Batteries

100Kil=62Miles
A regular Civic would get upper 20's to mid-upper 30's MPG. Most people average about 47MPG in the hybrid version.
What YOU get depends on a few things.

If you are a lead foot impatient racer you'd get upper 30's, or if you drive reasonably conservative then upper 40's to mid 50's, or a hard core hypermiler then 60's.
It also depends on your conditions. 5:00PM rush hour madness lowers your MPG while open road and few stops improves it.

I drive almost 100 miles (160Kil) per day, almost exclusively freeway. Last winter was 30-50 degree non-snow weather and I averaged upper 50's using moderate fuel saving techniques.
Last summer I used extreme hypermiler techniques and averaged about 65MPG, and once managed 941miles at 69.2MPG over a tank.

Your battery questions-
I try to keep my cars for 10 years which means my '04HCH hopefully will go for +300K miles. (500Kil)
I got the extended warranty which covers 75K miles/7yr drivetrain incl. hybrid components and 10 yr/150mile on the battery.

Battery service life also depends on alot of things. Like all batteries it can wear out faster with more use, vs less use. A lead-footed person will cause far more demand on it than a person who drives for savings. I have no proof of this but logic should say more demand = shorter life.

Since I hope to drive my own car so far I'm mindful of this, but I drive so economically it's almost a non-issue.

How long do they last?
A long time. It is not a "normal" thing to have the battery replaced. I haven't heard of a single HCH replacement but have read a couple of Insight replacements at 75K,125K and 175K miles. (3 different cars)
The Dept. of Energy had a fleet of 2003 HCH's and a couple had developed transmission trouble but none had battery replacement.

How much do they cost?
One Insight paid Honda for a new one at $2,400 two years ago. Another aquired a used pack, I assume from a wrecked car and had it installed for much less. The new one from Honda also included all new controllers/drivers for thier hybrid system.
(The high cost wasn't only for the battery)

Personally if I had a bad battery at....say 250K miles I'd likely find a used pack or just drive it as is.

Our battery needs replacing at only 96,000 miles. We drive mountain roads daily, which may account for its short life, but its still very disappointing, especially since a replacement battery costs $3500. Buyer beware.

Indeed, the shorter battery life may be attributed to the mountain driving regime since it would likely cause the battery pack to incur heavy and frequent discharge cycles. The more frequent the cycles the shorter the battery's life span.

However, the vast majority of Hybrid owners do not drive under such conditions. For that majority, the battery should easily last the life of the vehicle. In fact, Honda and Toyota are mandated by certain states to offer warranties well beyond 8 years. Some of these warranties cover a total of 16 years. In these states, these hybrid cars are not different in any from the cars sold in any other state or province.

So I agree. If you have a demanding driving regime then pick a non-hybrid vehicle that can handle the load demands. Otherwise, it makes no sense to scare people senselessly. As it has been proven: very few batteries have ever been replaced to be a cause of major concern to future hybrid owners. Hybrid technology remains the most reliable of any other vehicle produced today.

Cheers;

MSantos

You can build your own pack for less than $600.00:eek:

Sounds like to me that basically when a Toyota hybrid battery dies that the car is totaled. It would be cheaper to fix a car that crashed into a wall at 120 miles per hour then it would be to pay $3,500 for a damn battery. My battery only costs $60 dollars for the Echo. Toyota, you suck!!