Quote:
Originally Posted by AaronMartinSole
I heard that the batteries are failing left and right on old Honda Insights, and that it costs $3-4,000 to replace at the dealership. Is that true? Is there an alternative than going to the dealer? If so where, and how much would the replacement batteries cost?
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I haven't heard anything about failing left and right... Mines runs fines ... and I know some people with 13 year old original OEM batteries , still with no errors or issues.
@Dealer , yes it can be around ~$4k or so.
Alternatives ... there are many
#1> Gen-1 Honda Insight can easily ( for free ) be converted to run on straight gasoline ... Hybrid battery could be completely dead , and the car can still run ... which is not the case on many of the newer Hybrids ... for example ... a Prius with a dead HV Hybrid battery has no working transmission and is a giant paper weight... it won't pass inspection this way in many states, because you will have a error code ... but it will run and work.
#2> Look up BubbleBee Batteries ... after market option for IMA Hybrid battery replacement around ~$2k... cheaper than OEM and still comes with warranty ... there are others out there as well.
#3> Figure out what is the actual problem with the battery in question ... 1 bad cell out of 120 , doesn't mean you need new cells for all 120 of them ... requires test equipment, a little bit of know how, and time ( ~3 weeks ) in order to diagnose ... then just fix the actual problem.
#4> Treat Weak pack to extend life until you can do one of the above ... something like a basic grid charger to recharge and rebalance the 120 cells ... won't fix problems , but can act as a treatment for some problems ... thus prolonging the amount of time one can use a given battery with a given problem... how much time it gives you will of course depend on the problem ( see #3 above )... I know of people using this method to prolong for up to 3 years.
#5> Reset / clear the error codes ... cross your fingers and hope it doesn't come back for a while ... disconnect the 12V battery for a minute will clear the IMA battery error codes ... depending on what the issue was ... you will either get the code back in a matter of seconds once you start the car up... or it will come back eventually ... but it buys you some time ... and is easy... again it doesn't fix anything ... at most you buys you a little more time... longest I've heard of is about ~18 Months.
#6> If the IMA Error code has not yet disabled the DC-DC alternator function ... With above idle RPMs you get 13+ Volts from the 12V Battery terminals ( or Cigaret lighter ) .... sometimes it does right away , sometimes it take a year or more ... depends on what's wrong ... but as long as that is still working ... you don't need to do anything ... just drive the car... again with the error code it won't pass inspection in many states ... but it will drive from point A to point B just fine.... if it does disable the DC-DC alternator function, see step #1 above.
#7> Buy used battery packs from junk yards ... test all the cells / sticks ... and piece together one that is functional... requires similar to #3 above for each pack tested... several years ago , I bought 2 junk yard packs for $500 total ... but it's a random thing ... what you find , how much they cost , and what they will test at once you test them... FYI, Gen-1 Civic Hybrids use interchangeable battery sticks as the Gen-1 Insight ... not the whole battery pack itself , but the sticks in the battery pack.