Anyone who’s ever considered buying a hybrid car has probably asked the same question: do hybrid batteries even last long?
Aside from having minimal carbon emissions, hybrid cars offer lower fuel costs because they give you more mileage per liter of gasoline than your traditional internal combustion engine car. But a hybrid car can only save you money in the long run if you don’t have to replace its hybrid electric battery, which is very expensive.
The ballpark figure for a hybrid electric battery replacement is around P300,000, depending on the manufacturer. That’s an astronomical figure that would more than nullify the gas money you’ll be saving.
So, it’s important to know if a hybrid car’s electric battery will last long before you consider buying one. To answer that, we must first understand how a hybrid car works.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles Explained
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) have three basic components: a gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a hybrid electric battery. When the car requires great speed and power, it uses the gasoline engine. At low to moderate speeds, it can use the electric motor, at which point the engine gets to rest and does not need to consume gas.
But how can the electric motor run? That’s where the hybrid electric battery comes in: it gives power to the electric motor by recharging itself every time you accelerate or step on the brakes. Unlike electric vehicles (EVs), you don’t have to plug an HEV to an EV charger.
Life Span Of A Hybrid Electric Battery
Some people are still hesitant to buy HEVs for fear that the electric batteries will need to be replaced in a few years. After all, it’s the one component that is unfamiliar to people used to driving cars with traditional internal combustion engines. But this fear is simply not backed up by hard data.
Hybrid cars are only relatively new to the Philippine market. In the four to five years since they’ve hit local roads, there have yet to be any news or public feedback of widespread electric battery replacements. Here’s what the skeptics might say: it’s only been five years, so we don’t know yet. Fair enough. But other countries already do.
Take the United States, for example. The first mainstream hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, has been running on their roads for over two decades now. Since the 3rd generation Prius came out around 14 years ago, the average lifetime of its hybrid electric battery has been reported to be a whopping 120,000-150,000 miles or over 193,000-240,000 kilometers.
The Secret Behind Its Longevity
Anything over 190,000 kilometers is certainly impressive and surpasses even the average life span of any car. But the Toyota Prius only started to achieve that mileage with their 3rd generation hybrid cars. What was new in them? The hybrid battery cooling fan.
Since that 3rd generation Toyota Prius, almost every mainstream HEV manufacturer around the world has copied its same hybrid cooling fan technology. Engineers have finally figured out the hack to make hybrid electric batteries last as long as the cars that carry them. If you keep them cool and make sure they don’t get exposed to extremely high temperatures, then they can last for more than five, ten, or maybe even 15 years.
How Long It Lasts Is Up To You
Like any important car component, hybrid battery cooling fans need constant maintenance. If you’re going to buy a hybrid car and want its electric battery to last long, then you’ll need to take constant care of it. Make sure its filter is always clean. Always keep your hybrid battery safe from water spillage. Consult mechanics who know their way around hybrid batteries and have them regularly checked.
If your hybrid electric battery is always kept cool, dry, and safe from any damage, then there’s no reason to be afraid of how expensive it is to replace because you won’t need to. Just treat it the same way you would treat a traditional car engine. Isn’t that also very expensive to replace? And isn’t that why you always have it checked and maintained?
A Viable Option
HEVs may involve new technology but it’s really just like any other car. It can last long if you take good care of it. It’s not necessarily better or worse than an EV or a traditional gasoline car (although for Mindanao residents who want an eco-friendly ride, HEVs are a more viable option than EVs because of a lack of EV charging stations in the region). It’s just another option that’s available to all of us, especially those who want to reduce their carbon footprint and transportation costs.
