Seriously considering getting a Prius, but friends and a salesman have told me
that if the Prius dies somehow on the road, the only option would be to tow
it to the nearest Toyota dealership, as no one else can fix the hybrid engine.
Is this true ? Can the car run on just the gasoline engine, if it's the electric
motor that died ? I can't imagine driving this car on the freeway, half way
from LA to San Francisco, and the car dies on the way ...

Appreciate any feedback!

 

Personally, I woouldn't want anyone except an authorized dealer mech to work on my car. I think the fact a shop needs all kinds of computer diagnostics, means the days of the shade tree mechanic are over.

That said, I've driving from Long Beach, CA (home) into Iowa, on my way into Wisconsin, Chicago, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and return. So, I've go 17,878 miles on my odometer, and 2,842 miles since leaving Long Beach.

So, let's see. LA to San Fran? A piece of cake.

 

It's wonderful to know that Prius is such a reliable car.

Your response suggests that if I am 200 miles away from the nearerst dealer, I'd
have to have the car towed 200 miles, right ? I guess I want to know if I have
the OPTION to at least have a local mechnic (maybe 10 miles away) to look at it
when there's a problem... I guess the answer is no ...

Thx!

 

One approach is to buy and carry the Toyota maintenance manuals and an OBD scanner. This at least would put you in a position to try local resources. I do.

Bob Wilson

 

Don't know what, "local" mechanic I'd trust with any make of new car. That's why I carry towing insurance.

But you're right. Anything goes wrong w/the Prius, the manual says to get it to a dealer.

I think the difference here is that if my new car failed - anywhere - the question I would ask is, "Where's the dealer?"

 

I've been driving a Prius for almost 3 years now. One of the reasons I am driving a Toyota is that they are so reliable. I'm sure the long-term members on this board will tell you that they have had very few (if any) serious issues with their hybrids.

There was an issue several years ago where the computer needed a patch and might turn off the GAS engine while you were driving. That happened to me on the way home one evening and I made it back to my office on the battery, called AAA and had it towed to the local dealer, and they gave me a loaner while they downloaded and installed the patch. They said that turning it off and restarting it probably would have reset it and turned the engine back on.

The thing is, all cars are pretty much computerized now. The computer in the Chevy I had before my Prius always had to be reset after I had the oil changed. The tech always forgot and I had to push a series of radio buttons to reset it.

When the computer in any car has issues you are looking for a dealer, not a local mechanic who does inspections and changes tires.

 

There certainly could be problems on the road so severe that one could not drive, and that a 'conventional car' mechanic could not address. The experiences presented in internet groups such as this one suggest that such problems are very rare.

The more common Prius problems seem to relate to 12 volt battery discharge and tires; such things are in a typical car shop's vocabulary.

I am nearing 107k miles on 2001 Prius. I have seen warning lights on the display twice. Both times (telephone call to Toyota) it was judged perfectly acceptable to continue driving. One self-resolved and required no action. The other needed a computer replaced (days later) under warranty.

Over the next few days, I will make a 1400 mile round trip. Prep for this trip is checking tire pressures and 'vital fluids' levels. Get some drinking water in the car, and make a sandwich. Thoughts of roadside stranding are far from my mind. However, if it happens, I'll let you know

DAS

 

Appreciate your reply and the vote of confidence for Prius.

 

18 months and 47,000 miles and the engine has only shutdown twice.. because some dope didn't put gas in it.

One ocassional poster here Carbot is at 41 months and 155,000 miles with zero..0..issues of any kind. He just changed his original brakes.

But to answer your specific question if the car dies while driving, we'd have to search for reasons why this might happen because none are known to me except for lack of gas, then yes it should be towed to a Toyota dealer. If it's the vehicle at fault and it's still under warranty then the towing is reimbursable.

 

Finally, and most reassuring, my new Prius just got me back to Edmonton after two weeks vacation and 3000 km of brutal mountain pass and high speed "interstate" driving. No teething problems. No "new car" problems. Only problem I've had is the nut behind the wheel keeps reaching for buttons he doesn't need to use. Oh, and the guilty feeling when going to pay for the gas he just pumped into the car. Feels like I'm wasting the attendants time!