Hybrid Batteries: Long Lasting Freshness

I have heard many people express concern over the potential expense associated with replacing a hybrid's battery pack... well, good news from automakers, they are saying that battery packs in their hybrids should last for the life of the vehicle! (though the warranties are still 8-10 years and 80,000-100,000 miles)

According to this article, "Toyota's own tests have run batteries for the equivalent of 150,000 miles with no discernible degradation, and the company expects them to last the useful life of the car." An older article was titled "Honda Says Battery Pack in Hybrid Is Designed for Life of the Car."

I checked in with Toyota and Honda and they stand by their statements, noting that they are sure someone will find a way to push a vehicle far enough that the battery may not last, but the same holds true for the engines, transmissions, and other components in any car or truck.

So, I ask myself, what about Ford?  Well, I checked in with them and they say they have testing data that gives them high confidence that their battery packs will perform for the life of the vehicle.

Posted by: DJF

p.s. the Prius article is pretty interesting for other reasons too, it talks about the Prius' good reliability/repair record.

Comments

[Aaron]

I wonder what kind of envirnmental conditions, if any, were used in their tests. I live in a very hot climate in the summer, which would subject the batteries to a lot of heat. As I recall, heat has a significant effect on battery life.

[Steve]

The lithium ion nanotechnologies patented by Toshiba and Altair seem to overcome the problems of many of the hybrids and offer a way to move toward a truly electric car. In their first tests, the batteries recharged in about 30 to 45 minutes, and held three times the charge of traditional automobile batteries. They also are estimated to be able to be recharged 10,000 to 20,000 times. This should allow recovering braking systems to work in real time and refueling times to be commensurate with cross-country driving AND you won't have to completely redo the transportation fuel infrastructure, you'll just hook up to the nearest electrical substation.