Replacement battery cost

[MIG]

We had a 2005 Prius that had a battery failure after 12 years (well out of warranty). In 2005 the dealer told us it would cost about $8,000 to replace it should we ever need to. The 2017 dealer price was $3,500 and I ended up purchasing an aftermarket battery for $1,500. We gave the car away and last I heard it was still running fine. When the battery warranty on the Rivian expires in 2030, EVs will not be at 2% of all vehicles sold. There will be wider adoption and likely more (and cheaper) options than exist today.

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[emoore]

We had a 2005 Prius that had a battery failure after 12 years (well out of warranty). In 2005 the dealer told us it would cost about $8,000 to replace it should we ever need to. The 2017 dealer price was $3,500 and I ended up purchasing an aftermarket battery for $1,500. We gave the car away and last I heard it was still running fine. When the battery warranty on the Rivian expires in 2030, EVs will not be at 2% of all vehicles sold. There will be wider adoption and likely more (and cheaper) options than exist today.

Sure there will be more EVs by 2030 for sure but that doesn't mean there is going to be a bunch of battery replacement options. I view the battery pack as like an ICE engine. You usually can't stick any ICE engine in a any car, you have to use the same or similar engine sizes, etc. I think battery replacements will be like that. You can replace the Rivian battery but it's going to be a battery pack from Rivian.

 

[MIG]

Mmmm, I'm not a betting man but I'll go out on a limb and say if there's a market, the market will figure it out. If there are 10,000+ vehicles in need of replacements in 12 years (and every year thereafter), someone will have a solution. And if Rivian goes to solid state or whatever the state-of-the-art is in the next decade, they'll likely have a retrofit solution.

 

[emoore]

Mmmm, I'm not a betting man but I'll go out on a limb and say if there's a market, the market will figure it out. If there are 10,000+ vehicles in need of replacements in 12 years (and every year thereafter), someone will have a solution. And if Rivian goes to solid state or whatever the state-of-the-art is in the next decade, they'll likely have a retrofit solution.

I'm not as confident. Can you take a new Nissan Leaf battery and but it in a 1st gen Leaf? I don't think so. I don't think it's easy to just swap out battery packs. You have to have the correct voltage, current, etc.

 

[MIG]

I'm not as confident. Can you take a new Nissan Leaf battery and but it in a 1st gen Leaf? I don't think so. I don't think it's easy to just swap out battery packs. You have to have the correct voltage, current, etc.

You're missing the point. Check out this site which links to 46 different dealers that specialize in replacement batteries for the Leaf. (click through a couple and you'll see the numerous options that exist for Leaf owners).

https://nissanleafbatteryreplacement.com/

Nissan has sold 500,000 Leafs. Many are in need of replacement batteries and there are 3rd party solutions. 10+ years from now such options will undoubtedly exist for the (hopefully) hundreds of thousands of Rivians or whatevers that will be nearing battery end-of-life.

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