[propjock]

I believe that for all hybrids, the battery has a specific life (I assume based on elapsed time rather than miles driven?). After reaching that point, it needs to be replaced (at a non-trivial cost). True? If so, anyone know what the particulars are for the RAV4 hybrid? I *do* tend to keep my cars for a long time...

(First post - Please be gentle...)

 

[rdgrimes]

Assuming normal use and care, its unlikely you will ever need to worry about it. 200-300K miles is common in the hybrids. The hybrid system warranty, including battery, is 8 years / 100K.

 

[MTL_Sienna]

Toyota Prius Taxi Running Strong With 600,000 Miles And Original Battery


Pretty much bulletproof hybrid system. If anything, a hybrid should last longer as the system has fewer moving parts that can wear than a car or truck with a conventional engine.

 

[Win262]

When purchasing our 2016 Hybrid Limited, my wife asked that question to the salesperson. His response was, "about 200,000 miles." I suppose that it can vary and I have not been able to find any definitive information on line in regard to the RAV4, only the Prius. Also, we did not discuss replacement cost but from what I have read in regard to other hybrid models the average cost seems to be about $3000. But, years from now, is anybody's guess.

 

[Oli77]

This is all nice and inspires confidence. Thanks for the thread OP.

 

[jrohland]

Toyota has designed the battery management circuit to do no damage to the battery. Unless you have a circuit failure, mechanical damage or somehow fully discharge the batteries, the battery is expected to last the life of the car.

 

[rsn48]

Toyota has been studying Prius battery life of New York taxi cab drivers who put on 70,000/ year on average. The taxi cab drivers were "early in" types adopting the Prius for business use when it first came out. The results have surprised even Toyota as the great majority of batteries are still functioning after many many years of high use.

Our R4H is our first hybrid, but part of the reason I bought it was Toyota has now 20 years of experience with hybrid technology, it is no longer a novelty item and has proven itself reliable.

 

[corsair]

great video my wife an I are super happy with our purchase!

 

[propjock]

Awesome replies - thank you to all. This is an item that I'm going to cross off my list of things I need to worry about.

 

[millsrv]

There are many very good YouTube Videos on the subject of hybrid batteries.

I am a retired auto mechanic and recently purchased our first hybrid Toyota. I have worked on Prius's and the Ford Escape Hybrid. I attended Ford Hybrid school specifically for the Escape. We never sent any of our fleet Prius's back for warranty work, the Fords were non stop problems.
I buy Toyotas simply because I believe they are one of the best cars available and I don't want to work on cars. I would love to buy an American Car but I just want to drive it, not fix it.

In my opinion, from my experience, and research, Toyota's Hybrid Batteries will not be a problem.

 

[rdgrimes]

At the time Ford was using Toyota's outdated technology under license

The Toyota synergy drive is used (licensed) in several Ford models. I wouldn't call it "outdated technology" though. There have been minor changes through the different generations of the synergy drive, but nothing that really affects how it works or efficiency per se. AFAIK Ford is using a Gen-3 system, but I could be wrong. AFAIK, only the transaxle is used, Ford uses their own ICE and battery and M/G units.

 

[millsrv]

rdgrimes, I was quoting the class instructor and do not know for sure what hybrid technology Ford used or continues to use. I revised my post and deleted that statement.