11-17-2007, 10:51 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Bismarck, North Dakota, USA,
Posts: 920
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ron61
Wes,
I hope that they get on the ball and do a lot of development work as we need to start stopping our dependence on foreign oil. To me the main thing I have against the electric cars that I have seen is very limited range and big EXPENSIVE batteries. On the other hand I am waiting to we what happens when they have the first big wreck between tow of them and batteries come apart and spill. Even if they use a gel type, there will still be a clean up factor and so far I haven't heard a word about that around here.
Ron  |
Because of limited range of straight electric cars, hybrids have become popular. Hybrids have about the same range as conventional cars. The wifes Prius supposedly will go up to about 700 miles on a full tank of less than 12 gallons. But the actual mileage is usually less than advertised so I expect about 500 miles to a tank. The best she has done on the highway is about 53 mpg but she was following me in a camper that I only drove at 70 mph with a tailwind.
I'm not sure what the Prius batteries cost but have heard about $3000 plus installation. I'm not sure if there is ever a problem since Consumer Reports did not bring it up when they gave it top rating. But here are two websites that seem to address the possibility:
From ( http://www.toyota.com/html/hybridsyn...l/battery.html )
"Q: What would it cost to replace a complete battery pack?
*GS: Less than $3000, plus labor."
*Gary E. Smith, national service technology manager at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
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From ( http://www.hybridcars.com/technology...ent-costs.html )
Connection failure, battery OK.
"....In June 2005, the L.A. Times reported that hybrid battery replacement costs dropped from $10,000 in 2001 to about $3,000 today. But three months later, Car and Driver's Brock Yates—no fan of hybrids—wrote, "battery replacement will cost $5,300 for the Toyota and Lexus hybrids, and the Ford Escape replacements run a whopping $7,200." ...
...He also insinuated some kind of cover-up, writing that "industry types are not talking about total battery life."... ...They’re talking—but Brock’s not listening...
...Ray (Molton) wrote, "My 2001 Toyota Prius lasted five years and 113,000 miles. And then the batteries seemed to die. My dealer estimated the replacement cost at $7,000. They recommended scrapping the car for parts."... ...Ray told me that Toyota had been "no help whatsoever on this issue." He called another dealer only to discover a larger estimate of $8,000 to $9,000. Even worse, Ray discovered that the Toyota shop had another 2001 Prius with a bad battery. Maybe there is a conspiracy brewing, after all...
...To make matters worse, Ray bought a salvage Prius battery to soften the damage to his pocketbook—only to discover that the salvage battery's #13 cell was corroded, the same #13 cell that had a problem on his Prius... ...All of this threw me for a loop. Apparently, it had the same effect on Toyota...etc...
...So Ray’s ordeal wasn’t caused by a failure of new hybrid battery technology—those batteries will last the life of the vehicle and will help save hundreds of gallons of gasoline for their owners. And the next generation of lithium ion batteries may be one of the keys to weaning America off its dependence on oil. The root of Ray's problems stemmed from an ordinary corroded connection, the failure of a huge corporation to respond to one of their customers, and the willingness of a local car dealership to profit handsomely from a problem rather than fix it at a reasonable cost. Unfortunately, these stories are just as hidden in the media as all of those so-called “hidden costs” of owning a hybrid..."
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So I don't know what batteries for my wifes Toyota really cost and I fear my loss of comparison service shopping ability with such an offbeat product. So I hope Toyota's generous warranty (100k miles here, 150k Cali) and Consumer Reports is correct in their assessment. And my dealer is honest.
I wouldn't think that there will be much of an unusual clean-up factor in the case of battery collision spill. The Prius battery is under the rear seat whereas most lead-acid 12v batteries are rather exposed near one front fender where they are commonly damaged. While NiCads have some toxic qualities, the Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) now used in hybrids are relatively harmless. But one never knows when some environmental idiot will object to a spill whether it is a bit of gasoline at a Gas Station or any kind of fluid from a broken car. Like the sign says at the Gas Station, "You are responsible for any spills!". Clean up and disposal can get pricy in some cases. 
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Hybrid Mode
