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wordcross · Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2004 4:46 am Post subject: 1

I've been trying to look this up, but it's difficult to find any direct information. I know that they don't need manual re-charging because of the regenerative braking systems, but how long do these batteries last? The life of the car? I know regular car batteries used in gasoline engines can last for near to forever if not abused, but with such a large increase in battery drain and recharge, this probably puts more wear on them.

So if anyone could find or happens to know anything about how long the batteries last, I'm curious to know.

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GLer Sheep!

Vinny · Promiscuous enough

Well, I went and took a test drive of a Honda Civic Hybrid a few weeks ago, and I was very Impress!

I asked the sale guy the exact same question, and his answer is, "should last the life of the car."

I wasn't satisfied with that answer, so I asked him, "what happened if the battery goes haywire/breadown?"

His reply was that, "well, you usually have a one to three year warranty so you can always bring it back for us to service it. But after that, you're SOL." He did assured me that the battery was made to last as long as the engine.

Regarding the car itself, I loved it. The engine is very very quiet, which I like. The acceleration isn't too great, but do-able (unless you're speed fiend, which I am not). The battery kicks in when you step on the acceleration, and the gas engine recharges everytime you let go of the gas/cruise. There's a gauge showing you exactly when the battery is being use and when it is being recharged. There's also another gauge that shows you how many miles/gallon you're averaging. Usually around 50 to 60 mpg!

And here's the BEST part. This part blows me away. I didn't know about this feature before then. I was driving back to the dealership when and the sale guy said, "step on the brake and stop completely." So I did, and the engine just stopped. Completely turned off. I was like, wha? "Did we break down?!?!?!?". He was like, "No no, let go of the brake". I did, and the car starts up again! The car totally shuts down when you come to a complete stop. And start up again fairly quickly when you let go of the brake, like a gear shift to Off. This makes so much sense to me. Why are we idling the engine when we're at a stop light? Why don't we just turn the baby off for those few minutes at every light?

So anyway, my next car would definitely be a Hybrid.

mikegoo · Daedalian Member

From what I have read folks are not sure about how long the battery packs will last since hybrids haven't been out in the US long enough to really tell (I think the battery packs being used NiMH are a recent developement, but I'm not sure).

Here is what some random website had to say.

quote:
How often do hybrid batteries need replacing? Is replacement expensive and disposal an environmental problem?

The hybrid battery packs are designed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle, somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 miles. The warranty covers the batteries for between eight and ten years, depending on the car maker. Some detractors doubt that the batteries will truly last that long, so only time will tell.

Hybrids use NiMH batteries, not the environmentally problematic rechargeable nickel cadmium. "Nickel metal hydride batteries are benign. They can be fully recycled," says Ron Cogan, editor of the Green Car Journal. Toyota and Honda say that they will recycle dead batteries and that disposal will pose no toxic hazards.

The Honda Civic Hybrid page claimed a lifetime of 10-years under normal driving conditions.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that replacing the battery packs being something like $3000, but I may just be making that up (the Honda site, of course, didn't mention this).

Lepton · 1:41+ Arse Scratcher

The Hybird Civic gets better mileage than Honda's cruising bikes. Surprised

Vinny · Promiscuous enough

cruising bikes?

Aren't those just skateboards with lawnmower's engines attached?

Samadhi · +1

Don't the brakes work magnetically, storing the energy in the battery? Or am I thinking of something else?

Dr. Borodog · Mad Scientist

If true, that'll save some money on brake jobs over the lifetime of your car. Frictionless breaking rocks. Pretty cool.

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ZutAlors! · Daedalian Member

Yep, the Civic hybrid (and most hybrid vehicles) use the electric motor/generator to assist in braking. "Regenerative braking" is the technical term (very short explanation here). Regenerative braking will reclaim some of the kinetic energy of the vehicle which is normally lost to heat in the friction brakes (~30% reclamation, according to this). Ordinary friction brakes are still on the vehicle (you wouldn't want the motor/generator to suddenly short when you're braking, right?), but they're not always used, or used as much. Typically feathered in as you press harder on the brake pedal, I think.