How would you respond to this naysayer?

ask Frank Hudon about it. his wife was rear ended in her '04. the collision was so great that the tire compartment cover's edge was pushed down and into the battery pack casing actually breaking the case.

there was no leakage. no one electrocuted, in fact the battery pack did exactly as it was designed to do in a collision.

 

First things first: this person is an idiot.

The batteries that are used for the electric motor are sealed nickel-metal hydride. Not the lead acid batteries that are used on the 12v side. BIG FARKING DIFFERENCE.

The batteries that are used in the Prius are SEALED. Not only are the batteries SEALED, but there is a lot of reinforcement around the batteries to prevent any occupants from 'wearing some acid.' I'd be more concerned of the propellant used to deploy the airbags! That stuff is probably worse than the sealed nickel-metal hydride batteries!

Sealed nickel-metal hydride batteries have been used in consumer products since 1988. 19 freaking 88. That's 17 years of technological advances.

An extreme minimal amount of actual electrolyte is used in the battery; that is to say, they are mostly solid, not liquid like the 12 lead acid battery. Think of 139 "C" sized batteries crammed in the car. Do you let children play with toys that contain batteries? Uh, yeah. Have they 'worn' acid from repeatedly dropping their toys? No.

If this person doesn't like the idea of batteries, good for them, they are stupid and will probably purchase some crap product from the big four. More power to them. They have Google... But apparently not a brain cell to use it.

 

How would "I" respond?

YOU STUPID (insert offensive noun here)!!

:mrgreen:

 

Ahh the ignorant (or is that the idiotic)

1. Prius (and I believe Honda) battery packs composed of a number of NiMH cells. These are very similar to the rechargable AA batteries you might put in your digital camera. (Please no flames, I know they're prismatics but the concept and chemistry are much the same) They contain no free liquid electrolyte - it's more of a paste.

2. Every car carries a virtual BOMBThe gasoline you carry is far more dangerous than the battery.
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius\";p=\"98455)</div>

NO No No no... You don't want to convert that person... they are worth letting go. I don't want a moron associated to a Prius.

 

Tell her, her real concern should be the poisonous gases within the sealed headlights (after all, why are they sealed right?)... Which, of course, can violently combust if you leave your lights on too long...

:mrgreen:

 

I see this is another Urban Legend that just won't die. Like the $15,000 Prius front brake job.

Uh, $115 is what my local dealer quoted me.

Any rear end crash severe enough to rupture the NiMH assembly and shower you with electrolyte gell probably isn't survivable.

Oh, speaking of the Rear End Of Doom, how about all those Ford Crown Victoria passenger cars and Ford Interceptor police cars? I guess Ford didn't learn anything from the Pinto lawsuit, as even their 2005 Crown Vic and police Interceptor still have the fuel tank between the rear bumper and the axle.

Apparently, around a dozen police officers have been burned to death after being rear ended.

Much like all the hype over Prius stalling. I actually had it happen to me, and was quite p***** off when it happened. But just today in the Winnipeg Free Press it seems Ford is recalling around 260,000 Ford Super Duty gasoline motor trucks due to a software glitch.

Causes "unexpected" motor stalling. Usually will not restart right away, have to wait and try a few times. Hmmmm.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius\";p=\"98463)</div>

I was worried that no one would understand my comment...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ReallyLily\";p=\"98464)</div>

Doh! Right, of course. Why didn't I see that!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid\";p=\"98467)</div>

Or the exhaust from an H2 Hummer
Or the little green men that visit...

 

The electrolyte in the Prius HV NiMH battery is alkaline, not acidic. Potassium hydroxide. When Toyota resealed the NHW11 batteries, they neutralized any released electrolyte with a boric acid solution. It has already been mentioned that the possibility of a battery electrolyte release in a crash appears low because of physical containment. If it happens anyway, and you are fresh out of boric acid, plain water should do. This is mentioned in the emergency responder guides if I recall correctly. It would not hurt to post links to those, if somebody has them handy.

 

well if she wont believe the truth about the battery acid, why dont you tell her, that if she got into an accident in a Prius, her chances of being alive to feel that acid burn are much higher than nearly every other car on the road today.

several posts here describing accidents involving Priuses should help to convince her of that

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius\";p=\"98510)</div>

:lol: