Those thinking about buying a hybrid car may be more than a little concerned about what lies under the hood. Hybrid cars have partially battery-powered engines. Since a battery powered engines is not something that typically comes to mind when people think about what is driving a vehicle, it’s a good idea to get some sort of an understanding of hybrid car battery packs. You will find a few salient details about them below.
Hybrid car battery packs do not need to be replaced like a toy’s batteries do. They are made to exceed the lifetime of the vehicle, and so, a hybrid car’s guarantee covers the battery pack for a time period that runs between eight and ten years. In terms of mileage, a hybrid car battery pack is designed to last between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, and the odds are that it will probably last even longer than that.
The toxicity of hybrid car battery packs is a concern, but not a major problem, since hybrid car batteries use NiMH batteries, not the cheaper rechargeable nickel cadmium ones. Nickel cadmium batteries can be damaging to the environment if not disposed of correctly, but the NiMH batteries that are sold in in hybrid car battery packs are very safe and fully recyclable.
Hybrid car battery packs consist of hundreds and hundreds of cells. Several hundred cells means that hybrid cars have a complex battery structure beneath their hoods, and, it is true, complexity usually means expensive, but with the generous guarantee hybrid car manufacturers are giving on their vehicles, there is not much risk of additional massive expense from the battery pack involved in purchasing a hybrid car.
The number of hybrid car battery pack failures reported has been really very low. When I say low, I mean negligible. If failure does occur, it is usually before the hybrid car even leaves the lot. Toyota has even said that some of its first Prius hybrid models have battery packs that have lasted more than 300,000 miles.
The cost of replacing hybrid car battery packs isn’t really even a problem. It isn’t an issue because the hybrid car battery packs are built for longevity. The Department of Energy looked into hybrid cars, but stopped its tests when the capacity was determined to be “just like new” after 160,000 miles. So, very few people really seem to know for sure what it costs to replace hybrid car battery packs.
Hybrid car battery packs are being developed very quickly. If we look into the near future, we can see the next generation of hybrid car batteries is already in the works. The goal is, naturally, to develop a technology that provides lots of power, lasts for the hybrid car’s lifetime, and costs less to make than it does today.
If your hybrid car battery pack does run out, there is a solution. Toyota has given some advice on what to do, should your hybrid battery pack run out after the warranty has expired. Their advice is to have the battery reconditioned. This solution works well because if something does go wrong, the problem usually lies with only one of the 28 modules that make up the battery.
So, if you simply replace the problematic module with one that matches the chemistry of the other 27 modules, your hybrid car’s battery should be back in good shape. You can find a match by getting a battery pack from another car that has a similar mileage and age.