It looks like I am going to need a new battery (2000 Insight)- I was attracted to this battery repair site, which would cost much less than my dealer is quoting:

http://www.hybrid-battery-repair.com/insight/index.html

Does anyone have experience with this dealer and approach?

 

You could also check out ReinVolt.com They rebuild packs. H

 

And their prices appear to better. Has anyone had experience with ReinVolt.com?

 

E-mail them and get some references. H

 

They seem to think that the rebuild will only last about a year. They are, however, working on manufacturing a lithium battery for Civic, which they hope to have available for sale in March.

 

Following advice in this forum (thanks!) I contacted Hybrid Revolt (contactus@hybridrevolt.com). Matt the very knowledgeable owner supplied me with a rebuilt battery $1100 and an original battery control module (BCM) for $25. The car is now charging and operating like when it was new!

It sure beats the pants off the $3000 dealer estimate and insistence that the upgraded BCM they installed earlier is valid (see associated thread: Beware Upgraded BCM on this forum).

 

www.hybrid-battery-repair.com is the way to go, you can get a rebuilt batt with all new cells for around 2,000.00 its the same as you can get from a dealer

 

See discussion here.

 

I have used Hybrid Revolt three times. They even gave me a discounted battery and a discounted grid charger when a battery failed AFTER the warranty expired. I had one battery fail within warranty and a new replacement one was shipped 5 days after I requested warranty replacement.

 

I also want to mention that Matt at Hybrid Revolt gave me sound troubleshooting advice when the dealership told me that I needed $5400 in "failed" electronic modules that only malfunctioned when the dealership replaced my hybrid battery. Matt said that it was highly unlikely that three electronic modules would fail simultaneously and to look for a poor electrical connection. Upon close inspection I was able to find a wire pulled on a plug had caused the electrical connection not to make. Upon pushing the wire deeper into the plug, the male spade was able to make connection and the allegedly three bad electronic components worked properly.