Facts about Hybrid Car Battery Packs

Those thinking about purchasing a hybrid car may be more than a little worried about what is under the hood. Hybrid cars have partially battery-powered motors. Since a battery powered motors is not what that typically comes to mind when people think about what is powering a car, 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 have to be replaced like torch batteries do. They are made to last over the lifetime of the car, and therefore, 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 concern, because hybrid car batteries use NiMH batteries, not the cheaper rechargeable nickel cadmium ones. Nickel cadmium batteries can be detrimental to the environment if not disposed of professionally, but the NiMH batteries that are sold in in hybrid car battery packs are very safe and fully recyclable.

Hybrid car battery packs contain hundreds of cells. Hundreds of cells means that hybrid cars have a complex battery underneath their hoods, and complexity does usually mean expensive, but with the generous warranty car manufacturers are giving on these cars, there is little 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 original Prius hybrid models have battery packs that have gone over 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 made to last. The DoE looked into hybrid cars, but stopped its tests when the capacity of the hybrid car battery pack 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 except the manufacturers.

Hybrid car battery packs are evolving 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, of course, to discover the technology so that it provides loads 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 put out some advice on what to do if your hybrid battery should run out after the warranty has ended. The advice is to have the battery reconditioned. This solution works well because if something goes wrong, the problem usually lies within only one of the 28 modules that the battery is made up of.

The solution is to simply replace the problematic module with one that matches the chemistry of the hybrid car battery pack's other 27 modules, your hybrid car's battery should be back in good shape. You can buy a matching module by getting a battery pack from another hybrid car of a similar mileage and age.

If you are interested in the pros and cons of New Hybrid Vehicles, please visit our website at http://new-hybrid-vehicles.com