Is there any source for replacement batteries for hyrbrid vehicles other than the manufacturers?
Yes.
Wrecking yards sell batteries removed from salvaged vehicles…Midnight auto-supply, (check craigslist) occasionally has items like this…
I believe the OP is referring to ‘NEW’ batteries, not ‘USED’ or ‘SALVAGED’.
If so, why not let the OP say so? The OP only asked for ‘REPLACEMENT’ batteries.
While I don’t know of any place that makes replacement batteries for hybrids there are other options.
First, regarding junkyard batteries. At least the NiMH batteries that Honda uses are not meant to sit inactive for more than 30 days, there are warnings about this in the owner’s manual. A battery purchased at the junkyard is probably not going to last over a year unless it is “rebuilt”.
This brings me to rebuilding of the hybrid batteries. There are 2 hybrid battery rebuilders that I know of in the US. One is just outside of Phoenix, AZ and the other is on the East coast. Check out www.hybridrevolt.com (unfortunate name in my opinion) or www.hybrid-battery-repair.com for more information.
Hybrid batteries are made up of a bunch of cells; when a battery goes bad most likely it is because one/some of those cells aren’t doing their job, not because the whole battery is bad. Rebuilding of the battery involves testing the separate cells for function, replacing any that are not up to spec and making sure all the cells have matching capacity.
Price is usually about 25% of a new battery.
Hope this helps.
When Prius batteries crap out, dealers originally replaced the entire pack…Today, they been trained and equipped to isolate the bad cell(s) and just replace single cells…As these cars become common, restoring battery packs will become quite common…
That has ALWAYS been a weakness with multi-cell batteries…When you have a 100 or 150 cell battery pack, one or two of those cells most certainly will fail before the others, leading to greatly reduced battery performance that is difficult to isolate. I think in the newest Prius models, every cell is monitored so isolation and repair is simplified…