# Do Toyota Priuses CAUSE more pollution? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-toyota-priuses-cause-more-pollution/601629 "2011-11-02T15:08:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-toyota-priuses-cause-more-pollution/601629/61 "2011-11-04T00:22:37Z")
> [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](#): > > From [review](http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2011/07/05/book_review_tim_harfords_adapt_-_why_success_always_begins_with_failure_99104.html) quoting a book, “Why success begins with failure” > > Is that true? Why would Priuses be so slow? This is as stupid as stupid gets. If anything my Prius has better acceleration then my last 3 cars. Prius drivers are not more prone to slow acceleration as someone mentioned, I dare someone to cite they are. Priuses are peppy cars and of course at lights don’t burn gas most of the time. The entire concept is silly. Try some car sights instead of an economist for car reviews is my recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-toyota-priuses-cause-more-pollution/601629/62 "2011-11-04T00:29:47Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Well, another possibility could be that that used-up batteries of the type in these cars (Li-ion?) may be difficult to dispose of safely, but I’m not sure what’s involved and how much pollution that mkight cause. Apparently they can be recycled. Toyota has a battery recycling program. [http://earth911.com/news/2010/11/02/toyota-launches-hybrid-battery-recycling-program/](http://earth911.com/news/2010/11/02/toyota-launches-hybrid-battery-recycling-program/) Chrysler provides recycling information. [https://www.chrysler.com/en/owners/aspen\_hybrid\_battery\_recycling/index.html](https://www.chrysler.com/en/owners/aspen_hybrid_battery_recycling/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-toyota-priuses-cause-more-pollution/601629/63 "2011-11-04T00:43:16Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > Well, this is the sentence before the Prius mention in the OP article. > > In his defense, that doesn’t appear to be a quote from Hartford’s book, and may not be related to anything in his book at all. But first, a kettle is roughly the same thing as a cappuccino machine and a quick google shows they use the same power and a cell phone uses extremely little. So a cappuccino requiring more energy than these is no point at all. Second, other appliances can use a **ton** of energy and turning them off can really make a difference. Surely they don’t really expect people to have zero impact, but if you want to make “Those who embrace the theory of global warming” look like hypocrites and can twist a point that much in an article for like-minded people, then why not print it, I guess. The biggest problem with the cappuccino comparison is the idiotic assumption that there’s some sort of connection between belief in human caused global warming and drinking cappuccino. For me, the author loses all credibility right there. It’s nothing but a conservative straw man, and a particularly stupid one at that. There’s no logical reason for a comparison between Cappucinno machines and kettles to be part of a discussion of hybrids. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-toyota-priuses-cause-more-pollution/601629/64 "2011-11-04T01:06:11Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I checked and the oldest Prius is 2004 and a 2004 Corolla has a resale value of around $3,000 less. I wonder what the difference we be once the warranty on the battery pack expires, since replacing it is $10,000 and the resale on a 2004 Prius is already less than that. Hmm? The first year US Prius was 2001. For what it’s worth, the KBB site says an '01 Prius in “good” shape lists at $4250 (private party) and a similar Corolla is $3676. Draw whatever conclusions you will. As for the battery packs, it is starting to seem more and more like they really do last the life of the vehicle. They sometimes do go out, but failures are rare and don’t seem to be directly correlative to age and mileage. In other words, there doesn’t seem to be any age or mileage at which battery failure becomes inevitable, or at least if that point exists the oldest US Prii have yet to reach it. The way I’ve looked at it when people ask about buying used hybrids is that a normal car has two expensive components that can fail as the car gets old-- the engine and transmission-- whereas a hybrid has three (I suppose four counting the electric motor, but those practically never fail). It’s more likely that the engine will die on a car with 150k than a new one, but it’s still very far from inevitable. The same seems to hold with a higher mileage hybrid battery pack. (It’s too bad the absurd Japanese rules that take old cars off the road means there’s not much long-term data from the '97-'00 Prii, which were JDM-only) And, like **scr4** said, the price of a new battery has come down considerably and the supply of used batteries out of wrecked Prii has thus far kept up with the demand for cheap replacement batteries. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-toyota-priuses-cause-more-pollution/601629/65 "2011-11-04T04:38:51Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Hmm? The first year US Prius was 2001. For what it’s worth, the KBB site says an '01 Prius in “good” shape lists at $4250 (private party) and a similar Corolla is $3676. Draw whatever conclusions you will. Sorry for the confusion. The 1st generation Prius was only available as a sedan and I was searching for hatchbacks when I searched on 2001 Sedan I got: 2001 Prius $6,414 2001 Corolla $3,965 Difference $2,451 It looks the Corolla is still better at holding it’s resale value. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-toyota-priuses-cause-more-pollution/601629/66 "2011-11-04T05:29:18Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Where did you get that $10,000 number? It says [here](http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2008/10/prius-battery.html) the replacement battery for a 2004 Prius costs $2299. Sorry, I just screwed up on that. From what I read drafting this response the best option might be to find a mechanic that knows how to the repair the battery. A lot of time the battery may only need a couple of new cells. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-toyota-priuses-cause-more-pollution/601629.md?page=3)