DIY Swap of Hybrid battery

[Discoducky]

Considering swapping out a new battery for an almost deceased battery. I have a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid.

Occasionally, OEM batteries appear on eBay (yes, I'm concerned about getting a not so new battery here so I'm being careful), and I'm wondering if I could DIY this bad boy? Anyone have any experience with such a thing?

Looked on YouTube and the Intertubes in general to see if there are instructions or instructional videos, but haven't found anything interesting enough to throw caution to the wind and give it a whirl.

NOTE: There are several videos on YouTube that show what I'm currently experiencing where the battery is nearly dead in the morning, but showed nearly fully charged the previous night. It charges for about 5 minutes, provides about 4 seconds of torque and then goes back to being nearly dead again. I'm at 90K miles so 10K over warranty in the great state of WA.

NOTE2: I've already considered registering in CA to get the better warranty of 150K, but that doesn't work as the car needs to be *originally* registered in CA.

 

[jerry33]

Occasionally, OEM batteries appear on eBay (yes, I'm concerned about getting a not so new battery here so I'm being careful), and I'm wondering if I could DIY this bad boy? Anyone have any experience with such a thing?

No first hand experience, but there are several Prius owners who have swapped out the battery, changed cells in the battery, etc. Usually a "bad" battery only has two or three bad cells. The real trick is to find replacement cells that match with the good cells. Sometimes it takes going through three or four used batteries to find a match. The easy way is to get a reconditioned pack from someone like Re-Involt where they match the cells for you.

 

[PRJIM]

Considering swapping out a new battery for an almost deceased battery. I have a 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid.

Occasionally, OEM batteries appear on eBay (yes, I'm concerned about getting a not so new battery here so I'm being careful), and I'm wondering if I could DIY this bad boy? Anyone have any experience with such a thing?

Looked on YouTube and the Intertubes in general to see if there are instructions or instructional videos, but haven't found anything interesting enough to throw caution to the wind and give it a whirl.

NOTE: There are several videos on YouTube that show what I'm currently experiencing where the battery is nearly dead in the morning, but showed nearly fully charged the previous night. It charges for about 5 minutes, provides about 4 seconds of torque and then goes back to being nearly dead again. I'm at 90K miles so 10K over warranty in the great state of WA.

NOTE2: I've already considered registering in CA to get the better warranty of 150K, but that doesn't work as the car needs to be *originally* registered in CA.

Take a look at this thread, you may want to consider contacting the OP as he seems to have some experience with this type of swap.

2002 Honda Insight 138K miles 61city/70+highway mpg! - $8950 (Buffalo, N.Y.)

I've fully reconditioned the pack (even though it was working fine.) I do all my own work. It's not that difficult. It cycles perfectly, charges and discharges properly, and charges to the full 20 bars on the meter. Trickle charging tops off and equalizes all the cells in the pack. It is very good for the battery pack. As you guys know, when putting a battery car away for storage, you should have a full charge on the battery pack. And top it off every month or so. Even if a cell ever went bad, and had to be replaced, you can get them for $40 to $50 for a whole stick (7 cells tack welded end to end in heat shrink.) Simple. I've had 8 of these cars now with as many as 250k miles on them, and have never had a bad cell or stick in any of them! Price lowered again to $7995! Also have an all original loaded red 88 Pontiac Fiero GT for only $4k. Trying to make room for a roadster!