Everyone keeps asking me when I tell them I have bought a 2007 Hybrid, “So how much does it cost to replace the battery if they dies?” I bought my Hybrid without Honda Care, until I read that the 8 year, 80,000 miles warranty is prorated. So I grabbed the 6 Year, 120,000 mile Honda Care Warranty. I feel so much better after buying the extended warranty.

On that subject….. Has any heard of anyone replacing the battery? I have not found an article saying they had to replace the batteries out of warranty. (3 year, 36k)

Thanks ahead for your answers everyone!

Jeremy
Birmingham, Alabama

 

The "how much does it cost if ....." inquiry is an example of an advocacy question -- one that's not really seeking information, but simply posing a specious hypothetical in order to justify the questioner's disdain for the subject; in this case, hybrid cars.

If you want an answer, tell them about the warranty, and say that batteries are FREE to replace for eight years. Then ask them if they've owned THEIR cars for more than eight years. If they say yes (90% will say no), then ask them how much it costs to replace the engine if it dies.

Of course, they won't know. Nobody sits down and calculates these expenses. That's why people get warranties in the first place.

Luddites will always decry anything new. They undoubtedly asked the "how much if it breaks" questions decades ago when cars first got power steering, air conditioning, etc. Those were new, untested technology back then. Now they're ubiquitous.

If everyone worried about everything new, we'd still be traveling everywhere on horseback.

 

1stpik,

I really enjoyed the verbage you utilized in your response and agree completely with your thoughts on the topic question specificaly related to those that ask same.

Well stated.

 

until I read that the 8 year, 80,000 miles warranty is prorated


I read through the warranty booklet and my understanding was that the ORIGINAL battery that comes with a new HCHII has an 8 year 80,000 mile warranty which covers replacement 100%. There is a section which talks about the battery warranty being prorated but I thought they were talking about replacement parts ... ie, if you DO end up getting a new battery (free) at say 50,000 miles, then the NEW battery would be covered by the prorated warranty.

Can anyone provide clarification here?

 

I'd say you've got no battery worries for eight years. The battery prob has it's own warranty that could extend past the eight years.

I'm not sure what the "Prorated" refers to. Perhaps you can post the section you are referring to.

Ask for the devil's advocates, you can't blame them. They are just trying to find out more about common misconceptions on hybrids. As in, "Do you have to plug it in at night?" It's an opportunty for us to spread the good news.

 

Aha! I've done a little bit of research and I think I've figured out what's going on.

All references to the "battery" in the warranty booklet refer to the regular battery, not the hybrid battery.

Here's the section that makes it look like there's a prorated yuckiness going on:

from page 37 of the warranty booklet (which can be found here: http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/Documen...s/AWL33423.pdf)

Warranty Coverage
During the first 36 months
(three years) of service, a defective
replacement battery will be replaced
at no cost for the battery, labor, or
installation.
For the remaining 64 months
(five years and four months), you
receive a credit toward the purchase
of the battery. This credit is based
on the then-current retail price:
• Months 0 to 36: 100 percent
• Months 37 to 45: 60 percent
• Months 46 to 55: 50 percent
• Months 56 to 65: 40 percent
• Months 66 to 75: 30 percent
• Months 76 to 85: 20 percent
• Months 86 to 95: 10 percent
• Months 96 to 100: 5 percent

The battery is warranted for the
time remaining in the 100 months
of the Replacement Battery Limited
Warranty. No cash reimbursement
will be made. You are responsible
for the labor or installation charges


BUT like I said, this in the section entitled Replacement Battery Limited Warranty AND it's not even talking about the hybrid battery.


And actually, the only other reference I see to battery in this document is this from page 30 (original equipment battery limited warranty):
Warranty Coverage
During the first 3 years, a defective
battery will be replaced at no cost
to you. Diagnosis, labor,
installation, and the cost of the
replacement battery are covered by
Honda.

Again, not the Hybrid battery (the one behind the backseat ... the one all the hubub is about).

For the info on the hybrid battery warranty you need to look at the warranty parts list for your state: NC's is here:

http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/Documen...t/apl30791.pdf

It reveals that the hybrid battery warranty is actually part of the IMA warranty:

Integrated Motor Assist System (IMA)
Battery Assembly (including all internal components) 8/80
DC-DC Converter 8/80
Motor Control Module 8/80
Battery Condition Monitor Module 8/80

If you live in CA it'll be covered 15 years or 150,000 miles.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

Yup, although I thought the CA IMA warranty was 10 years or 150,000 miles.

 

Funny, I was told today that the hybrid battery only lasts 50,000 miles and costs $10,000 to replace ....I asked where they got that information, the answer was her son (who works at a GM dealership, so he should know) told her to avoid a "rice burning toy car" cause they blow through batteries like there is no tommorrow......I told her of 300,000 mile prisus. I told her nobody really seemed to know how much the battery costs and if it was that big of a problem, don't you think that since Honda has made hybrids for several years, that exact information would be everywhere cause many, many, many have well over 50,000 considering the Insight, Accords, HCH1 & HCHII's out there....there was no changing her mind, she did not want to "take the risk"....
I asked what would happen if the Malibu blew a rod or dropped the transmission out of warranty her response is that isn't likely to happen?

Hey Some people!

 

A GM employee criticizing a Japanese car's reliability.

That's a good one!