[DeTomaso] NPC - Hybrid Battery

Will Kooiman wkooiman at earthlink.net
Sun Mar 11 00:48:24 EST 2012


This has zero Pantera content, but it is interesting nonetheless.

 

I just replaced the battery in my 2006 Honda Insight.  

 

The Insight performs pretty much like any other compact car.  It accelerates
slowly, but it isn't dangerous.  It has plenty of room for 2 people, and
barely enough for 2 people and a Basset Hound (Max).  It's fun seeing what
mileage is possible, but beyond that, it is just boring.  Make that BORING.

 

For the first 70,000 miles, it was easy to get over 70 mpg on the highway.
My personal best was 80.3 while driving from Dallas to Little Rock.  Imagine
driving from Dallas to Little Rock, back to Dallas, and halfway to Houston
before stopping for gas (10.5 gallon tank).  I stopped short of half way,
but I think I could have made it.  It was late and I was tired, so I decided
not to push it.  When the low fuel light comes on, you have 1.5 gallons -
and you can still go 100 miles.

 

At about 70,000 miles, we noticed the mileage dropping.  It took longer to
charge the batteries, and they drained faster.  For a while, it was tough to
get over 70mpg.  And then it was tough to hit 65mpg, and then the low 60's.
All of these are steady state, 70mph, interstate figures.  In town was 5-10
mpg lower.

 

At about 165,000 miles, the check engine light came on. The code said the
battery had failed.  We drove it another 10,000 miles while we waited for a
new battery (more about that later).  With a dead battery, the best it could
do was about 55mpg.  It was also borderline unsafe.  0-60 times were
measured in the fortnight.  Once it was going 70mph, it was okay, but
accelerating into traffic was frustrating.

 

So, there you have it.  For our Insight, the battery lasted 165,000 miles.
Colder climates should fare better.

 

I should point out that 70mpg was rarely our tank average.  It's difficult
to average 70mpg for 700 miles.  Once you include city driving and starts
and stops, the tank average drops.  From 0-70,000 miles, our tank average
was usually in the mid 60's.  From 70,000 to 140,000, it was in the mid
50's.  From 140,000 to 174,000, it was in the low 50's.  It has never been
lower than 52 (or maybe 51.5, I don't recall exactly).

 

Now about the replacement.

 

When hybrids were new, a replacement was a dealer-only option.  It ran about
$4,000, or so I'm told.  Some batteries were replaced for free in hotter
climates. The heat kills batteries.  If you factor in the battery
replacement cost, the hybrid was still cheaper than a similar compact - but
not by much.  You can burn a lot of gasoline for $4,000.

 

The Insight battery isn't the voodoo the media made it out to be.  It has 20
battery "sticks".  Each stick is composed of 6 D-Cell batteries that have
been soldered and taped together.  The solder reduces resistance.  The
website said they were welded together, but I'm assuming they mean solder.
The batteries are nickle metal hydride, similar to what you would find in a
radio controlled car.  The only difference is the size.  RC cars use AA
batteries, I think.  When the sticks are installed in the pack, they put out
144 volts.

 

Fortunately, the tree huggers figured out how to replace the sticks.  They
are enthusiasts, not unlike us.  Okay, they are nerdy enthusiast, but you
get the picture.  There are websites that describe how to replace the
sticks, but I opted to have a professional do mine.

 

I got mine from here:
http://www.hybrid-battery-repair.com/insight/index.html

 

They sent me a new module. I swapped it out in about 2 hours.  FedEx will
pick up my old battery on Monday.  Once the shop receives my old module,
they will give me credit for the core charge.  And they will RECYCLE the old
batteries.

 

The replacement cost varies depending on what's wrong.  Sometimes they can
rebuild the pack and only replace the defective sticks.  Since mine was so
old, I didn't think there was any sense trying to replace the worn out
sticks.  I bought the BetterBattery (on the website) for about $2,000.

 

I took it for a drive today, and the difference is amazing.  It used to make
more noise and acceleration was terrible.  It's interesting how you start to
accept things as normal when they change gradually - like the story about
boiling a frog in water.  I drove about 15 miles, in town, and averaged
about 70mpg.  For a while I was in the 90's.

 

At any rate, that's my story.  The rest of the Insight is in pretty good
shape, so we're going to push for another 175,000 miles.




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