The battery is the lifeblood of a hybrid vehicle. It assists the internal combustion engine and it helps improve fuel economy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The battery is a delicate component, but the technology has proven durable enough in its short history to earn long warranties from manufacturers.
A hybrid car battery doesn't look much different from a non-hybrid car battery. It features two electrodes coming out of the top of the battery. It should be noted, according to Hybridcars.com, that this electric battery is actually a battery pack that houses individual cells working together. Many hybrid batteries feature more than 200 individual cells working together.
The electric battery's main functions are to power the vehicle's electric motor at low speeds, to assist the internal combustion engine as the car accelerates to higher speeds, and to power the car completely when the vehicle is idling. The car's computer determines how much of the battery's power to use. This battery constantly draws power from, or funnels power into, a set of nickel metal hydrate batteries.
Hybridcars.com says that manufacturers of cars that use hybrid batteries keep the batteries charged between 40 and 60 percent of their capacity. Doing so extends the battery life.
Most dealers offer long warranties on their batteries. Honda and Toyota offer eight- and ten-year, 100,000-mile warranties on their batteries, according to solveyourproblem.com. New batteries for hybrids can cost over $3,000. But the 100,000-mile mark isn't the death knell for a hybrid battery. Paul Gillespie, the president of the San Francisco Taxicab Commission, reported last year that only two of the 182 hybrid battery packs in the city's taxi fleets have needed replacing. Plus, some of the cabs have traveled more than 300,000 miles without needing a new battery.
The next generation of hybrid batteries is likely to be made with lithium ion components, reports hybridcars.com. Some demonstration models are already using batteries featuring this element. Lithium ion batteries can pack more energy into a smaller space, but there are cost and supply issues that must be overcome before the battery can become produced at a higher level.
