zes

Does anybody have thoughts about the durability of the HSD in the 300h? I know the Prius HSD is very tough but I don't know about the Camry HSD on which this is based. I have seen many hybrid Camrys as cabs so that suggests to me that the drivetrain must be strong. What about the battery? Should it last beyond 10 years? Most Japanese engines seem to die after 150k miles. What is the expected life of this drivetrain? I have a '14 and keep my cars for 10-15 years and usually drive them to the ground. I am wondering if I should think about keeping this long term or trading it in before the battery warranty goes.

Also I head that most Wear in IC engines occurs in the few seconds after startup before the oil circulation gets going . In my car the engine is starting and stoping all the time. How come it does not wear out. Will it have a short life? If that was the case it would not be in cab service.

jollick

On your comment that "Most Japanese engines seem to die after 150k miles". The company I work for has used, and continues to do so, Honda, Toyota, Lexus and Nissan as sales and service vehicles for a long time. We keep them until they get between 250,000 and 300,000 miles. Not one of them had an engine failure or any other major failure. They also held a respectable amount of value when we sold them.

zes

I can only speak from personal experience. Had a 77 Camry. Bought it new along with lifetime oil changes. Got oil changed by the dealer religiously every 3,000 miles. Valve stem seals died at 65,000 miles. Dealer changed them because car was maintained by them. At 130,000 miles the engine threw a rod during a family vacation and the car caught fire. Nothing was left but the insurance company said it was a sludge issue.

I had a Mazda Millenia that I owned after I bought it when it had 40K miles. I changed oil every 5,000 miles and exclusively used synthetic oil (Mobil) because he lifters made a noise at the first start in the morning with Dino oil. The engine was burning so much oil at 130k miles I got rid of it and bought a 300h.

Before the Mazda I had a Nissan Sentra. Had to get the head replaced at 120k because it developed a crack and my radiator fluid looked like strawberry milkshake. Had to get the engine overhauled at 150k.

Before that I had a Volvo which required more attention than anything I owned before.

Prior to that I had a Corrolla which I rebuilt at 150k and drove to 200k.

I have just had bad luck I guess. That is why I am suspicious about the 300h, because it has the same drivetrain as the Camry hybrid.

TechNut

I don't know the direct answer to your question. The hybrid drive train obviously introduces many additional failure points. Furthermore, we haven't had a car for over 70k miles in the last 25 years. However, I don't think comparing a modern 300H to a 1977 Camry is a fair comparison.

Anyway, as I said, I have no empirical experience and can only voice an opinion. I will likely be keeping my ES for many years so my "opinion" is to keep it as long as you are still enjoying it.

chromedome

The transmission/power split device is a sealed unit with no belts, so it should last for the lifetime of the car. I'm not sure about MG1 and MG2 reliability. The batteries are known to have single cells fail at 10 years or so, then you're looking at a battery refurb.

As for the engine, how do they get it to last so long? It's constantly being turned on and off and run mainly at low rpm, but I've never heard of severe oil usage or failed components on Prius or Camry Hybrid engines. For me, all the tips on running in engines don't apply any more.

zes

I think it is encouraging to see hybrid Camry cabs especially in cities like New York and Toronto. Cab companies would not invest in them if they were not tough drive trains. Cab drivers in those cities are always in a rush and are not kind to the cars. Presumably they last.

Arty101

I think hybrid Camry cabs are a testament to the longevity of the hybrid system. I don't exactly recall, but I believe the hybrid system is warranted for 10 years/100k or more.

SW17LS

Who in the world told you "most Japanese engines die after 150k miles"? Nonsense.

zes

Personal painful experience. See my post above.

Trexus

Sounds like you just have the worst luck when it comes to cars in general. There is no such thing as a 1977 Camry...maybe in Japan but not in the U.S. 1983 was the first time the Camry debut in the U.S.

I had a 1996 ES 300 and drove it to over 400K miles as of July 2010. A week later I was rear-ended. If I didn't get rear-ended I probably would be over 500K miles by now. I guess I just have the best of luck when it comes to cars...

SW17LS

Even if you did have a bad experience with a "1977 Camry" that was 40 years ago. There are literally 4 decades of reliability data since then that shows Toyota can build a very reliable engine. Plus cars overall are MUCH more reliable and last MUCH longer today than they did then.

150,000 miles is nothing for most modern engines, certainly a Toyota engine.

airgas1998

77 camry?lmao...

Arty101

Zes, you're either very unlucky or pretty rough on your cars .

mrBillFL

I am the type of owner that tends to keep cars that don't give me problems. 9+ yrs is about the time I do a cost benefit, on replacement.

good news is the hybrids do seem to hold value. even as they age which helps offset the upfront cost.

you also get an extra year warranty with lexus over toyota.

Arty101

I'm with you. I typically keep my cars 9+ years too. Still have my 98 GS400 @88k, and 99 RX300 @120k. Time to do some spring cleaning.