Good morning,
I own a 2021 XSE Rav4 hybrid. It has 51k miles on it. I just discovered (my bad for not looking into this when I bought it 2 years ago) that my hybrid battery has a 3-5 year life according to toyota (and a $3k-$5k replacement cost) but could last longer as well. I own it outright and the value is such that I could move into a low mile outback for around the same without the concern of the hybrid battery. I'm retired and I don't want to pay if I don't have to as I'm not a DIYer. I need AWD because we're moving back east in a year or two and winter driving will be an issue.
I know the Rav4 and Outback are not direct comparisons but we own a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek and trust Subaru as much as we do Toyota so stepping into an Outback is not a concern in terms of reliability. I just want to make the best decision knowing what could be coming down the line. I appreciate all opinions.
Depending on your jurisdiction, the hybrid battery is covered from 8-10 years and 150,000 miles.
It’s very rare that a hybrid battery will go out in 3-5 years, unless you live in extreme climates or you let your car sit for too long without driving.
FWIW, my 2004 Prius went 17 years and 275K miles before needing a new/refurbished battery.
Granted, it will eventually need replacing, just not so soon.
my hybrid battery has a 3-5 year life according to toyota (and a $3k-$5k replacement cost) but could last longer as well
3-5 years? That’s nonsense. If you look at Toyota’s hybrid battery warranty they cover for 10 years or 150,000 miles whichever comes first. Be sure to follow all the terms and conditions of the warranty and be on top of the maintenance so you are not surprised later.
.
https://www.toyota.com/electrified-vehicles/warranty/
.
Toyota makes the best and longest serving hybrid vehicles for the past 20+ years. Granted, we don’t know how the new Toyotas will hold up over time since we don’t have a crystal ball, but per that warranty the battery should be good for a while.
.
I personally would never own a hybrid if I plan to keep the vehicle until the wheels fall off (15, 20+ years).
I will likely be keeping my car for the next 10 years but again you never know. I'm just leery of the battery as my neighbors hybrid battery went out and it was thousands and still didn't work right. His wasn't a toyota (Ford) but when you're retired every dollar gets bigger. Is the hybrid worth hanging onto or just stick with an ICE as they are easiest to fix and repair?
my hybrid battery has a 3-5 year life according to toyota
it should last a lot longer than that. My coworker's lasted about 15 years with daily driving.
What type of weather / climate do you have where you live?
I'm currently in SoCal but will be moving to new Hampshire or Upstate New York in 12-24 months.
If NH or upstate NY, if there is salt on the roads in super cold weather, probably better to switch out the RAV4 hybrid.
If you were staying in SoCal, I’d say keep it.
As others have mentioned, the Toyota Hybrid is rock solid. Taxis drive the things like mad and rack up hundreds of thousands of miles on them regularly.
As I live in upstate new york, Subaru is appealing, but in reality, the awd is not the superhero of winter that some make it out to be. Most of my friends that live in the area don't have awd, they know the roads are well maintained. That being said, many do have winter tires, and those do make a drastic difference in winter driving. My friends that do live up a non maintained, super steep mountain dirt road do have a Subaru with winter tires, not a bad choice for them.
AWD only helps you get moving on icy conditions, but does nothing to help braking distance, or sliding off a curve due to ice and snow. If you think you will be living on non maintained roads, with hills, awd and the right winter tires will be your best bet. Subaru had one of, if not the best awd systems on the market. Lately though, the Toyota awd is much better, greatly closing the gap to Subaru's awd system.
The Subaru is not a bad car, but when I compare it to a Toyota Hybrid, the owners are complaining about numerous issues, electrical, transmission, etc. The toyota owners are complaining that the seats don't auto adjust, or the cup holders aren't as numerous as they would like.
From what Scotty said, Subaru's are also switching to silicone instead of gaskets in their engines, not sure if it is all of them, or just some models, but that can cause a big expense down the road, likely worse than a hybrid battery. The transmission's of the subaru are pretty good, but not up to toyota either.
For me, it would not be worth switching to a car that would likely have more issues down the road than just a hybrid battery, and especially a reliable hybrid battery at that.
Now if you were wanting to switch to a low mileage Toyota awd, that would be a different story.
Thank you. Great information. I'll keep the Toyota.