, they cut a while bunch closer and that was how I was able to sell the wife on it.

For what we use hers for, it was a much better deal in Washington with the traffic weather and roads. Out here in Texas, not nearly as competitive.
 
What I'm looking at is that my 98 4Runner is the perfect size for what I do with it. I keep target stands, my spotting gear, my tripod, various shooting bags in the back which leaves room for my cased long guns on the back seat, but it only gets 17mpg, and the range at best is 250 miles. The new Rav4 is about the same size and gets twice the mileage, and even with a puny 14.5g tank it should take me over 400 miles with some reserve.
 
I had a first gen insight for a li'l while
it was slow
then the battery controller set enough codes that it stopped running the electric motor which made it even slower

stuck a normal motor in it and well, it's still slow
I kinda stacked up mistakes all over on that one and I'm thinking about redoing it with something more generic
 
Roc Doc said:
What I'm looking at is that my 98 4Runner is the perfect size for what I do with it. I keep target stands, my spotting gear, my tripod, various shooting bags in the back which leaves room for my cased long guns on the back seat, but it only gets 17mpg, and the range at best is 250 miles. The new Rav4 is about the same size and gets twice the mileage, and even with a puny 14.5g tank it should take me over 400 miles with some reserve.
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The new Rav4 isn't gonna have the same interior space as your old 4Runner even if it's the same size because of safety and body lines.

Unless you're towing an artillery piece or your stands are some abomination that don't break down going to the range can really be done just about anything so you could probably buy it and you'd never notice the difference.
 
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arse_sidewards said:
The new Rav4 isn't gonna have the same interior space as your old 4Runner even if it's the same size because of safety and body lines.

Unless you're towing an artillery piece or your stands are some abomination that don't break down going to the range can really be done just about anything so you could probably buy it and you'd never notice the difference.
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One of our friends has one and I was surprised by the interior space, it will be fine for what I want it for.
 
Do the Priuses actually come with a framed certification that makes the owner better than everyone else in society?
just curious:grinpimp:
 
Roc Doc said:
What I'm looking at is that my 98 4Runner is the perfect size for what I do with it. I keep target stands, my spotting gear, my tripod, various shooting bags in the back which leaves room for my cased long guns on the back seat, but it only gets 17mpg, and the range at best is 250 miles. The new Rav4 is about the same size and gets twice the mileage, and even with a puny 14.5g tank it should take me over 400 miles with some reserve.
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My wife went from 2nd and 3rd gen 4runners to the current escape for the same size reasons.

Looked at new rav4s at the same time, dash was too wide or some chick thing.

There is some loss to interior space going to a cute ute, fold down one of the back seats and it's never been an issue for us.


Year range/budget that you are looking for ? If it's just a total cost of owelnership thing, a ford explorer may be best bang for buck :rasta:
 
Provience said:
My wife went from 2nd and 3rd gen 4runners to the current escape for the same size reasons.

Looked at new rav4s at the same time, dash was too wide or some chick thing.

There is some loss to interior space going to a cute ute, fold down one of the back seats and it's never been an issue for us.


Year range/budget that you are looking for ? If it's just a total cost of owelnership thing, a ford explorer may be best bang for buck :rasta:
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A buddy had a first gen Rav4 and he hated it, but these new ones are a whole different vehicle. I want AWD for potential snow driving. Hadn't thought about an Explorer, still shopping at this point but it's hard to argue Toyota's track record on hybrids.
 
Roc Doc said:
A buddy had a first gen Rav4 and he hated it, but these new ones are a whole different vehicle. I want AWD for potential snow driving. Hadn't thought about an Explorer, still shopping at this point but it's hard to argue Toyota's track record on hybrids.
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I'm sure there are others that are very similar, but the Toyota and Ford are the same design design. I've been a fan for a long time.

The rav 4s are neat, finding a newer one without a substantial price premium is the tough part. For the price of a newer one, find something you like to live with.


I mentioned Explorer because they fit the size adlnd don't come with the Toyota price premium. Fuel mileage is what it is, bigger tanks make up for it:laughing:
 
I currently have a 2021 Sienna hybrid and previously owned a couple GMT900 Tahoe hybrids as well. All drive similarly. I was happy with the GMT900 units but both needed new batteries which are no longer available new. The used supply is more or less dried up as well, so the only option is aftermarket lithium replacements. The Chinese option is pure garbage, the USA option seems to work really well but is extremely expensive and usually sold out. I got my hands on a set and was very happy with how they performed for me. The transmission failed on it shortly afterwards so I sold it. I would happily own another. The Toyota just flat out works. No complaints. The Sienna pulls down close to 30mpg on average, the Tahoe was around 20mpg on average. Both of us accelerate at WOT so no complaints about the fuel economy. The Sienna is AWD and performs well on bad winter roads.

The Sienna has around 30k miles on it. I put a 12V battery into it after the kick sensors under the doors killed the battery which then froze and was mechanically damaged. I disabled the kick sensors and never had another problem
 
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Wife's car is a 2012 (+/-) prius she's had since new. Not because she's an eco nut, but rather her dad offered to buy any new Toyota she wanted as a graduation present and the prius got the best mileage. Has actually been a quite good car for her - somewhere close to 200k miles and no real issues with it. Seems to get somewhere around 45 mpg though we don't track it too closely. Definitely gets her funny looks when she gets grain or whatever at the feed store, or when she puts sheep in the back. I find it somewhat uncomfortable, and disllike some of the control features, but can't really say anything that negative.

If I was buying one today I'd probably either go straight IC or plug in hybrid. Non plug in doesn't really seem like it gets you enough to be worth the added maintenance risk unless you're primarily doing city driving IMHO. Plug in seems like it should give a nice blend of IC range and economy on short drives, but I haven't really dug into them.

Had a 23 hybrid corolla as a rental car a couple months ago and it seemed like a quite nice little car.
 
sdmuleman said:
If I was buying one today I'd probably either go straight IC or plug in hybrid. Non plug in doesn't really seem like it gets you enough to be worth the added maintenance risk unless you're primarily doing city driving IMHO. Plug in seems like it should give a nice blend of IC range and economy on short drives, but I haven't really dug into them.
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On my Avalon it is worth 10-12 mpg hybrid vs non. I bought it used and it was not any more expensive than the gas model. If I drive it for 100k that 10mpg at $3+ a gallon is going to really add up.
 
Between my wife and I we have a 13 Prius C and V, we also have a normal 2010 Prius.

The 2010 will hit 270,000 miles this month. The other two are 150k and 170k. In approximately 150k miles driving these three I have replaced one head gasket(bought the V with known bad one), two inverter coolant pumps and one set of brake pads as well as two sets of tires. For whatever reason they’ve also gone through a lot of incandescent headlight bulbs. They do have projector housings so I purchased Amazon LEDs, that have been on about six months without failure yet.

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with them. I would like to get the 2010 model to 300k and unload it. The battery on it starting to show its age, and it needs to be reset every so often.
 
Ickychron said:
2013 Prius is my DD. Was never a fan of the Prius, but the 3rd gen is the only one I like aesthetically and Wife wanted it, so we bought new. My regular commute is 90 miles round trip, so the fuel economy is appreciated. I do 95% highway speeds at 75-85mph, it gets a consistent ~45mpg, (9-10-gal fill up at 400-450miles); worst mileage I've seen was mid-30s driving it like I stole it, best was 65mpg from crawling along in construction traffic. I used to commute in a 2001 Corolla S (had 260k and got a consistent 37mpg highway).

Has 180k, the only thing that's broken was the head gasket this past March at 165k. Mobile HG service did it in my gravel driveway in under 4hrs for only $2200 with a 1yr warranty. Grilled the repairman about these cars and he said they will all have HG issues due to the actual gasket Toyota used, but the Felpro they use hasn't had return customers; their business is pretty much only Prius HGs. Was doing the 10k oil changes per Toyota's schedule, but now do 5k per recommendation of the repair guy who said the only other issue they see on these cars is sticky piston rings. Just got it serviced a week ago and finally getting close to needing front brake pads, lol. 3rd set of tires and the huge flat windshield seems to be a rock-magnet -- but it's still been one of the cheapest to own/operate vehicles I've ever had. Doesn't seem to have an random rattles/squeaks, nothing's broken on the interior, overall it's been pretty solid.

Closest Home Depot is 10mi away, so I always pickup materials on my way home from work instead of going to get my truck. I've wanted to take a sawzall to the back of this thing and make it into a little truck for years, but wife won't let me, so I always park under a tree that looks like it'll fall on it haha - if/when Toyota makes that concept Stout hybrid truck I've been seeing online I'll probably buy one, I'd love a hybrid truck that's smaller than the Tacoma. If someone had retrofit hybrid swap kits available, I'd probably make my 75 Hilux a hybrid.

Probably end up buying a Sienna hybrid in the future, we rented one for a road trip and I was getting tank averages in the mid-30s doing 80-90mph
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Interesting. I have a 2011, and its on the original HG and brakes. I bought it in 2019 with 147k on it and the dash lit up like a christmas tree. A pair of rear unit bearings and wheel speed harnesses and the lights turned off with full functionality restored. Since then, I have put a couple set of tires on it (one summer, one winter), and I had an inverter repair at about 170k (covered under special service campaign due to faulty capacitors making their way in, free repairs for 15 years, unlimited miles). Its now at about 232k and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere, if it didn't smell like a dead mouse, that is. They LOVE getting in that thing, even when its parked in the garage.

Also, the OCE has always been 5k. If you set the monitor in the car, it doesn't matter how you drive, it always says "due soon" at 4500 miles and "required" after 5,000 miles.

My worst mileage was 27 out of a tank, facing a glancing 50 mph headwind heading through ND a couple winters ago. My best has been 63 mpg, going 55-65 on country highways when it was cool enough to not need the A/C. These days, its pretty consistently around 45 summer, 42 winter (difference in fuel and tires).
SomeGuyFromOlympia said:
Do the Priuses actually come with a framed certification that makes the owner better than everyone else in society?
just curious:grinpimp:
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But of course.:flipoff2:
 
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