Click HERE if you’re unable to view the gallery on your mobile device.
Q: I had 355,000 miles on my 2004 Prius when my electric battery finally died.
Dan Fisher, Los Gatos
A: Whoa, When the hybrid Prius hit the streets more than a decade ago, there were dire warnings that the electric batteries would fail around 100,000 miles. So I asked drivers what they found about lifetime of hybrid batteries.
Q: I had a 2006 Prius with 250,000-plus miles on it and no sign of deterioration in mileage. I only gave up the car last year because the catalytic converter needed replacement, and I was looking at a $3,000 repair bill. Replaced it with another Prius with only 76,000 miles. Happy driving!
Doug Fairbairn, Los Gatos
A: With those results, happy indeed.
Q: My 2004 Prius still has its original traction batteries with 244,495 miles.
Ed Tang, Sunnyvale
A: And …
Q: We have a Lexus RX400h 2007 and it has 202,000 miles on original batteries, and it is doing very well. I had Lexus check the electrical system and they found everything OK.
Richard Basecki, Los Gatos
A: Excellent. Let’s keep charging along.
Q: My 2005 Prius lasted 13 years and 189,000 miles. In the end, what did it in had nothing to do with the hybrid system. The catalytic converter needed replacement and would have been about $5,000 for that job. Since there was no way it could pass a smog test I opted to use the state’s vehicle retirement program which paid me $1,000 for it, which was more than blue book value. I purchased a 2017 Prius Prime which is a great car and has been getting me an average of over 100 mpg because most of my driving is all electric (under 20 miles with the ability to recharge at home or at work).
Andy Bensky, Scotts Valley
A: Andy did have to replace the non-electric 2v battery about 4 or 5 times which he says was a major pain.
Q: The hybrid battery on my 2003 Prius died in 2017 when the odometer read 150,280 miles. That day, a couple blocks after leaving home, the car was suddenly stricken and seized up as though it couldn’t breathe. It could barely muster 15 mph on the drive home. We hobbled into my trusted mechanic, who advised against repair, saying battery replacement would cost at least $4,000 and possibly more for other components.
Ken Elchert, Los Altos
A: And …
Q: We bought a 2002 Prius. Many years later, a display on the dashboard came on for “hybrid system.” I took it to our Toyota dealer, and they said that the battery needed to be replaced. No worry, as we had a 100,000-mile warranty for it, and our mileage at the time was 99,785. We got lucky on that one.
Mike Lamar, Felton
A: Yes, you did. Anyone else?
Join Gary Richards for an hourlong chat noon Wednesday at www.mercurynews.com/live-chats. Look for Gary at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.