[selinalf]

I have a 2001 Blue Insight and just replaced the original battery pack with a new bumblebee pack. I got 133K miles and 16 years on the original battery that was rated to last ~5 years which I purchase the car new. The car was used regularly all these years. I think that's pretty good and now I'm wondering if anyone else is still using their original battery. I admit to living in a battery friendly climate of Silicon Valley but still, 16 years is 3x the estimated lifespan when no-one knew if Hybrid Cars and batteries could work. I'm crossing my fingers this next battery pack will do anywhere past 10.

I used an grid charger from Hybrid Automative the last few years. It worked great, taking the car up to 80% full each time. But I knew I was pushing my luck and decided to change out the battery. I added my name to a long list for the Honda Hydrogen Clarity. And Planning to keep this one as my gas based car.

Selina
53.6 mpg lifetime of car

 

[ghillie]

That's brilliant Selina! I think there's a few on IC who still have original batteries.

My red Insight has its original battery, although it's only done about 50,000 miles. I didn't buy it new, but I've owned it for more than 12 years and it only had about 3,000 miles on it when I bought it.

I've been grid charging for about 5 years and have deep discharged the battery twice. The battery is still okay but I can tell it's not going to last too much longer. Buying other than a Honda battery is not easy in Australia - so I'm holding on for as long as possible!

 

[eq1]

Considering that the warranty for the OEM pack was more or less 10 years or 150,000 miles, I'd suggest the 'rating' was more like 10 years 150,000 miles rather than 5 years... On the other hand, ratings are usually based on 80% residual capacity and a number of full cycles, so who knows what the true rating would be, in terms of actual use, since the car doesn't do full cycles. Plus the car's battery management seems to allow a residual capacity of something like 10-20% until it calls it quits, i.e. instead of 80% residual it's 10-20% residual, while it has the ability to throttle usage as the pack degrades, i.e. as the pack degrades the car lowers the performance bar...

My guess is you'd be lucky to get even close 10 years/150,000 miles on an aftermarket pack...

 

[ADDvanced]

Mine might be an original pack. I have no idea.

Is the car any faster with the new pack? It's really hard to justify $2000 on having it be almost the same. Idk.

 

[jime]

That is an amazing feat Selina! I think I might have you beat by 1 year, but my car sat in storage for many years, with no cycles on the battery. I assume that you drove fairly conservatively with few excursions below mid pack, but correct me otherwise. One measure of battery life is the number of full cycles, so you must not have hammered the battery very hard?

The grid charger certainly helped with the end of life balance, so that proved a good decision. Congratulations.

 

[jime]

Mine might be an original pack. I have no idea.

eq1 just listed the 5th digit date codes in this thread:

http://www.insightcentral.net/forum...-panasonic-rebuilder-dilemma.html#post1233337

post #2.

You can see your date code by removing the battery lid and looking on the left side, forward mounting fork. Look at the fifth digit, a letter, and compare it to his list. Be careful to wait 10 minutes after turning off the main switch before opening the lid. That letter on your battery would be E or F if original.

 

[selinalf]

The original battery warranty and expected life was not 10 years.

The original battery warranty was extended out by Honda a few years after I purchased the car new. I seem to remember a lawsuit or class action or something like that happen and Honda decided to extend the battery warranty to 10 years. I thought new cells in an aftermarket pack would be better than the refurbished pack Honda now sells. The grid charger is still on the car. I remember a software update a while back did throttle back it's performance to save battery life. I would love to get the older software back into the car computer. It was so zippy when it was new. We'll know in 5 or 10 years how long the bumblebee battery will last with a grid charger on it.
Selina

Considering that the warranty for the OEM pack was more or less 10 years or 150,000 miles, I'd suggest the 'rating' was more like 10 years 150,000 miles rather than 5 years... On the other hand, ratings are usually based on 80% residual capacity and a number of full cycles, so who knows what the true rating would be, in terms of actual use, since the car doesn't do full cycles. Plus the car's battery management seems to allow a residual capacity of something like 10-20% until it calls it quits, i.e. instead of 80% residual it's 10-20% residual, while it has the ability to throttle usage as the pack degrades, i.e. as the pack degrades the car lowers the performance bar...

My guess is you'd be lucky to get even close 10 years/150,000 miles on an aftermarket pack...

 

[selinalf]

yes, in my case.

Mine might be an original pack. I have no idea.

Is the car any faster with the new pack? It's really hard to justify $2000 on having it be almost the same. Idk.

For me, Yes. it's zippier from a stop and during accelerating. But you need to know the battery been getting IMA every few months the last 2 years. That shut down the battery recharging and hybrid acceleration. Which results in a putt-putt car until I plugging it for 8 or 10 hrs, then reseting the computer. I got tired of doing that.

I wish I could get the older computer software put back in. That upgrade really was a downgrade in acceleration in exchange to saving battery power.
Selina

 

[selinalf]

Nice,

That's brilliant Selina! I think there's a few on IC who still have original batteries.

My red Insight has its original battery, although it's only done about 50,000 miles. I didn't buy it new, but I've owned it for more than 12 years and it only had about 3,000 miles on it when I bought it.

I've been grid charging for about 5 years and have deep discharged the battery twice. The battery is still okay but I can tell it's not going to last too much longer. Buying other than a Honda battery is not easy in Australia - so I'm holding on for as long as possible!

Nice, Hold out and take care of your battery. At least you know what it's been through. You have no clue what the refurbished Honda battery cells experience. It's refurbishing may consist of draining and charging the cell and a test to see if it worked. Exactly what we do when grid charging.

 

[eq1]

The original battery warranty was extended out by Honda a few years after I purchased the car new. I seem to remember a lawsuit or class action or something like that....

I think it was originally 8 years, not sure on the mileage. They extended it to 10 and 150,000 and 10 and 157,500, at least the latter because of a lawsuit...

I doubt the computers make much difference in terms of power. There's never been any proof, or even any decent anecdotal info, that supported the idea that Honda changed computers by reducing power for longevity's sake... If you ever felt a reduction in power, and/or you feel the contrast between a new and old pack - it's most likely because the old pack was getting throttled all the time, background charging all the time, etc...

 

[Harborman]

I still have the original battery in my 2001 Insight, but like JIME... the low miles on my car would not be normal use.

 

[Ecky]

I was told my Insight's battery was replaced under warranty at the Honda dealer (so presumably before 2010), but it wasn't in any of the rather thorough records my car came with. If it was replaced in ~2009-2010, the battery in my car is 7-8 years old, probably refurbished, and still very strong. If it wasn't, it's ~17 years old with ~225k miles on it, and still very strong.

 

[eq1]

I don't have my car's original battery in it (well, I do have 2 of its sticks, used as a 12V battery), but I do have an original 2002 pack in it now, reconditioned by myself. Only time will tell how long it lasts...