Honda Says Hybrid Car Battery Pack Is Designed for Life

Think of what a pain it is to replace your hybrid car battery when it dies. Imagine if that battery set you back $ 3,000. That's something few owners would stand for, let alone frugal fans of the Honda Civic.

With that in mind, Honda insists the battery pack of its gasoline-electric Civic hybrid is designed for the life of the car, or more than 10 years. It's warranted for 8 years or 80,000 miles. 'Reliability is something we can never, ever sacrifice,' says Andy Boyd, Honda spokesman.

'That's the brand. It has to be a given.' Honda's high-mileage marriage of gas and electric power relies on a nickel metal hydride battery pack. It's the same chemistry that powers many cellular phones but on a larger scale, with 10 kilowatts of ever-ready power on tap to assist the Civic's 1.3-liter gasoline engine.

Boyd acknowledges the Civic's reputation hinges in part on its excellent long-term value. A decade-old Civic with 100,000-plus miles can still fetch good money. So even the 8-year warranty raises the question of what's in store for people who want to trade in or buy a used Civic hybrid.

At current prices, Honda would charge out-of-warranty owners about $ 3,000 to replace the 63-pound Panasonic hybrid car battery hidden behind the rear seat. But Honda is confident its hybrid technology will keep the high-tech Civics humming. Unlike a cell phone, the Civic avoids one major killer of battery life: charging to the brim, draining every drop of juice, then repeating the cycle over and over.

In contrast, the Civic continually regenerates power to keep the hybrid car battery in an optimal state of charge. As with other hybrids, the Civic uses energy captured during braking to power up the battery. The car battery also charges during coasting. A powerful cooling unit draws air from inside the cabin to soothe the battery pack and its electronics. During my week of driving, the battery meter never dipped as low as half-charged, no matter how hard I drove.

But if stressful conditions such as towing or climbing mountain grades drive the battery too low, Honda's Integrated Motor Assist shuts down well before it's fully depleted. In that rare case, or if the car discharges after weeks of sitting in bitterly cold weather, a small auxiliary battery on board can restart the gasoline engine, which then recharges the main hybrid car battery. Batteries will also degrade very slowly, so even an ancient hybrid should continue to run, only with less robust performance. A J.D. Power &

Associates study showed potential new hybrid car buyers weren't overly concerned with hybrid car battery life. Thad Malesh, J.D. Power's director of alternative power technology, said the used-car market will be the key. With Honda expecting to sell modest numbers of hybrids -- 24,000 Civic models this year -- Malesh expects Honda to keep customers happy, even beyond the warranty period.

'When these hybrid cars start trickling in, I think Honda will come out with a program to reimburse folks with battery problems whenever they occur,' Malesh said. 'That's an inexpensive way to keep the brand healthy.' Malesh and Honda expect battery prices to drop, perhaps dramatically, by the time owners need them.

As other manufacturers roll out hybrids, advances in technology and economies of scale should cut costs. Honda also expects to drive down prices by spurring competition among manufacturers. The automaker recently signed a joint deal with Sanyo to research battery technology.

Source:Capital Times

The cost of replacing a hybrid car battery should be a major consideration when you are considering buy a hybrid car. Hybrid car batteries are much more expensive than normal car batteries and could cost as much as $5000. If Honda delivers on their claim of a hybrid car battery pack that could last for the life of the car, this could well be the single major factor that will sway cost savvy car owners towards their first purchase of a hybrd car.  Hybrid vehicle service plug is also more expensive than normal vehicle service plug. The price of hybrid car battery is however the item to watch as hybrid cars continue to evolve.