Hybrid cars have powerful electric motors that complement the use of their engines and can often get you out of a tight spot when your engine stops running. Unfortunately, the batteries these motors require can still suffer from wear and tear over time, and you’ll have to spot the signs before they become unusable, and you need a dependable replacement battery for hybrid car operation.
One of the clearest signs that your battery might be dying is that the car is experiencing a lower MPG rating. This means it uses more gas to compensate for the fact that the motor can no longer tap into the power of its battery as efficiently as it used to.
Another factor that ties in closely with the previous one is that your internal combustion engine might be on a lot more than it used to be. This is typically due to the fact that the on-board computer detects the lower efficiency of the battery and tries to compensate, maintaining the car’s overall efficiency with the trade-off of overtaxing the engine.
The charge of the battery might be shown as lower than usual, and you could be hearing additional engine noises that didn’t come up before. This either happens because the engine is overused or because it’s already showing signs of damage.