What to do with an old hybrid?

I know a girl who has an older Honda Civic Hybrid that has had the battery pack die completely. It sits in her garage waiting for her to figure out what to do. I've never heard of this type of failure in a Prius. I did see a gen 2 Prius getting jumped by a tow truck a few weeks back. I post this being a fan of hybrids. I almost bought a Prius C-word but I decided on a regular Honda Civic coupe because of the killer deal. Sometimes I wish I got the Prius. Next time.

The batteries won't simply go to a landfill. Anything reclaimable will be reclaimed. Anything hazardous will have to be processed.

You can take a Prius battery pack apart, test the modules and assemble a good pack from a couple failed ones.

the irony and short sightedness of it all just kills me. People can just buy a small displacement car and drive like a sane person? Hell the new Fiat 500 gets 40 mpg.

Did anyone see this?

http://www.bbcamerica.com/top-gear/videos/thirsty-prius/

now of course this is a total exaggeration, but where I live, Prius drivers are like drag racers.... so whats the point?

Because, like I said, when it finally tanks, that is, the charging system goes or the engine has a problem, or the transmission, or whatever, else, No one is going to buy it to fix it up. They'll buy it for parts, maybe, for the last dinosaur Prius' out there, but no one's going to rebuild it. Instead, it will sit at the back lot of some garage, collecting weeds for the next millennium.

Or some hopeful soul will actually buy it, then realize what a problem he has, and it will gather the weeds in his own back yard.

Are you a mechanic? Do you know anything about hybrids? They aren't mysterious boxes filled with witchery. They're easy to work on. Remember when automotive control electronics became more complex? Ignorant people were very upset because automobile repair and modification would no longer be possible by the consumer. Not true apparently.

Why do you care? Would you even buy a hybrid?

1) No, I'm not a mechanic, but I do my own work on my own vehicles quite often.

2) Since the car is already old, and since it originally entertained a very small market segment anyway, it's reasonable to think that the number of people even interested in refreshing these cars or keeping them in good running condition 10 years out is quite small.

3) As a result of point 2, the aftermarket and OEM parts available will be smaller still, reflecting both the small size of the market for the older cars, and also the even smaller need for particular parts as they age.

4) As to why do I care...the topic is titled "what to do with an old hybrid." I offered a recommendation. Sell it before it's a money pit that no one wants. You'll constantly be sourcing parts from others with crapped out old Priuses trying to put a complete one together again.

That's what we do here. One person asks a question, other people give answers. Sorry my answer wasn't one you liked, but I wasn't talking to you anyway, was I?


5) Why are you so defensive? This isn't about you, and it's about an inanimate object.

Coworker had a Vue and had all kind of battery issues with it. I forget what he said it would cost to replace them, but it was enough that I would never buy one. He couldnt take it anymore and traded it in on a Ford Fusion.

I need a referee on the field. Do we send this to Klay or Waterwheel?

LOL good god no, I just bragged that Klay had never corrected me. That's what I get for typing and daydreaming at the same time!

Fixified! :)

What do you do with an old hybrid? :huh

Sell it to a young hippy!

you forgot to state things like no alternator to fail timing chain not a belt little things like that help.

Battery prices continue to drop.
10 years ago a Prius battery was around $7500. They're in the $2000 range now. I know some members have had their batteries give up around 150,000 mi.

Because of regen braking a Prius's brake pads typically last over 100K.
There is no starter motor or alternator

Sold our '04 TDI Jetta Wagon to a couple with the same issue, Cha Ching!

Battery replacement and disposal is why we won't buy a Hybrid, though I guess that doesn't answer the OP's question.

Battery disposal isn't a problem, they get recycled. There are businesses that take the pack apart, test the modules and assembled the good ones into good packs as well.

There are millions of hybrids on the road. Having an old one doesn't make it any less desirable than other cars of a similar age. Have another car with a couple hundred thousand on it? Maybe it needs a new transmission. Or something else that's really expensive. Cars that get up in mileage need upkeep. All of them.
You should see the resale values on S-class Mercedes, and 7 series BMWs. Holy cow does the original owner take a bath. The maintenance on those models is insane, and when things go wrong, it's really expensive.

But, I'd think that Prius values would hold up quite well. It's still a car that's very inexpensive to operate, and for someone buying a car in that price range, that's a big plus.
My Prius has about 65,000 miles on it. Not a high mile model, but nothing has ever gone wrong with it. Tires, oil changes, and fuel are the consumables. A water pump was replaced under recall a couple of years ago, but nothing was wrong my existing one. And that's been it. I drove 10k miles last year, and I spent $680 in fuel for the entire year. That's a bit under $57/mo for fuel. My wife spent a similar amount.

I have a buddy who said that he and his wife spent $5k on fuel last year.

The difference? That's the payment on a mid-priced bike. Or, you can drink for the whole year. For free. It's a big chunk of a maximun Roth IRA contribution. Accumulate that over a few years, and you're talking about some serious money. Just for a consumable.

New technology is good stuff.

And getting back to your point. Consumer reports believes they hold up well.

I'm not optimistic on the long view for Saturn hybrid ownership, but I think the Prius will have an enthusiastic owner base that will offer support to those wanting the keep the cars on the road with minimal dealer involvement--such a thing probably already exists.

I'd think of something like Brickboard for the old Volvos.

I'm happy you guys are happy.

No doubt in your area, but not on this Third World Island in the 50th State where we live (Hmmm, business opportunity???). Did the test driving and discussions at the local Toyota, Honda and Ford dealers and the response was basically well when you get to that point you'll need a new car anyway. At least after nine years we got $9K back from our TDI, the impression I'm getting with a hybrid is that I'll be able to sell for a $100.00 because the buyer will need to absorb fresh batteries.

Of course you get what you pay for when talking to car dealerships, so I'm sure there's more to the story....

Are these batteries different from forklift batteries? In my line of work, the battery guy comes in, drills out the bad cell and drops in a refurbished one. At are properly maintained (GASP) last forever, almost. I know of only one Prius owner, but I’d guess that the majority of the hippies and good-do-ers that buy them have no idea how/when to maintain them. And when they shit out ask a dealer for a band sparkly new one. There are ways- even in the 50<SUP>th</SUP> state- to preserve, repair and prolong the batteries. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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As for what to do with the Saturn: check into and industrial battery business around you and see what they have to offer <o></o>