I was looking at a RX400h for my wife and I was wondering if anyone knows how long these batteries/ electric motors in these cars are supposed to last???? Also what are the costs to replace them when they die?? Anyone have a bad experience with hybrid or electric cars??

 

If it helps, the Prius has been known to go 350K+ on the OEM battery pack and the traction motors - and there's a ton of them in San Francisco and NYC as taxicabs. Expect to spend $2-3K for a new OEM battery if it goes out, but Toyota has a 10/100(10/150 in Cali) warranty on the hybrid drivetrain and battery pack.

OTOH, I'm seeing the Honda batteries drop like flies.

 

I have never heard of electric motors failing and I have only heard of a few Priui and one Ford Escape hybrid that required battery replacement. The Ford needed it due to "driver error" which my guess is that it was an accident. The Ni-mh batteries found in today's hybrid have undoubtedly exceeded original expectations. So much so that Toyota shut down their battery recycling operation because they werent getting any dead batteries from hybrids.

 

I've heard 10 years longevity with these and a few thousand to replace them..

 

Cool so its not something that will go every 100k miles . I am truly amazed at the fuel efficiency of the RX400h. It get subcompact mpg with a luxury look, feel, and curb weight

 

The new RXh is even more impressive. Either way, both are good investments. The first Prius debuted in 1999 or sometime around there, so the 10 year mark is here. Haven't heard of any battery failures yet.

 

battery lasts 250k+ miles, electric motors and rest of the systems are lifetime...