How long does the IMA battery last?

[kevinc628]

I just bought the 2011 Insight Ex/Nav on this Sunday. This is my first hybrid. Last night I was driving home from Manhattan to Queens and was bumper to bumper traffic. It was less than a mile but took me 20 minutes to get to the bridge. I notice the auto stop didn't work and I check the IMA battery it was empty. The IMA battery only lasted 5 minutes or so. Is it normal? By the way It was 49MPG but after last night it drop to 47 but I still love it compare to FX35.

[Cobb]

Welcome aboard.

The battery is made up of many parts and just like your engine or transmission, it too can be rebuilt. I think the estimate is 15 years or 250k kilometers by the temple of honda.

The worse thing you can do is park the car and not use it. I think its recommended to idle the car for 30 minutes every 45-90 days. Even better, if you know you will park it for a while do a force recharge. To do this you park the car in a ventlated area, set the parking brake, bring the engine up to 3 grand and hold it. You should see the assist/regen meter dip into regen and hold it til this returns to nutral. Sometimes I do this in stop n go traffic when I know I got a merge, feeder, accelerator lane, etc ahead of me.

The capacity is reduced by the car to prolong its life. At that unless you ride the brakes or coast to stops it wont get a full charge and the car will use mroe gas vs the stored energy. If it gets too low it will automatically charge it, sometimes while accelerating.

[kevinc628]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Welcome aboard.

The battery is made up of many parts and just like your engine or transmission, it too can be rebuilt. I think the estimate is 15 years or 250k kilometers by the temple of honda.

The worse thing you can do is park the car and not use it. I think its recommended to idle the car for 30 minutes every 45-90 days. Even better, if you know you will park it for a while do a force recharge. To do this you park the car in a ventlated area, set the parking brake, bring the engine up to 3 grand and hold it. You should see the assist/regen meter dip into regen and hold it til this returns to nutral. Sometimes I do this in stop n go traffic when I know I got a merge, feeder, accelerator lane, etc ahead of me.

The capacity is reduced by the car to prolong its life. At that unless you ride the brakes or coast to stops it wont get a full charge and the car will use mroe gas vs the stored energy. If it gets too low it will automatically charge it, sometimes while accelerating.

Thanks Cobb,
What I meant is how long is the battery last per charge. I was in the bumper to bumper traffic and the battery lasted around 5 minutes. Nothing was on except radio, gps and headlights. Is it right?

[circa1986]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Welcome aboard.

The battery is made up of many parts and just like your engine or transmission, it too can be rebuilt. I think the estimate is 15 years or 250k kilometers by the temple of honda.

The worse thing you can do is park the car and not use it. I think its recommended to idle the car for 30 minutes every 45-90 days. Even better, if you know you will park it for a while do a force recharge. To do this you park the car in a ventlated area, set the parking brake, bring the engine up to 3 grand and hold it. You should see the assist/regen meter dip into regen and hold it til this returns to nutral. Sometimes I do this in stop n go traffic when I know I got a merge, feeder, accelerator lane, etc ahead of me.

The capacity is reduced by the car to prolong its life. At that unless you ride the brakes or coast to stops it wont get a full charge and the car will use mroe gas vs the stored energy. If it gets too low it will automatically charge it, sometimes while accelerating.

Haha, sometimes I find myself nearly rearending people because I'm trying so hard to regen the battery (and avoid using the friction brakes).

[infinitium]

Over in Malaysia, Honda puts a 5-yr warranty on the IMA batt. But with all things new (Hybrids only hit local shores here 1-2 yrs ago)... there's a certain level of mistrust over it's lifespan (especially in hot humid urban areas).

I'm personally hoping to keep the car for at least 7 years BUT that all depends on how the batt & CVT holds up past the psychological 5 year marker.

At current driving distances, I'd reckon I'd hit 88,000 km / 54,000 miles over a 5year span.

[Cobb]

Thats difficult to answer. It can hold half a kilowatt at full charge. This is like 500 watts of energy. So to break it down, it would be the same as a 12 volt battery with a capacity of 41 amps, like a lawn tractor battery. A 50 watt bulb for 10 hours.

I have a 2 kilowatt plug in kit, so with efficient driving I find I consume a kilowatt an hour.

So, 30 minutes if fully charged?

[circa1986]

How long is the hybrid component warranty in the US? I thought it was like 5 or 8 years or something?