jowana

I’m sorry about asking as I can tell you guys get a lot of these, but where better to ask than here. Anyways I saw a used lexus with 109k miles with a very good service record, maintained every 5k miles. But one of my biggest concerns is the battery breaking, the car is really clean as well even before detailing but I don’t know how much longer it would be until the battery breaks, so if anyone else owns a 300h or has any info on how long the battery would last that would help a lot, thanks!

Lexmart

I think I’ve read that there are scan tools that can pull the status health of the battery cells. I’d look into that at least if you are seriously considering it. I also looked briefly at hybrids before I bought my 2013 ES350. Ultimately i decided that my gut told me that batteries don’t last forever and unless I found an absolute steal of a deal with not a lot of miles, the gas savings wasn’t worth the potential cost of replacing the battery down the road with unknown life expectancy.

All batteries hate heat and deep discharging. I don’t know how you can ever really judge the life left in those hybrid batteries without rolling the dice. Of course, replacing engines or transmissions isn’t a joy either. Do your homework, check it out thoroughly then go with your gut and be ready to face the worst case scenario financially. That’s all you can really do.

12jimmyjam

That’s a good chunk of miles for a hybrid battery. But if you’re like me and drive the wheels off of cars, you’re most likely going to have to replace it anyway.

Aside from the gas savings, there are some other hidden savings in maintenance. You can avoid a couple of spark plugs changes that are over $500 each time on the V6 because the plugs are so easy to access on the hybrid. You can avoid a brake job which usually runs me $500 all the way around because brakes last significantly longer on the hybrid. ATF changes used to cost me around $250 at Toyota but now I change my own because it is so much easier on the hybrid. No alternator to replace either. All that savings for me comes to about the $2300 it’ll cost for a company to come replace my battery in my own driveway and give me a lifetime warranty on it.

ThumperPup

yup i was just going to point these out
wow you got a company that you can pay 2300 dollars to replace the hybrid battery and they give a lifetime warranty ? is it local only or do they have other companys across the country they work with ? this would be good info fo rme to know cause i drive cars till they have like 500k on them and id like to just have the info for when that time does come its not a if it happens for me its a when it happens kind of thing lol.

12jimmyjam

The company is called Green Bean Battery. Here is a link to the Avalon hybrid page. For some reason when you click on the ES 300h link it sends you to a different model although I’ve viewed that page before. Great company reviews on Google too.

https://greenbeanbattery.com/toyota-...y-replacement/

pgiorgio

Bought my 2013 300h in Oct 2018 with 117k miles and it now has 140k. It was in terrific shape mechanically and cosmetically and obviously had been well taken care of. I searched nationally and found a private seller (usually pay much lower price in private sale) and paid $12800 for it which was the best price I found at the time. Saw a lot of 300h's with many more miles. As a bonus, the car came with a transferable extended warranty good until 148k miles, so I plan to bring the car to a dealer (if we ever get released from our "stay at home" recommendations) and get it checked out. So far, all I've done to the car is change the oil, although I think the shocks need replacing. Bottom line I wouldn't be afraid of a 300h with 100k+ miles as long as the car has been well taken care of.

ThumperPup

thank you i am not in there services area i live in utah but will save there info cause im not to far from one fo the states where they are avaialble and have no issues if i have to drive to nevada for service if needed since if the battery fails the car will still drive just wont have the hybrid system if i ever did need it so im going to save this companys info for if that time ever does come
no issues os far and i still have factory warranty on it at the time bust always good to put this stuff into a saved file for if i ever do need them

NachoNYC

2 years ago purchased a 2014 ES300h with 130k miles for $13k.
Took it to Lexus for inspection before finalizing and it had zero codes and zero major issues to this day.
I also asked 2 Lexus dealerships how many times they've replaced the hybrid battery, she laughed and said zero, it's highly reliable.
38+ mpg in the summer. Wonderful car and excellent bang for your buck. Check it's history on https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/, mine had great service records at Lexus dealerships

NYBrian

This is just my experience, BUT...

I bought my 2013 ES300h as a CPO car with 31k in 2015. I have a long commute (100 miles/day) and so currently I'm at 151K miles. Problems/repairs so far: Each of the Oxygen sensors has been replaced twice (I paid for the first of each, the 2nd replacements were done under parts warranty. One set of brakes and 2 sets of tires. Changed oil about every 8k miles. Early on there was a oil leak that got fixed under CPO warranty.

I also have 2 current problems - the brake booster is slowly failing and that will be an expensive repair ($2300) when it finally goes. I tried to get it fixed under the extended service bulletin before 150k miles but Lexus will only do it for free if it completely fails and throws a specific trouble code. Now that I'm over 150K I'm probably on my own. My other problem (really just annoying) is that the clock on the dash runs about 40 minutes fast per day and of course there's no other clock anywhere to look at. So I covered it with a sticker so as not to get confused (Not really a mechanical problem, just annoying.)

It still runs and drives great and I get about 36mpg all around driving in the NYC metro area (so LOTS of stop and go and heavy traffic, though not so much lately for obvious reasons.) It will be paid off later this year and I'm hoping for another 100k. Best car I've ever owned by far (in 32 years) and I would definitely consider another one. At this age/mileage I would probably go for a 'partial reconditioning' if the hybrid battery goes but so far it looks good as per a scan with an OBDC dongle. Amazingly enough I'm still on the original 12V AGP battery too.

Cjdagreat

I bought my 2014 with 91k...in my opinion it still drives like new!...I'm a mechanic and i know Toyota's and Lexus'...If the services are well maintained definitely buy it!!

Doobster6

Last November (2019) I bought an L-Certified 2013 ES300h with only 19k miles. I did tons of research on the NiMH battery pack and their reliability and longevity. First thing to remember is that this hybrid drivetrain had already had 16 years of real-world development and refinement in the Prius line. Sure, the gas engine and battery pack are bigger in the Lexus but it’s essentially the same system and technology. In 2013 Lexus warrantied the battery for 8 years of 100k miles but then (in 201?) raised that to 10 years and 150k miles for essentially the same system. Here’s the thing to remember about manufacturer’s warranties; they set the limits at a point where they expect that 99%+ of the cars will meet it, otherwise they’ll lose a fortune in warranty repairs. Now then, no system fails ‘right on schedule’ (or miles), which means that a good portion of that 99% that made it to 150k miles will actually go a lot further. In fact, stories about Prius owners getting to 225-275k miles on the original hybrid battery back are common. The Toyota systems are furthermore programmed so that the charge level never falls below 40% and is never charged to more than 85%, which is how you get NiMH batteries to last a very long time. Like an earlier post said, if the car has been well maintained, don’t worry about a car with 100k or more miles. Your’s will be the very rare car that needs its hybrid battery replaced before say, 175k miles. The earlier hybrid batteries are essentially the same ones now being warrantied to 150k miles, and the vast majority of owners will get way more miles than that out of them.

SpaceGravy

Don't do it. Getting that battery replaced with OEM parts is about a 5-7k proposition, depending on which state your dealer is in (and yes, only a Lexus dealer is capable of doing it). They also have a generator that can go bad and although not as expensive, that is also a chunk of change when having to go out of pocket. Some on here may try to sell you on the idea of only replacing the bad cells (mistake) and/or going with an aftermarket or used battery (also a mistake). The bad cell approach will lead to other cells right beside it eventually going bad and tearing into that thing is a big cost on its own. With the aftermarket or used battery approach, same deal pretty much...these "refurbished" batteries typically just fix the bad cell(s), leaving the others alone even if they are only functioning at 50% capacity. And again, this is something that you absolutely must have done at a Lexus or Toyota dealer which limits your ability to take it someplace else to save a little $$$.

NachoNYC

Do you personally know any ES300h owner who has actually done it? I've asked my two local Lexus dealerships and both said they've never had to replace the batteries. It's the same battery in hundreds of NYC taxi cabs with over 375k miles.

SpaceGravy

Yes, I do and it certainly is possible that those people at those particular dealerships have never heard of hybrid batteries being replaced. My point is that any fuel savings realized will likely be eaten up in battery replacement costs. I like to keep my vehicles a long time so my recommendation was not to buy one, obviously, you disagree which is fine :-)

12jimmyjam

Just to chime in on the battery replacement and pricing, lots of places can do it. When mine finally goes (I keep my cars forever!), I’m having these guys replace it for about $2300. I’ll get a lifetime warranty and the warranty is even transferable to the new owner when sold if done within 7 days. That’s a great selling point when getting rid of a high mileage hybrid. https://greenbeanbattery.com/lexus-e...ybrid-battery/

And on the cost of the battery itself, I calculated my lifetime gas savings over the life of the loan to be about $7500. Depending on your mechanical abilities, maintenance is actually cheaper on the ES hybrid-around the tune of $2,000+. So not including the premium associated with the higher price of the sticker price both new and used, the maintenance cost can offset the battery replacement cost and you can still save a ton of money on gas.