Outlander PHEV batteries - Why so cheap? Something wrong with them?

[Dan--T]

Hi, I'm currently on the hunt for batteries for my GS450h EV project.

I've noticed that all of the cheapest Li battery packs available appear to be from Outlander PHEVS.

Is there some reason why these are so cheap?
I guess they are very common, but is there anything else that makes them so cheap? Reliability issues, degradation etc? How do they compare to Leaf Gen 2 batteries or Zoe batteries for example?

Or are they just a bargain?

Thanks
Dan

[aot93]

I think it's because their energy density is pretty awful
There is a good comparison on the wiki if you have not seen it already.

Avoid the 12Kwh pack with the 40Ah cells I would say.

I run a full 13.8Kwh pack in the mini and it's been fine, but it's not done many miles.

Plus points are:
They work well with simpBMS
Easy to pack and handle
If you get a whole pack you get decent 2 and 3 pole contactors

[tom91]

What i have heard from a lot of my resellers / large customers (I made the SimpBMS), degradation on the Outlander PHEV 40ah is really bad due to older tech, passive cooling and hard life in a PHEV. The newer cells are better but still not the best "Bang for the Buck".

Biggest thing to avoid is high mileage vehicles.

[Dan--T]

Ok thanks for the replies!

That all makes sense, you get what you pay for I suppose

[boekel]

They were always quite expensive because the cells are bolted so you can reconfigure them.

That being said: they can indeed be quite bad SOH, but they are air-cooled by the car (and maybe heated also?), coolant from car goes through a radiator inside the battery and a fan blows the air around.

So many better options nowadays with 3x or more higher energy density...