Thank you. I have been driving a Prius (not totally voluntarily, but that’s another story), with no battery problems whatsoever (not even close to the warranty mark, though). My hubby and I were looking for something a little bigger, we asked about the battery issue. The salesman said that the myth about the batteries dying is just that: he wasn’t aware of ANY battery failures of ones driven well past the 100,000 mark.
I wouldn’t say it is a great winter car, but a block heater and some wonderful winter tires have helped a LOT. And the 43-45 mpg in the summer is pretty sweet for this leadfoot.
Toyota claims they have replaced zero batteries due to wear out. The only replacements have been due to accidents.