Toyota/Lexus Hybrid Owners: Tell Me About Your Experiences

[REWahoo]

We have had a 2021 Highlander Hybrid for 3 years and we love it. Averaging 35.5 MPG in a combination of city and highway driving. Quieter and smoother ride than any car we have had.

^This.

We really like our Highlander and love the fact it gets far better gas mileage than the 2014 ice Highlander it replaced.

 

[surprising]

2010 Lexus HS250h bought in 22 with 145K miles. Runs and drives great. No issues at all. I believe it has the same 2.4L 4 cylinder found in Camry. It has all the features that are now becoming standard like Lane Keep Assist and traffic aware cruise. Pretty crazy for a 15 year old car now. I think Toyota/Lexus certainly has figured out how to build a bullet proof drivetrain (as long as you get regular oil changes).

 

[Qs Laptop]

I think the Lexus RX is a luxury version of the RAV4.

Lexus RX is the luxury version of the Toyota Highlander. The Lexus NX is the luxury version of the RAV4.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Part of what you may be hearing or feeling is the CVT transmission. They’re very different than traditional transmissions, but necessary for hybrids.

Yes, that makes sense as the sound was somewhat "drone-like".

 

[Texas Proud]

I have no idea and am just curious...

What is the tow rating on these SUVs? I would love to go hybrid but need to pull our boat until I can convince DW too let me sell it... even though we have not used it since 2019!!

 

[Qs Laptop]

I have no idea and am just curious...

What is the tow rating on these SUVs? I would love to go hybrid but need to pull our boat until I can convince DW too let me sell it... even though we have not used it since 2019!!

I believe the Lexus RX350 is 3,500 lbs.

 

[Al18]

FYI the $20,000 price difference between the RX350 Hybrid $52000 and the RX350 Plug-in Hybrid $72000 is mostly the cost difference between the battery sizes. The rechargeable battery in a hybrid is small, providing enough charge to power the car at low speeds for 2-4 miles. A plug-in hybrid is much larger, more costly battery.

 

[Midpack]

FYI the $20,000 price difference between the RX350 Hybrid $52000 and the RX350 Plug-in Hybrid $72000 is mostly the cost difference between the battery sizes. The rechargeable battery in a hybrid is small, providing enough charge to power the car at low speeds for 2-4 miles. A plug-in hybrid is much larger, more costly battery.

PHEVs rarely make sense, higher cost and more complexity, pretty pitiful range. People who want a BEV but are afraid to buy one buy PHEVs. I’d recommend a BEV or a HEV, like the OP wants. And the market agrees…

 

[FiveDriver]

This guy is a "nut" about Toyotas and has a very popular YouTube channel. Here is a very recent video he posted that should provide the info you are asking about. Bottom line, Toyota hybrid batteries typically go ~250,000 miles before needing replacement and the replacement cost for a new Toyota battery, including labor, is between $3 and $8k depending on model.

Note that he says newer models have better battery management systems and should go even longer before needing replacement.

Thanks for the response REWahoo. That's very helpful.

There was a claim that the main battery costs $25K to replace !!

The Number 1 rule of the Internet is --
If it sounds too outlandish to believe.....it's probably not true.

 

[Al18]

$25K may be the replacement cost of a plug-in hybrid battery replacement, once you add labor.

 

[Texas Proud]

FYI the $20,000 price difference between the RX350 Hybrid $52000 and the RX350 Plug-in Hybrid $72000 is mostly the cost difference between the battery sizes. The rechargeable battery in a hybrid is small, providing enough charge to power the car at low speeds for 2-4 miles. A plug-in hybrid is much larger, more costly battery.

REALLY $20K worth of extra battery? How far can it go on battery?

For that much I would think a couple of hundred miles...

 

[Midpack]

REALLY $20K worth of extra battery? How far can it go on battery?

For that much I would think a couple of hundred miles...

EPA-ESTIMATED 37 MILES OF ALL-ELECTRIC DRIVING RANGE*

But the OP is only interested in HEVs, so we should get back on topic.

 

[FiveDriver]

$25K may be the replacement cost of a plug-in hybrid battery replacement, once you add labor.

No. Labor is included in that Estimate. Please read Wahoo's response carefully.
The $25K number came from one of those "Noisy Windmill" hypocrites that muddy up the web these days.


Replacing a Toyota hybrid battery, including labor, can cost anywhere between $2,000 and $8,000 depending on the specific Toyota model, where you get the replacement done, and the cost of the battery itself; with the majority of the price coming from the battery pack itself and labor costs ranging from around $500 to $1,500.

 

[Qs Laptop]

No. Labor is included in that Estimate. Please read Wahoo's response carefully.
The $25K number came from one of those "Noisy Windmill" hypocrites that muddy up the web these days.


Replacing a Toyota hybrid battery, including labor, can cost anywhere between $2,000 and $8,000 depending on the specific Toyota model, where you get the replacement done, and the cost of the battery itself; with the majority of the price coming from the battery pack itself and labor costs ranging from around $500 to $1,500.

The Toyota hybrid battery is warrantied for 10 years/150,000 miles. I am assuming I won't get to the mileage limit, so that leaves me with 10 years of coverage on the battery. I'm thinking I can always sell the vehicle in year 9. Also, in 10 years we'll probably be into driverless on-demand subscription taxi services and I won't need a car.

In other words, I'm not worried about replacing the hybrid battery. Frankly, it sounds like scare tactics by ICE proponents.

 

[MBAustin]

My 2010 Prius is now with DD. She replaced the hybrid battery at around 120K and I think it cost her around $2500 including labor (in NJ, so not cheap labor). It's now over 150K and has had no other major issues. I replaced it with a 2021 Prius Prime plug-in, which is perfect as more than 95% of my trips are less than its ~35 mile range. I sometimes go an entire month without using the hybrid engine. The plug-in hybrid charger is plugged into a regular house outlet (with a very good surge protector) so no extra investment in charging. On the few long drives I've done, I've averaged around 65mpg. Absolutely love it.

 

[surprising]

My 2010 Prius is now with DD. She replaced the hybrid battery at around 120K and I think it cost her around $2500 including labor (in NJ, so not cheap labor). It's now over 150K and has had no other major issues. I replaced it with a 2021 Prius Prime plug-in, which is perfect as more than 95% of my trips are less than its ~35 mile range. I sometimes go an entire month without using the hybrid engine. The plug-in hybrid charger is plugged into a regular house outlet (with a very good surge protector) so no extra investment in charging. On the few long drives I've done, I've averaged around 65mpg. Absolutely love it.

Dumb question, but what happens if you don't replace the battery? Does it refuse to start? Does it show a check engine light? I have a lexus hybrid that my daughter drives with 154K miles. No idea the condition of the battery but the indicator still shows it reaching full charge.

 

[Texas Proud]

Not using gas brings up an interesting question...

What do you do to make sure your gas does not go bad?

 

[surprising]

Not using gas brings up an interesting question...

What do you do to make sure your gas does not go bad?

On my Chevy Volt, after some condition is met, it forces the gas engine on to use up all the old gas. You can also fill up and it'll use some formula knowing the age and amount of the old gas plus the new gas to decide if the combined gas is new enough to stop running the engine.

 

[Al18]

I raised the battery price issue as a warning that the plug-in hybrid models don’t make financial sense to me.

On the other hand, I think the regular hybrid models from Lexus and Toyota make good financial sense. Lexus is only charging $2K more for the RX350 hybrid, compared to the gas only version. When I checked Toyota RAV4 hybrid version recently, I think they were charging about the same premium, compared to the gas only version.

 

[Al18]

The only way gas would go bad in a hybrid is if the vehicle sat parked for months at a time. This is bad behavior for a car with a gas only engine also. I’ve read that current gas with 10% ethanol will go bad in months and this will lead to early death of the 12V battery. FYI hybrid cars have a 12V battery - same as a gas only car.

The gas engine on a hybrid starts immediately on first start. At maximum, a hybrid vehicle could only drive 2-4 miles on electric power only.

 

[Midpack]

Dumb question, but what happens if you don't replace the battery? Does it refuse to start? Does it show a check engine light? I have a lexus hybrid that my daughter drives with 154K miles. No idea the condition of the battery but the indicator still shows it reaching full charge.

Hybrids have two batteries, the high voltage battery that powers the drive motor, and a 12V low voltage battery for starting, instruments etc. The high voltage traction battery does not start the car.

 

[Midpack]

Not using gas brings up an interesting question...

What do you do to make sure your gas does not go bad?

HEV hybrids use gas every time you drive them. PHEV plug in hybrids might use gas less often, but unless you stay within the limited electric range of the PHEV at all times, you will be using gasoline. PHEVs usually have a 40 mile or less electric only range.

 

[surprising]

Hybrids have two batteries, the high voltage battery that powers the drive motor, and a 12V low voltage battery for starting, instruments etc. The high voltage traction battery does not start the car.

Understood. I am just wondering if the car goes into some kind of limp/no-start mode if it detects the high voltage battery has failed.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

We bought a used 2007 Prius Touring in 2012. The car has 161k on it now, uses no oil but we've replaced front wheel bearings twice. It got a new traction battery a couple years ago at a cost of $2800. The independent mechanic who installed it (a factory Toyota replacement battery) drove 40 miles to our house and did the job in our driveway. I've done some other work to it myself -- it needed a new muffler a few years ago, and a broken spring in the back necessitated some new rear strut assemblies.

The car is now 18 years old, shows very little rust. DW loves it and has no interest in getting a new car.

 

[Qs Laptop]

The only way gas would go bad in a hybrid is if the vehicle sat parked for months at a time. This is bad behavior for a car with a gas only engine also. I’ve read that current gas with 10% ethanol will go bad in months and this will lead to early death of the 12V battery. FYI hybrid cars have a 12V battery - same as a gas only car.

The gas engine on a hybrid starts immediately on first start. At maximum, a hybrid vehicle could only drive 2-4 miles on electric power only.

No, the gas engine on a hybrid does not start immediately on first start of the day. I just got done test driving two vehicles on Saturday and neither one engaged the gas engine immediately. In the first case the gas engine kicked on after about 2-3 minutes. I started the car in the presence of the sales rep as he was explaining various features and I asked about why it was so quiet and he said because the gas engine had not started yet and pointed at the READY light on the dashboard indicating I could drive the vehicle. After about 2-3 minutes I heard the gas engine come on. There were no tachometer in the Lexus RX350's.

In the second case the gas engine came on after I started driving the vehicle.