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Comment by thinkcontext | Hacker News Reader

Batteries that have worn down to the point they aren't useful for transportation are still useful for grid storage. Hopefully that will make battery replacements a viable value proposition.

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My post is about reality today, not hopeful or what is possible at some point in the future.

I have yet to see any manufacture come out with a battery replacement program that is economical. Look at Prius as an example, battery goes out in one of them it is basically totaled from a economic stand point unless you DIY the replacement with "unauthorized" batteries. I believe the Chevy volt is the same way

The reason no one is doing a battery replacement program is that they don't make sense. The battery is the most expensive part, and main expense, in an electric car. When it's trashed The reasonable thing to do is replace the car. If you're worried about the lifetime of the battery in an electric car. Remember that it uses the same tech as your mobiles and laptops. But the charge, drain cycles of your phones battery cells are once a day. Still they are usable even after several years. But in a car, it's cells charge, drain cycles are going to be way fever a year. I do have friends with early Model S cars, and no one of them are complaining about range loss. I'm sure they must have lost some. But not problematic amounts. I do have the impression that early Leaf cars had a bit more problems with this, and that their battery care electronics where more primitive. But in fairly sure they've sorted that on the newer ones.

I am aware, and that is my entire point. The battery is more or less the equivalent of the engine in the ICE.

Internal combustion engines however have no problems lasting for 10, 15, 30+ years if they are maintained. I know many people that have cars over 15 years old.

It is yet to be seen how long battery packs of different design will last. Or if the drive to get more and more range out of these battery packs will push mfg's to squeeze more range sacrificing longevity as competition in the past increases . That is going to be a problem.

This planned obsolescence model we have for cell phones, to cars with shorter and shorter product life spans is not good for anyone, not the environment, not poor people that generally depend on older used cars which makes electric uses cars at ticking time bomb...

the solution can not be "just replace your $40-$60K car when the battery dies like your iPhone" that is moronic

How many Chevy Volts have ever needed their high-voltage battery replaced?

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