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Re: How About a Hybrid Ridgeline?
I suppose the amount of hard data on hybrid lifespan is in short supply right now because the oldest hybrid on the road in the USA is the original Prius. According to the wiki the Prius was introduced in the US in 2001 but that model was introduced in Japan in 1997 - eleven years ago.
Toyota has published papers that say they designed their current hybrids for a battery life of 180,000 miles. They claim zero premature failures so far. It is reasonable to be skeptical of a manufacturer's claims - but I believe that if failures were common we would hear about it because of very high interest in the topic. Toyota says the long life is due to the electronics - which optimize the charge rates and the discharge levels of the batteries. They are never drained completely nor overcharged.
The batteries are designed for recycling. I don't believe Toyota will sell just the batteries so no one will replace them DIY. The recycle rate should be near 100%.
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2006 Steel Blue RTL no SR, optional grille, roof rack, fog lights, audio mods
1997 Acura NSX-T
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