Potentially huge savings for Toyota Hybrid owners: Aussie exchange program slashes battery replacement costs for Corolla, Camry and RAV4 Hybrids

Big news for owners of the popular Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Corolla Hybrid and C-HR Hybrid. 

A Melbourne-based firm will commence a scalable hybrid battery remanufacturing exchange program, giving owners of Toyota and Lexus hybrids (as well as those from other carmakers in the near future) an inexpensive option of restoring their battery pack back to full.

Expected to be made available publicly sometime between May and July this year, and supported by a federal government grant linked to its Advanced Manufacturing Fund and available throughout Australia, the company behind the venture is Injectronics, which is part of the Innovative Mechatronics Group (IMG) and a leading supplier of new and remanufactured – as well as repairer of – automotive electronic components.

The restoration initiative means that owners of used hybrid vehicles with battery packs that are “faulty, slow to charge or no longer performing at an effective level” can have them refurbished from between 60 to 80 per cent of the cost of a new replacement unit – depending on the level of degradation.

This translates to savings of between $2000 and $3000 per vehicle, given that the current cost of a new Toyota battery pack is said to be between $8000 to $10,000, depending on the model, according to the executive general manager of IMG, Gino Ricciuti.

The venture gives battery packs a second life that would otherwise have been discarded, potentially saving tens of thousands of older hybrid vehicles (as well as their toxic wastes associated with battery technology) from the crusher. It also extends their lives well beyond the industry-standard eight-year warranty period in the case of earlier models.

However, only Toyota hybrids with Nickel-Metal-Hydride (NiMH) batteries qualify for restoration for the time being, meaning basically the Prius, Camry and Corolla, as well as most corresponding Lexus petrol-electric hybrids.

The Camry and Prius make up the majority of hybrids in Australia, with about 70 per cent represented by taxis or government/business fleet vehicles. The market potential grew from 13,000 in 2019 to over 16,000 this year, while forecasts suggest that by 2024 that will exceed 23,000 replacements annually. 

This number may even be higher as the proliferation of non-Camry/Prius hybrid models grow in this country – as evidenced by the unbridled popularity of the RAV4 Hybrid.

Note that the long-lived Prius V seven-seater people mover uses the more complex lithium-ion battery chemistry, which will come on stream at a later date yet to be confirmed.

While Injectronics undertakes all of the restoration work, the battery pack removal and fitment will be carried out by outside agents, though each accredited repairer – be it a local mechanic or a large Toyota dealer – will have to have passed stringent guidelines relating to the handling and safety of these very high-voltage units. This process is still being undertaken.

Mr Ricciuti said that the test to identify the health of each battery cell is a charge-in/charge-out process, whereby it is ascertained how long each cell holds a charge after a full charge before each cell is depleted; this determines the viability of each cell.

It has been identified that sometimes only one or two battery cells fail, rendering the entire hybrid battery pack faulty or even non-functional. This solution isolates and then tests each cell individually, and either repairs or replaces the ones with issues as required, keeping costs at bay.

The program’s work is guaranteed for two years, with the restoration said to be up to the original battery cell performance specifications standard.

Owners of other, non-Toyota NiMH-battery pack-powered hybrid electric vehicles, including Honda with models such as the Insight, Jazz, Civic and Accord hybrids, can also employ this service, as the technology relating to the battery cell restoration process is essentially the same.

Building up stocks right now, Injectronics will have a bank of remanufactured hybrid battery packs ready for exchange as required by the middle of this year, and is gearing up to averaging around 10 to 12 battery pack remanufacturing jobs per day once everything is up and running.

Mr Ricciuti added that – as an Australian-first hybrid battery remanufacturing exchange program on this national level – it will bring the cost of green-car ownership down.

“This is the first of its type in Australia,” he said. “(It is) the country’s only scalable battery replacement initiative, and one that has federal government support.

“A project of this type creates a circular economy, putting to an end the single use nature of hybrid batteries, is environmentally friendly in its approach and will save hybrid vehicle owners a considerable sum when their battery fails to work as expected.”

An export program of remanufactured hybrid batteries to New Zealand is also on IMG’s horizon, with timings to be confirmed. Plus, further research and development into the field is ongoing at the firm's Melbourne headquarters, with the view of expanding into lithium-ion batteries, full EV batteries and heavy-duty and non-road vehicles.

Injectronics says that currently Toyota recycles but does not offer a repair and remanufacturing function, and while there are “some independent EV repair specialists and small ad-hoc businesses that provide hybrid battery remanufacturing”, it is the only large-scale national provider of this service at this time.