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The Prius' battery is not expected to last the entire life of the car. The Volt's battery IS expected to do so. For one thing, there are completely different cell chemistries are used in the Volt and Prius; Volt uses Lithium-Manganese Li-Ion, Prius uses NiMH cells. Also, the Volt uses the juice differently by design. In essence, it under-stresses the battery, so it'll last much longer. LG chem (the cell's maker) and GM (the car/batt-pack maker) are testing the CRAP out of these batteries (accelerated cycling, heat, cold, vibration, etc.) to make sure they can safely warranty them for the full life of the vehicle. The warranty is widely expected to be 10yr-150,000mi (not officially published, so far as I know, but they've made comments to that effect in interviews).

Correction. The Toyota hybrid battery IS designed to last the life of the vehicle. The standard warranty is 8 years / 80,000 miles with 10 yrs/150,000 miles required in California. Toyota reports that it is not unusual to go 250,000 miles on a battery.

Correction: 8 yr / 100,000 miles.

Correction. The Toyota hybrid battery IS designed to last the life of the vehicle. The standard warranty is 8 years / 80,000 miles with 10 yrs/150,000 miles required in California. Toyota reports that it is not unusual to go 250,000 miles on a battery.

Well maybe if you live in California where the temperature stays between 40 and 90 degrees, that might work. But the majority of the country doesn't enjoy such temperatures. Live in a place where the temp goes -20 degrees, or in the desert where it hits 115 on a regular basis, and the batteries are going to last a fraction of what they will last in California. I say let California mandate these stupid battery cars for their own people. They deserve them. But the rest of the country is not California.

I know two people who bought the Prius here in Phoenix. Both of them sold the cars after two years because they had problems with the batteries.

>> The Toyota hybrid battery IS designed to last the life of the vehicle

I *thought* Toyota expected the rest of the car to outlast the battery. If untrue, then I am wrong. While I don't think an 8/80 warranty is the expected life of the Prius (at least I hope not!) I respect your point.

FWIW, it was not my goal to disparage the Prius, rather to point out that the batteries have fundamental differences. However I can see how it might've sounded that way. Sorry, if that's the case. I'm in favor of ANY car that reduces our oil consumption; I would just prefer one that makes it possible to use very little gas, or even NONE, yet doesn't constrain driving habits when longer trips are necessary.

As for Prius' battery lasting as much as 250,000 miles, I don't doubt that either. There will be cases at either extreme depending on driving patterns. The same will be true for any BEV/EREV, I'm sure.