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you'll be happy to know that my vw diesel averaging 53mpg just turned over 320k miles and has no issues
 
I love it. The chickens will soon come home to roost. Burning down houses now. Gas will look like the great value it is.
 
SCCutler said:
Check out:

http://www.re-involt.com/Our_Installers.html

http://priuschat.com/threads/cost-to-replace-hv-battery.119303/

The Prius is not my cuppa tea, but I know very few people who have them and do not like them.
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This. ^
Diesel costs more, the Prius will out-accelerate the Vee Dub diesel (though it would make for a boring drag race), diesel fuel is slightly less available and I just wouldn't want to drive a vehicle assembled in Mexico.

I am sorry your question hasn't been answered though...
 
I love this thread... my car broke down and I need some advice.

OK, here's some: My car runs great Ha, Ha! Real nice.

For a 2005 Prius you should be able to get a new battery put in for around $3,500, but talk to a few dealers. Of course if you don't want to keep the car for much longer you can get a used one for much less from a yard and go that direction. Also I understand there are some places doing battery refurbishment (like on a forklift) for around $12-1400.

If the car is otherwise in good shape that cost isn't really that big of a deal if it buys you another 150K.
 
Alexb2000 said:
I love this thread... my car broke down and I need some advice.

OK, here's some: My car runs great Ha, Ha! Real nice.

For a 2005 Prius you should be able to get a new battery put in for around $3,500, but talk to a few dealers. Of course if you don't want to keep the car for much longer you can get a used one for much less from a yard and go that direction. Also I understand there are some places doing battery refurbishment (like on a forklift) for around $12-1400.

If the car is otherwise in good shape that cost isn't really that big of a deal if it buys you another 150K.
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sorry, but I find electric cars a ludicrous idea when a diesel gets the same mileage in the real world, has more room in the car, has no fear of a massive battery cost, no worries about battery fires or electric shock for first responders, and didn't cause massive polution from mining and processing of nickel and rare earth elements to manufacture it. Oh, and my tax money didn't go to subsidize your purchase of the diesel either.
 
JHW said:
sorry, but I find electric cars a ludicrous idea when a diesel gets the same mileage in the real world, has more room in the car, has no fear of a massive battery cost, no worries about battery fires or electric shock for first responders, and didn't cause massive polution from mining and processing of nickel and rare earth elements to manufacture it. Oh, and my tax money didn't go to subsidize your purchase of the diesel either.
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This wasn't a thread about what car to buy or what car is the best, it was about someone asking for advice/experience for a problem they were having.

BUT... Since you took the opportunity to smugly let us know not only how great your car is, but how you helped out first responders, our country, and the world by driving it, why stop now, tell us more, a lot more, please.
 
$3,500 is about right. And this is not a task you eally want to do yourself.
 
Alexb2000 said:
This wasn't a thread about what car to buy or what car is the best, it was about someone asking for advice/experience for a problem they were having.

BUT... Since you took the opportunity to smugly let us know not only how great your car is, but how you helped out first responders, our country, and the world by driving it, why stop now, tell us more, a lot more, please.
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Laugh all you want, but these batteries are dangerous. You're driving around in something that, if it catches fire, you probably can't put out.
 
JHW said:
sorry, but I find electric cars a ludicrous idea when a diesel gets the same mileage in the real world, has more room in the car, has no fear of a massive battery cost, no worries about battery fires or electric shock for first responders, and didn't cause massive polution from mining and processing of nickel and rare earth elements to manufacture it. Oh, and my tax money didn't go to subsidize your purchase of the diesel either.
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My buddy has the Mitsubishi electric car, his daily 60 mile commute costs 55 cents in electricity. No Diesel car uses less than a penny a mile in fuel.
 
JHW said:
sorry, but I find electric cars a ludicrous idea when a diesel gets the same mileage in the real world, has more room in the car, has no fear of a massive battery cost, no worries about battery fires or electric shock for first responders, and didn't cause massive polution from mining and processing of nickel and rare earth elements to manufacture it. Oh, and my tax money didn't go to subsidize your purchase of the diesel either.
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Not always about the mileage. In S Florida Hybrids can use HOV lanes solo and Express lanes for free. This can easily save you ~$100 a month and 20 minutes per commute leg.

In all fairness I wish that policy applied to diesels.
 
scottd said:
Geesh, started the thread with the hope there was someone on this board that has gone through the process of replacing a hybrid battery. Simple question. I would like to hear their experience, that's all.
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Pretty funny! But you did come to an aviation website to ask a car question. ;) my brother-in-law was told by Toyota that the batteries are not user changeable because of product liability. I don't know if that is true but the best way is to see if you can buy the batteries as an end consumer. If you can, then it may something you can tackle.

I doubt it is a complicated process but do wonder if special processes are required (like deactivating a main breaker to do the changeover).
 
Marauder said:
Pretty funny! But you did come to an aviation website to ask a car question. ;) my brother-in-law was told by Toyota that the batteries are not user changeable because of product liability. I don't know if that is true but the best way is to see if you can buy the batteries as an end consumer. If you can, then it may something you can tackle.

I doubt it is a complicated process but do wonder if special processes are required (like deactivating a main breaker to do the changeover).
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The complication you *may* run into is a convoluted initial charging procedure for a new battery. You see that a lot on electric powered industrial equipment.
 
JHW said:
The complication you *may* run into is a convoluted initial charging procedure for a new battery. You see that a lot on electric powered industrial equipment.
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Wonder if he can gets his hands on a service manual for a hybrid?
 
JHW said:
sorry, but I find electric cars a ludicrous idea when a diesel gets the same mileage in the real world, has more room in the car, has no fear of a massive battery cost, no worries about battery fires or electric shock for first responders, and didn't cause massive polution from mining and processing of nickel and rare earth elements to manufacture it. Oh, and my tax money didn't go to subsidize your purchase of the diesel either.
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Tax money for hybrid car owners = bad

Tax money to pay for public use airports/navaids/atc/etc for the enjoyment of arrogant aircraft owners = good
 
Henning said:
My buddy has the Mitsubishi electric car, his daily 60 mile commute costs 55 cents in electricity. No Diesel car uses less than a penny a mile in fuel.
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How would an I-MiEV work in the midwest when it is -20 out? Would it even get past the driveway before running out of juice?
 
I have replaced these batteries before. I am a ASE master mechanic but have not worked on a Prius before this. It is a basic replacement, no special tools and a novice mechanic can do it safely in my opinion.
 
JHW said:
sorry, but I find electric cars a ludicrous idea when a diesel gets the same mileage in the real world, has more room in the car, has no fear of a massive battery cost, no worries about battery fires or electric shock for first responders, and didn't cause massive polution from mining and processing of nickel and rare earth elements to manufacture it. Oh, and my tax money didn't go to subsidize your purchase of the diesel either.
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Not when you can not get Diesel fuel because bad weather knock down the only Diesel gas station in town. While your hybrid friend is charging the battery from solar cells on his roof. On some of the Out Islands in the Bahama electric cars (golf carts) is the only way to go because there is simply no fuel but plenty of sun. Some have solar panels on top to keep them charged.

José
 
Marauder said:
Wonder if he can gets his hands on a service manual for a hybrid?
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I bought the service manual for my Civic Hybrid shortly after buying the car. I haven't really had occasion to use it though.
 
Well, Scott, at least you did not ask on the Red Board - :D
 
us AAirways said:
How would an I-MiEV work in the midwest when it is -20 out? Would it even get past the driveway before running out of juice?
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Yep, he's in St Louis. He had to add some insulation in the doors and around the heater box, but it managed everyday so far for almost a year. The Mitsubishi one is built in Illinois.
 
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Marauder said:
Pretty funny! But you did come to an aviation website to ask a car question. ;) my brother-in-law was told by Toyota that the batteries are not user changeable because of product liability. I don't know if that is true but the best way is to see if you can buy the batteries as an end consumer. If you can, then it may something you can tackle.

I doubt it is a complicated process but do wonder if special processes are required (like deactivating a main breaker to do the changeover).
Click to expand...

That's good. If you maim yourself or burn your house down, Toyota is liable.
 
I am more than happy to pay for the extra gas for my Explorer. I feel safer in that than the small cars I have driven. I used to get cut off, tailgated, etc all the time in the Mini. Hardly ever in the suv.
 
My little Civic saved my life one night, because its braking and maneuvering ability allowed me to get out of the way of the guy who turned into my lane going the wrong direction!
 
True a small car is much more maneuverable. The roof of my mini was lower than the bottom of the window of a pickup. They can't see you as easy, so a greater chance of them swerving into your lane.
 
My friend had an Insight and Honda replaced the battery pack free out of warrenty.
I know there are places rebuilding the battery packs and they are cheaper. Do a search and see what you find.
Then post ona Prius forum you might get less smart a$$ answers:D
 
us AAirways said:
I am more than happy to pay for the extra gas for my Explorer. I feel safer in that than the small cars I have driven. I used to get cut off, tailgated, etc all the time in the Mini. Hardly ever in the suv.
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collosion-wise you're probably better off in a camry/passat/malibu/etc than an explorer/4-runner/etc
 
us AAirways said:
I am more than happy to pay for the extra gas for my Explorer. I feel safer in that than the small cars I have driven. I used to get cut off, tailgated, etc all the time in the Mini. Hardly ever in the suv.
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You have false safety in an SUV Truck, the crash standards they meet are not in the same league as with a car. I feel safer in a SMART car than an Explorer.
 
scottd said:
Well, my 2005 Toyota Prius hybrid battery bit the dust today and of course it's out of warranty. The car has a little over 150,000 miles on it and is actually in quite good condition otherwise. Has anyone gone through this process of replacing a hybrid battery?
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Look at it this way - replacing your battery at 150k is the trade off for not having to have done major engine work at 100k.

JHW said:
you'll be happy to know that my vw diesel averaging 53mpg just turned over 320k miles and has no issues
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Lucky you. We had to shoot our 50 mpg VW diesel at 120k when it needed $6,000 of various work all at once. It was the third of 7 VWs - we've owned one continously from 1980 until last year.

How did you get 300k miles on one clutch? I don't know anyone that has ever done that. As I recall it was like $800 to replace it with an expected life of 80k miles.
 
Hybrids run at least 90% cleaner than a VW diesel (which are down right dangerous, they are so underpowered.) I have owned 5 Prius (currently three) and two Lexus RX hybrids (I currently drive an RX 450H). I don't buy hybrids because of their gas mileage. I drove a Rabbit Diesel pickup for a couple of years in my youth and it almost couldn't make it to freeway speed. There is no history of Prius catching fire, due to their batteries, so it is pretty lame throwing that argument out there and then trying to defend it based on Sony laptops catching fire.
 
bflynn said:
Look at it this way - replacing your battery at 150k is the trade off for not having to have done major engine work at 100k.





Lucky you. We had to shoot our 50 mpg VW diesel at 120k when it needed $6,000 of various work all at once. It was the third of 7 VWs - we've owned one continously from 1980 until last year.

How did you get 300k miles on one clutch? I don't know anyone that has ever done that. As I recall it was like $800 to replace it with an expected life of 80k miles.
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clutch kits are $60 and it takes me about 2 hours to change one. I do the clutch every other timing belt change. Timing belts are every 80k
 
ron22 said:
My friend had an Insight and Honda replaced the battery pack free out of warrenty.
I know there are places rebuilding the battery packs and they are cheaper. Do a search and see what you find.
Then post ona Prius forum you might get less smart a$$ answers:D
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Honda extended the battery pack warranty on my Civic from 80,000 miles to 150,000, so I just got a free replacement installed. :)
 
If you look at new car prices, you aren't saving much if any $ with the TDI or Prius. A new Civic is $19k and gets 40mpg. $5k-$6k more for the prius/tdi for only 10mpg? Used of course probably works out better.
 
Henning said:
You have false safety in an SUV Truck, the crash standards they meet are not in the same league as with a car. I feel safer in a SMART car than an Explorer.
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I know, but scares me just watching this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKSPxQjPOm0

Top view... all the way to the firewall on the Smart, only halfway in on the Mercedes.
 
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Scott,

I have a Civic Hybrid, but I was looking at replacements. It comes down to three things.

Factory vs. aftermarket battery, new or used

Can the battery be fixed? Most OEM just plug in a new pack. There are specialists that can fix the battery. It MAY just be a simple fix.

If you go aftermarket, will you stick with the same chemistry or go Lithium?

The best piece of advise I got was to take a moment to calculate how much money you saved in gas. It will make paying for the replacement easier.
 
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