My Hybrid Battery Died - Should I Repair or Suffer Replacement Costs?

The Dying Hybrid Car Battery 

One reason you purchased a hybrid car is because it’s a great way to save money on gas. They recoup energy through regenerative braking and store energy in a massive battery pack. When that battery pack dies, what is the best option? On most makes & models the cost to repair or replace is very high. 

Like any storage cell, your hybrid battery life can come to an unexpected end. Overnight, the charge depletes mysteriously or there’s a message on the instrument cluster. It seems like your gas engine is running more than it should and the battery gauge never shows full anymore. What are your options when it comes to hybrid battery repairs? Due to the high cost of replacement hybrid batteries it may make sense to sell your car, and put cash towards a new car.

My Hybrid Battery Is Dead! What Can I Do?

Manufacturers stand behind their products better than ever. Toyota, for example, has an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty for hybrid battery repairs in most states. In California, it mimics the emissions warranty for a total of 10 years or 150,000 miles. That means a hybrid battery lifetime should be at least eight to ten years. But when your vehicle is outside the warranty criteria, you’re on your own.

Within the past few years, hybrid battery repairs have been developed. Some companies specialize in solely fixing internal faults on these huge battery packs. It can save you thousands compared to replacing the complete battery pack assembly, but only if your hybrid battery is repairable.

If your hybrid battery won’t hold a charge, it might require conditioning. Like conditioning your hair, hybrid battery conditioning restores your battery to its healthy, strong former glory…without the shine.

Hybrid Battery Repair Versus Replacement

If you go the route of a repair instead of replacement, there are a few things you should know:

• Only trained professionals should work with hybrid battery systems. A deadly amount of electricity is contained within the assembly. One wrong move and you could end up badly injured or even killed.

• Specialty tools are required to service hybrid vehicles. It’s not just a normal car battery. You need the proper equipment to safely disconnect and handle a hybrid battery. Don’t ignore all the warning labels – they are there for your protection!

• A repair may only be successful for a short while. Like any major car repair, a battery repair only fixes what’s currently wrong. If one cell is replaced, there’s no telling when another one will fail. You could end up in the same position in just a short while.

• Hybrid battery repairs can void a warranty. If you have an extended warranty on your car, it could be voided completely if you choose to have the hybrid battery repaired instead of replaced.

A hybrid battery repair, if it’s possible, can be a small fraction of the replacement cost. So, then, how much is hybrid battery replacement?

Hybrid Battery Cost

If you’re pricing out the hybrid battery solutions, you’d better be sitting down. According to a major online hybrid battery repair resource, you can expect:

• Hybrid battery testing and conditioning to be $1,200 to $1,800.

• A new hybrid battery to run $3,000 to $8,000.

• A used hybrid battery cost will be in the vicinity of $1,500 to $3,500.

• A rebuilt hybrid battery price to be $1,500 to $5,000.

There is an easy way to sell your car online, however.

Hybrid Battery Replacement Cost

That’s not all, though. When you need hybrid battery repairs, whether it’s conditioning, repairs, or replacement, there’s labor involved. It’s a specialized service, so you can be guaranteed it’s going to be at the top end of the labor rates in your area. And unlike a normal car battery that takes just a few minutes to change, hybrids are much more involved.

Consider the hybrid battery a Prius C contains. A repair shop will charge between 2.0 and 3.3 hours of labor to change it out. And that’s small potatoes compared to others. The Toyota Highlander hybrid can be anywhere from 5.6 to 9.3 hours to replace, depending on the year and factory equipment. Labor costs could be several hundred dollars, up to more than a thousand.

That means total hybrid battery replacement cost, including parts and labor, could run you anywhere from $1,700 to an astounding $9,000!

Is There a Better Way?

If your hybrid battery needs to be replaced, your car is at least eight to ten years old. Is it worth the cost of a hybrid battery repair or replacement? In many cases, it’s half your vehicle’s resale value or more! You will have to figure out what to do with your damaged car. Once it’s fixed, what other repairs are coming your way? 

A good option is to sell us your hybrid car, failing battery and all. Simply request a guaranteed offer from CarBrain based on your car’s current condition. If you like what you see, we’ll come pick it up free of charge and put money in your hand! It’s the easiest and fastest way to get rid of your car.

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So, what is a Hybrid Car?

To understand why a hybrid battery costs so much, we need to understand what a hybrid car is. The word hybrid is defined as a thing combining two different elements, or a mixture. In a hybrid car, this means that it uses at least two forms of energy to drive down the road. Usually, these are your typical internal combustion engine combined with an electric motor and hybrid battery. This gives many hybrid cars large fuel economy boosts. Some common hybrid car models you may see on the road are:

Your Hybrid Battery is Different

There’s a different type of car battery that changes everything. Hybrid vehicles are equipped with not just a gas engine but an electric motor also.These hybrid cars are able to travel for short distances - typically 25 miles or less - on electric motor propulsion. As you can imagine, it requires more energy than the typical car battery power alone.

It requires a battery pack that’s capable of providing large amounts of energy. Unlike most car batteries, it also has to be designed to fully discharge without getting damaged and recharge quickly. That’s not an easy combination. And where a normal automotive battery is used to power a 12-volt system, the hybrid battery is much more powerful - the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, for example, has 288-volt capacity but an inverter increases it to 500 volts!

How Often Do Hybrid Car Batteries Need to be Replaced?

Your everyday car battery has an average lifespan of three to five years. Some can last longer, but that’s what you’d consider bonus time. That’s fine for a component that only costs around $100 to replace. But hybrid car batteries are much larger and, thus, several times more expensive.

Like any battery, how much it is used and how it is charged plays a huge role in a hybrid battery’s life expectancy. Regularly charging the battery, preventing it from being completely discharged, and ensuring it isn’t exposed to extreme temperatures for extended periods can prolong its life.

Car manufacturers assign a longer warranty to their hybrid batteries in nearly all cases. That time frame is usually eight years, which is the minimum life expectancy for how long a hybrid car battery should last. However, you’ll also find that hybrid car batteries that have been taken care of can sometimes last longer than the rest of the car’s mechanical systems!

How Much Does a Hybrid Battery Replacement Cost?

There is a wide range of prices for hybrid battery replacement. It’s because each car manufacturer uses batteries that are built for their individual needs. What works in one car isn’t ideal for another.

There are different materials used in hybrid batteries too. Toyota, for example, uses Nickel Metal Hydride. Older cars might use sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries. Newer vehicles may use Lithium Ion batteries for their hybrid drives. Each one has different manufacturing costs, and that translates to a wide range of hybrid battery replacement costs.

That said, you can expect hybrid battery replacement costs to be from $1,000 to beyond $6,000. In addition to the battery cost itself, there will be costs for testing and diagnosis. The labor to change the hybrid battery in some cars can be $1,000 or more, making the replacement cost even higher. If you drive one of the common hybrid car models, it might be lower. Toyota hybrid battery prices, for example, are among the most popular models so might be cheaper.

Toyota Prius Hybrid Battery Replacement, including the Toyota Prius C and Toyota Prius V

The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric automobile, which means it gets great miles per gallon. The Prius has proven to be one of the most popular hybrid car models, and because of this Toyota has expanded the family of cars to include a Prius V with an extended hatchback, and the Prius C as a subcompact hatchback. The Prius Prime is a plug-in variant, and gets the best MPG for a hybrid car yet.

If you're a proud Prius owner you may run into hybrid battery failure. Toyota Prius battery replacement cost isn't cheap, and can cost you between $2,300 and $2,600 for a Toyota Prius battery pack. That's without labor or inspections costs. Replacing a hybrid battery in a Prius is one of the drawbacks to saving all that money on miles per gallon. Because of the nature of the hybrid batteries for Prius', replacement is usually the only option, so a Prius battery cost is just another hidden repair cost for the car owners. Models that may experience a dead hybrid battery include the 2010 Toyota Prius, 2011 Toyota Prius, 2013 Toyota Prius, 2012 Toyota Prius, and a few others if you put a lot of wear and tear on your car.

Hybrid Battery Replacement for a Honda Civic

Cost of hybrid battery replacement for a Honda Civic can be expensive. You can pay up to $2,000 for a replacement hybrid battery pack.

As the vehicle gets older and puts on the miles you may have to endure the cost of a Honda Civic hybrid battery. Because the Honda Civic Hybrid has been in production for a while, you may need a hybrid battery for the 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid, or even the 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid.

Ford Fusion Hybrid & Ford Fusion Energi Hybrid Battery Cost

The Ford Fusion Hybrid and Ford Fusion Energi have a good reputation as fuel saving cars. If you perform proper maintenance on them, they can last a while. However, when the vehicle starts getting past 100k miles you might need to replace the Ford Fusion's Hybrid Battery.

The cost of a hybrid battery replacement for a Ford Fusion can be between $1,000 and $6,000 depending on the model and year of the car. Some of the models that may experience hybrid battery failure are the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid, 2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid, and older.

Nissan Leaf Battery Replacement Cost

The Leaf may be an all-electric car, but you will still need a battery replacement for your Nissan Leaf at some point. Replacing the battery will cost you up to $5,500! If you bought the 2012 Nissan Leaf, 2011 Nissan Leaf, or older models, this may be a substantial portion of the car's value.

The Nissan Leaf's battery cost can come as a surprise to many Nissan Leaf owner's. When it's time for your Nissan Leaf Battery replacement, be sure to carefully evaluate the best options, as you may get more selling than repairing.

Chevrolet Volt Hybrid Battery Replacement

A newer entry in the hybrid car market, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt was the first model sold in the United States. As a plug-in hybrid car it relies on the electric battery until it's depleted, and then utilizes the internal combustion engine to power an electric generator to recharge the hybrid battery.

However, the constant recharging of the Volt's battery can eventually lead to hybrid battery failure. When this happens you will need to undergo a Chevrolet Volt battery replacement. If you have a 2012 Chevrolet Volt you could start facing these risks, and the cost of hybrid battery replacement for a Chevy Volt can be up to $3,500.

Hybrid Battery Replacement for a Toyota Camry Hybrid

The Toyota Camry hybrid battery's life can be expected to last a decently long time, but when the electric battery eventually runs its course you'll need a plan of action. The cost of a hybrid battery for a Toyota Camry can be up to $4,400 when you need to replace it. If you have a 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid, 2011 Toyota Camry Hybrid, 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid, or older models you may face this issue. 

Kia Optima Hybrid Battery Replacement Costs

The Kia Optima Hybrid is the hybrid version of a popular regular combustion engine car. Because of the popularity of the model, the hybrid battery replacement for a Kia Optima Hybrid should be around $2500 including labor. This range is more than some models, but generally on the cheap side of hybrid batteries. Start checking on your battery if you have the 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid or 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. The 2017 Kia Optima Hybrid or newer shouldn't have battery problems, but if they do you can probably resolve them under warranty.

Hybrid Cars and  Hybrid Battery Replacement

If you drive one of these hybrid car models you will need a hybrid battery replacement at some point in the vehicles lifetime, ranging from 100,000 miles up to 200,000 miles on more reliable models. As you can see, the cost of a hybrid battery replacement varies per vehicle, but will be expensive no matter what. If you end up facing a dead hybrid battery,  it may make more sense for you to sell your car than the costly hybrid battery repairs that are needed.  Since your hybrid car can't run without a battery, you may be tempted to trade in your non-running car. However, dealers generally won't give you a great value in this case.

Is Hybrid Battery Replacement Worth It?

You can assume that a car will be at least eight years old when it requires hybrid battery replacement for the first time. If the replacement cost is around $1,000, it’s obviously worthwhile...as long as the rest of the car is in good shape.

However, if the battery replacement cost is $5-6,000, it’s much less clear. An eight-year-old car could need thousands of dollars in other repairs also, and it could be in rough shape already. It’s very possible that the hybrid battery replacement cost is very close to - or exceeds - the car’s value. In this case, selling your car is an attractive choice. Get your guaranteed offer in 90 seconds to see how much your car is worth.