2006 Toyota hybrid. Are the rechargeable electric batteries a problem after they have 40000 or more miles on i?
This has been the best car but, I am concerned that there might be a problem with rechargeable batteries going out after the warranty expires. I assume to replace them would be very expensive. But, the true is I just don't know about the reliability of the batteries or the cost to replace them. Thanks for any help.
Hi,
Short answer- no.
Full answer will take a bit of information, so stay with me.
There are two battery systems in all full hybrids like the Prius- a 12 volt lead acid and a nickel metal hydride (NiMH) one.
You will have to eventually replace the 12 volt lead acid battery, just as in any standard vehicle. The life span is normally 5-7 years, but can be shorter depending on how much the vehicle is driven. I know of Prius owners who have had to replace their lead acid batteries in 3 years because they have driven over 100,000 miles in that time (mostly salesmen and entertainers).
As far as the NiMH batteries go, it has taken almost ten years, but owners are just now having to pay to replace their NiMH for early Prius models. As of fall 2008, I could still find no evidence of any owner who had to pay to replace their NiMH due to failure.
Only in the last few months have I found two real, documented cases of owners having to pay to replace their NiMH due to age on one, and high mileage on the other. Both were 2001 Prius, and the original NiMH were not as strong and the hybrid systems were not as developed as the current model you have.
I knew of several owners who had to pay due to attempted modification or self-inflicted damage (one guy drilled a 4" screw into his trying to install a big sub-woofer for a custom stereo). And there have been Prius involved in accidents that had the NiMH stack replaced.
As far as the NiMH go, you have at least an eight year or 100,000 mile warranty on the entire hybrid system, including the NiMH stack. In some states, that is extended to 150,000 miles. Either way, you are not even at the half-way point of your warranty, but you know that.
The real issue is what happens at 100,001 miles.
If you are like almost every one of the over 800,000 Prius owners- absolutely nothing. Toyota has sold over 1.2 million hybrids so far.
I personally know of dozens of Prius owners that have well over 100,000 miles and have experienced no issues. None.
Our federal government tested the NiMH stacks in the Prius and found a 10% loss of potential energy storage capacity after 100,000 miles.
That means there is still 90% of storage capacity at 100,000 miles.
The simplest thing to do is to Google or Dogpile (or whatever your favorite search engine is) for Prius nickel metal hydride failures. See how few real, documented cases there are.
There are plenty of "a friend heard" or "I saw it somewhere on the internet" type of stories. Almost every single one is false.
The current replacement cost for a new, full NiMH stack from Toyota is $2,588.00, plus approximately 2-2 1/2 hours of labor cost at the top electrical rate (currently $98.00 an hour in my area). The price for a full NiMH dropped last fall and will drop again as Toyota finds more ways to lower costs and demand rises, so expect to pay considerably less whenever you might need it.
Toyota was also considering a plant in the US that would simply remanufacture the NiMH, so that would lower the cost of a stack by factors, but the current auto market will need to improve first.
As general knowledge, the Toyota NiMH uses potassium hydroxide (KOH) as it's electrolyte. 12 volt lead acid batteries use sulfuric acid. KOH is the pre-curser for many hand soaps and if the entire contents of a Toyota NiMH were broken open and dumped on the ground, it wouldn't even be enough material to warrant a hazardous material spill with the EPA. A lead acid battery is much more hazardous.
It is a complete myth that any first responder, fire or police department personnel has ever been injured or killed by a Toyota hybrid because of the NiMH or hybrid system. Common sense says if it happened, it would be all over the news.
I present accident procedures and safety protocols to fire departments as part of my educational duties for Toyota (I have a safety seminar coming up this weekend), so knowing this information is part of my job.
BTW, there are no lithium ion battery systems in any current production vehicle, only in very limited number specialty vehicles and in test vehicles being developed by the major manufacturers.
If you need any other specific info, contact me here at Yahoo.
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