Question about hybrid cars?

Question

I'm looking at a Toyota Hylander.How long do the batteries last,and what is the cost to replace them.Someone said $9000.00.Sounds a bit excessive.I also heard that you can buy a warrenty for the battery.What is the cost for the warrenty?Does any out there own a Hylander,and how do you like it?How's the gas milage??Thanks.

Answer 1

"toyota highlander hybrid as a ten year warrenty after that you pay 10grand for a new battery which you need it to be install by the dealer. if you open the hood you see a bright orange cable never touch it because you get shock aat 1500 volts so never touch it. it said in the owner manual of vechile."

This is all just so full of crap. Where do you get this garbage? There is a 100,000 mile warranty on the battery and the whole hybrid system, and no, you don't have to run out and buy a new battery as soon as the warranty runs out. When the warranty runs out on your TV, do you have to run replace it? How about in the good old days when the Chevy in the driveway had a warranty of 12,000 miles? Did you have to replace then engine when the odometer clicked over 12,001? Puleeez... The battery from the dealer is part number G9510-48010, listing at exactly $5339.13, but there have been none replaced from normal use. That is NONE. They just have not worn out, yet, and no one knows what they are going to cost when and if they start doing so. Many people have well in excess of 100,000 on their Toyota hybrids, with no slow down in sight. And that is over hundreds of thousands of hybrid sold around the world. The voltage? Try 288v nominally (right off the battery), rather than 1500v, and that gets boosted all the way to 650v under full load to run the electric motors under full throttle. Still not 1500v. The battery is totally isolated by a big honkin' relay in case of accident, and you treat those orange cables just exactly like your 12v battery cables. Why would you grab them, especially since you don't have to?! If the responses you get sound outrageous, they probably are!

I quote from the "New Model Outline" provided to Toyota technicians:

"This hybrid system consists of a high power output 3MZ-FE engine and a high speed, high power output MG2, which cooperate optimally through a hybrid transaxle that excels in transmission performance. Furthermore, this system uses a high-output HV battery with a nominal voltage of DC 288V which is supplied to MG1, MG2 and MGR* by a variable-voltage system. The variable-voltage system has a boost converter which boosts the operating voltage of the system to a maximum voltage of DC 650V, and an inverter which converts it into an alternating current. Through these elements, the dynamic performance of a class above has been realized, in addition to realizing a high level of regenerative capability. Together with the highly efficient cooperative control of the engine and the motor, a dramatic fuel economy performance has been realized.

The 4WD-i (4 Wheel Drive-intelligent) system model uses an electric motor to drive the rear wheels. This system drives the MGR electric motor that is built into the rear drive unit to suit various driving conditions, thus realizing an optimal drive torque distribution between front and rear wheels."

Pity people don't do a little research before trying to answer your questions as "experts." This is definitely a caveat emptor situation as far as you determining which answers you believe!

Good luck. If you purchase the vehicle (or is that 'vechile'?) I think you will adore it. You can tow, you have functioning 4WD, everything, plus your tailpipe emissions are as close to zero as you are going to get right now.

I should also add, despite some assertions to the contrary, that Consumers Reports consistently rates the Highlander Hybrid as its top mid-size SUV. That doesn't seem like they are making disparaging comments, does it?

Answer 2

The concept of a hybrid has the combustion energy providing the baseline power requirements so the batteries only have to provide for variations from the average hence are quite minimal compared to EV's. The weight penalty that hybrids have is due to the having basically two motors, one a combustion engine the other being electric. The Prius has two electric motors due to the counter torque requirements of the CV transmission. World lithium supplies are quite limited and are mostly in unstable south american countries. Nobody actually said hybrids needed batteries. Capacitors would actually make more sense to account for short bursts of power, of course the energy density of current capacitors are quite minimal but carbon nanotube technologies promises to change that. The hybrid concept is merely an optimization of the combustion engine thereby allowing a vehicle to operate on a smaller combustion engine.

Answer 3

Lots of misinformation here.

First, the list price for a replacement battery for a Toyota Prius is $3,000 from the parts counter at your local Toyota dealer. They have been lasting more than 150,000 miles in real world use.

And as for the danger of that '450 volts,' and rescue teams refusing to touch a hybrid, that 's an urban legend. The batteries have a fail safe disconnect that prevents shock. Volts without amps is meaningless, anyway. Emergency rescue crews are aware of the techniques required to rescue someone trapped in a Hybrid.

If you want to talk about rescue hazards, what about the 25 or so gallons of gasoline in a typical SUV tank when full? The fumes from a cup of gasoline have more explosive power than 12 sticks of dynamite.

Long-term, savings from driving a hybrid are almost impossible to quantify on an individual basis. There are rebates available on some hybrids, but the laws that govern them only cover a limited number, and then they expire. Whether you can get one on your car depends on when you buy.

If you have a long freeway commute, your gas mileage in a hybrid will not be significantly better than on a typical family sedan with a four cylinder engine.

That's because the regenerative braking that recharges the batteries, and the electric motors on a hybrid have their best effect in stop-and-go traffic, when the internal combustion engine is not used much, and is not running at all if you are stopped in traffic.

On a freeway, a hybrid is running on pure internal combustion, just like any non-hybrid, and it has to lug all those batteries and extra motors (electric) around.

Answer 4

I know nothing about warrenties. But according to consumer reports and others. The Batteries should be good for about 10 years. So it won't be an isssue for a while yet. $9,000 is accurate. Now what everyone is hoping is what people have been hoping for the past 20 years; that large batteries will be much cheaper 10 years from now. It may happen. GM has been buying up battery makers with the goal of making auto/ hybrid auto batteries much cheaper. So go ahead and get one. Just make sure you trade it in about 4 years, before anyone is even thinking about batteries. Have a good one.

Answer 5

Well I don't know about Hylanders, but its been disputed whether hyrbid cars, such as the Prius which shares its technology with the Hylander, is actually worth the money. So far it seems that hybrid cars are not living up to their factory cited mpg, and that the premium you pay for the hybrid versions doesnt offset the savings you get from the hybrid gas-electric engines.. I'd say you need to look more into all of it, and you may want to wait a little while before you invest in this kinda of vehicle... The technology will certainly become better and cheaper in the years to come...

Answer 6

toyota highlander hybrid as a ten year warrenty after that you pay 10grand for a new battery which you need it to be install by the dealer. if you open the hood you see a bright orange cable never touch it because you get shock aat 1500 volts so never touch it. it said in the owner manual of vechile.

Answer 7

When I was test driving some cars on Saturday, we asked about the highlander hybrid and asked how long the battery lasts. The salesman said that it lasts the life of the vehicle, but I'm not sure if he was telling the truth or not. He was a totoyta salesman though.

Answer 8

Hybrid generally only works from 0-20mph and cost 7,000-10,000 more. cnnmoney.com, consumer reports are just a couple of places not high on hybrid. cnnmoney.com said it takes on average 13 years to get the savings back because of increased cost and maintence.

Something else you should keep in mind. If you get in a wreck, their is about 450 volts traveling through the car, and 60 volts is enough to kill a person. Just search on the internet. Has made a nightmare for emergency personal.

SORRY OMDUDE FLAT WRONG YOU ARE!!!

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