Before we proceed to the final part of this series on Hybrid battery life and price in Kenya, let’s handle this 10 years hybrid battery life lie. We have seen comments that the hybrid batteries are made to last just 10 years or 150,000km. We would want to state that these batteries are designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle just like the engine. Unfortunately we are not taught/shown how to maintain them like we do with the engines. Let me explain where this 10 year fallacy came from.
Hybrid Battery Warranty that brought about the 10 Years Hybrid Battery Life Lie.
During the early years of hybrid, Toyota, which was the first to mass produce hybrids, wanted to prove to its customers that they trust their hybrid batteries. Toyota went ahead an extended the warranty of the hybrid battery to 10 years while maintaining the warranty on other components to below 3 years. A quick question while we are here, does it mean that the engine on that vehicle which Toyota warrants for only 3 years will die after the 3 years warranty is over? Absolutely NO! Now, this is the interpretation that led to the 10 year fallacy.
Toyota extending the warranty on the battery to 10 years didn’t mean that the battery will die after the 10 years are over. Toyota was expressing their confidence in the traction batteries. They wanted to expel the fear in their customers on the new invention.
Are the hybrid batteries designed to fail after 10 years?
So, forget the 10 years hybrid battery Life lie, the batteries are designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle. If well maintained from the time you buy the vehicle, you may never have to replace the hybrid battery. People will scare you against touching the hybrid battery ones you buy your hybrid and this is where the problem comes in. When scared not to touch the hybrid battery, by the time it showing the lights on the dashboard, it has already started failing and you will have to at least replace some modules at this point.
We understand that this is a weighty discussion and we invite you to contact us for us to further this deliberation.
Engine replacement cost never prevents you from buying a vehicle
In conclusion, what will make you pay the hybrid battery price in Kenya is the lack of maintenance on that battery. If well taken care of and if you ensure that you buy the hybrid vehicle with a good hybrid battery, the battery will serve you for the entire time you will have the hybrid.
Do not be scared of buying a hybrid vehicle and enjoying the fuel saving benefit because of the fear that the hybrid battery will fail. It is like not buying a vehicle because you have been told that when the engine fails, it is very expensive. You are never scared of that because you know what to do to ensure that the engine doesn’t fail. You first ensure that by the time you are buying the vehicle, the engine doesn’t have a problem then you ensure that you service the engine after a given time. In so doing, the engine serves you for the entire time you will have the vehicle.
You should now be convinced that the the 10 year hybrid battery life lie is in deed a lie. As we move to the final part of this series, where we will look at the figures, they should not make or break your relationship with hybrids.