Hybrid vehicles -- what is the maintenance like compared to gas vehicles?

[Anonymous]

What should I know about the maintenance costs/expectations before buying a hybrid over a gas-only vehicle?

[Anonymous]

No difference for us so far. Hybrid RAV4 - oil changes and basic gas. We don't have to go in every 18 months for a separate hybrid upkeep appointment, if that's what you mean.

[Anonymous]

I have a ten year old Honda hybrid and our maintenance is no different from a gas-only vehicle.

[Anonymous]

OP here. So it hasn't been more expensive or more frequent to maintain TWO engines vs. one?

[Anonymous]

The big thing is when the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. That’s a big expense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. So it hasn't been more expensive or more frequent to maintain TWO engines vs. one?

The electric propulsion system is a motor not an engine. Much simpler to maintain. Doesn't really need anything.

Think of the last time you had to have your clothes dryer or vacuum cleaner serviced -- both are electric motors.

[Anonymous]

I have a plug-in hybrid that is 5 years old and maintenance is no different. In fact, it has been far more reliable than my prior gas-only car. I've only had to do routine maintenance with this on.

[Anonymous]

With hybrids, they have regenerative breaking, so you can easily go 100K+ miles without needing new brakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. So it hasn't been more expensive or more frequent to maintain TWO engines vs. one?

The electric propulsion system is a motor not an engine. Much simpler to maintain. Doesn't really need anything.

Think of the last time you had to have your clothes dryer or vacuum cleaner serviced -- both are electric motors.

I'll add that Toyota's hybrid system also serves as the vehicle's transmission, and it doesn't have clutches and bands like regular automatic transmissions.

[Anonymous]

Honda Civic Hybrid 2012 owner here. Pretty normal maintenance until the power converter went out a bit after 100k miles. It was $3k dollars last year but, was covered by the extended warranty I purchased. The battery too someday will be $3k as well but so far no issues with it.

[Anonymous]

I have a 45 mile commute and have had 2 Priuses (Priusi?). My first was purchased in 2009 and we sold it in Feb 2016 after it went to 250,000. The only problem with it was the headlights. Purchased another to replace it and it's going strong at 120,000. Just had the front bearings done under the warranty and my husband did the brakes at about 115,000. Great cars and surprisingly roomy. My 6'3" son has no problem sitting in the back.

[Anonymous]

I had a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid that was a great car. Standard maintenance was better than my gas cars before. I could go about 8K until the oil change light came on and I would take it to Jiffy Lube. Tires every 50-60K because I got cheap tires. Other than that, the only two issues I had were both from recalls. One was a seat belt recall that I took in at my convenience. The other was an electronic component, part of the hybrid motor, that I ignored the recall notices until were on a long trip and the engine started giving us problems. It ended up limiting us to a top speed of about 60 mph and we took an extra day to get home (we just stopped overnight somewhere and then drove the rest of the way the next day). I took it to the dealership at home and they were the ones that told me that I had ignored the recall notices. But it was completely repaired on their dime. At 160K, the power steering (tied to the on-board computer) failed and would have cost me more than the car was worth to replace. I ended up driving it another year and 18K miles before the A/C went out (also tied to the on-board computer failure) and we replaced it about 2 months ago and donated the car to charity. Almost 14 years and 175K miles and it was one of the least expensive cars year-over-year that I have ever owned; especially considering that I had an SUV that got 28-31 mpg (30-31 local, 28-29 highway). I figured that I saved about $800-900 per year on gas alone vs the non-hybrid version of the same vehicle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid that was a great car. Standard maintenance was better than my gas cars before. I could go about 8K until the oil change light came on and I would take it to Jiffy Lube. Tires every 50-60K because I got cheap tires. Other than that, the only two issues I had were both from recalls. One was a seat belt recall that I took in at my convenience. The other was an electronic component, part of the hybrid motor, that I ignored the recall notices until were on a long trip and the engine started giving us problems. It ended up limiting us to a top speed of about 60 mph and we took an extra day to get home (we just stopped overnight somewhere and then drove the rest of the way the next day). I took it to the dealership at home and they were the ones that told me that I had ignored the recall notices. But it was completely repaired on their dime. At 160K, the power steering (tied to the on-board computer) failed and would have cost me more than the car was worth to replace. I ended up driving it another year and 18K miles before the A/C went out (also tied to the on-board computer failure) and we replaced it about 2 months ago and donated the car to charity. Almost 14 years and 175K miles and it was one of the least expensive cars year-over-year that I have ever owned; especially considering that I had an SUV that got 28-31 mpg (30-31 local, 28-29 highway). I figured that I saved about $800-900 per year on gas alone vs the non-hybrid version of the same vehicle.

Oh, and my wife is still driving her 2009 Prius with about 85K miles on it and it's in great shape. It has actually been even less trouble (only one recall in 10 years).

[Anonymous]

My eldest just purchased a hybrid Prius before starting his new job. His office parking has charging ports and so does the garage in the town-home he is renting with his house mates. He is happy being green and it costs him peanuts to run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My eldest just purchased a hybrid Prius before starting his new job. His office parking has charging ports and so does the garage in the town-home he is renting with his house mates. He is happy being green and it costs him peanuts to run.

I assume you mean a plug-in Prius like a Prius Prime. That needs a charging port to charge.

A standard hybrid Prius uses gas only for a hybrid gas-electric engine. The electric part is powered by the regenerative motor that does not need to be plugged in. It recharges the battery from the running of the engine and the regenerative braking technology.