There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with do-it-yourself projects and repairs, but most of them don’t save anyone upward of four grand.
One man took to Reddit over the weekend to spread the word about how he was able to save $4,440 on a hybrid car repair. Hybrid cars are notorious for battery issues — and the expense of replacing those batteries. A hybrid car battery costs an average of between $3,000 and $4,000 in the U.S. — and that’s not counting the labor costs to replace it.
After a warning light came on, signaling that the used Toyota Camry hybrid he had just bought needed repairs, the Redditor took the car to his local Toyota dealer like anyone else would do.
According to Gas2.com, the Toyota dealer informed the man that the hybrid battery in his car, which had no warranty, was failing and needed replacement, which would cost around $4,450. After doing some research, the man found that he could get a $500 repair credit since technically the battery was still under warranty in years, but not in mileage.
Rather than accepting this, he went home and repaired the car himself. How did he do it?
He had heard before of single cells failing in batteries, which would cause the entire battery to seem like it’s failing. The replacement cost for a single cell is around $50. When he dismantled the battery to check the cells, he found that the copper connectors on the battery were corroded.
With a little vinegar, elbow grease, and a baking soda and water mixture — all of which cost around $7 — he fixed the corrosion and got his Camry back in working order.
This fix isn’t for everyone though. Carbuzz.com reminds readers that though this guy was able to fix his hybrid battery, it can be very dangerous to dismantle or handle batteries of this type and size.
