Electric and hybrid vehicles...

[WIMUSKY]

I just did the brakes for the first time on my wifes 2009 Honda CR-V 105,000 miles. Bought it new.

I bought a new 3/4T Diesel Suburban in 1994. I put 200,000 miles on it the 20 years I owned it (sold it in 2014) ....... I did the front brakes twice, replaced the front rotors once, and replaced the rear brake shoes at 100,000miles!


Yeah. All the great "mileage" claims NEVER include using Heat or A/C

On the flip side, I have to put brakes on(now my daughters) our '07 Charger every 30k. After the first 30k they were shot. The rears go out.

Although, it still has the original battery......

 

[jkust]

On the plus side, the ramp that I have my contract parking downtown has the very best spaces as plug in electric car spaces where there is no charge for the electricity. There is one guy with a Volt and another with a Leaf (there's only one space per level).

 

[jkust]

On the flip side, I have to put brakes on(now my daughters) our '07 Charger every 30k. After the first 30k they were shot. The rears go out.

Although, it still has the original battery......

Better watch that original battery....they either give you zero warning or only the slightest warning that is easy to not notice. Again, if it's battery related, I've got a story after this many years in cold climate. I am at the point where I will just preemptively replace them after so many years.

 

[HT32BSX115]

On the flip side, I have to put brakes on(now my daughters) our '07 Charger every 30k. After the first 30k they were shot. The rears go out.

Although, it still has the original battery......

Unless the calipers are sticking, rapid wear-out is usually due to foot pressure on the brakes (when that foot should be on the floor!!) OTOH, You need to replace that battery NOW. Doing it now that will prevent you having to go out in the middle of a rainy/snowy night to replace it!:cell:

On the plus side, the ramp that I have my contract parking downtown has the very best spaces as plug in electric car spaces where there is no charge for the electricity.

That of course is temporary. When there's more electric cars on the road, there'll be pay-as-you-go charging stations everywhere.....They gotta get more people "hooked":fish2: first......................It's definitely gonna happen.

 

[StarTed]

My wife has a 2007 Prius. We bought it when 5 years old and only 16,000+ miles on it so naturally we were concerned about the propulsion batteries. It turned out that they were fine.

I've heard several misconceptions here.

First, a Prius is a gasoline driven vehicle. It has power batteries that are operated between 20% and 80% to increase their lives that are estimated to be 20 years by Toyota. I don't think that will happen. The car does not drain the batteries, it starts the engine and charges them to maintain their appropriate level.

The transmission is continuous variable speed and is powered by both the batteries and the engine simultaneously. In reverse it only uses the electric motor. When going forward it starts on the electric motor then turns on the gasoline engine when needed which is usually a second or 2 later when driven like any other vehicle.

My wife started babying the car but now drives it just like any other car. She accelerates faster than I would and uses the brakes for stopping. So far the brakes are holding up.

As for mileage, we keep a book with miles driven and gallons at each fill up. The computer isn't exactly on. I think that it usually overestimates the mileage but sometimes underestimates it. She always gets over 40 mpg and occasionally almost 50 mpg. We drive across the state on I-90 and cruise along 70 to 72 mph.

Mileage does decrease slightly in the summer for the air conditioning and a little more in the winter because we put on winter tires and the heater is on full blast for her. However, we still get over 40 mpg.

The batteries have come down in price so they are not as frightening to buy now. One can also replace cells if they fail but you have to be very careful because the battery pack voltage is lethal if not done properly. E-Bay does list cells taken from junk yard batteries. Junk yards are also another source for a complete battery pack if needed. That's the advantage of having a car that lots were sold and on the road.

Just my 0.02

 

[bruceb58]

I know a lot of people that have a Prius and love the mileage. It is interesting though that I know a few people that have the hybrid Camry and Highlander and they are very dissapointed with the mileage. Almost the same as a regular non hybrid version. Could be that over a certain weight, you lose the advantage of the hybrid.

 

[Scott Danforth]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JXK63kvUi6U

This is the commercial that caused 4 people I know (including dad) to buy a VW diesel vs a hybrid

 

[jbcurt00]

Is that 1 of the claims the EPA found to be exaggerated recently?

I didnt follow all that when it hit the news. Nobody I know has a diesel sedan, VW or other.

 

[ondarvr]

Here's another real life example, not a friend of a friend.

The company car I drive now is a Ford Fusion Hybrid, I been driving it for 4 months and it has 15,000 plus miles on it now. It drives differently than a normal gas powered vehicle, the regenerative braking feels different, under mild braking you are just generating power, push harder and the brakes start to activate, it works fine, just feels different. The cabin climate control is not that good because it switches from gas to electric power so frequently and the heating method is different, it will get too warm and then too cold, I'm constantly adjusting it.

The power is fine, I drive it no differently than a normal gas powered model, the CVT (transmition) works very well, I never even think about it.
The car is very quiet and smooth, this is one of the best aspects of this model, I don't know how it compares to the gas only version in this regard.

Overall mileage is at 43 right now, I've never reset it from new, it's been as high as 44.1 and climbing, but an economy setting was turned off by mistake and it started dropping, I just turned it back on. Much of my driving is on the freeway, so it may be better with lower speeds. It tells what your mileage was for the last trip when you turn the key off, I frequently see figures of close to 50MPG, but I also see 38 ever now and then.

I would probably buy one for normal driving and commuting, but with no towing options it wouldn't work for me, for the wife it would be great. I didn't see the exact price for it, but I was surprised when I was told the cost wasn't that much different than the gas only version.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Is that 1 of the claims the EPA found to be exaggerated recently?

I didnt follow all that when it hit the news. Nobody I know has a diesel sedan, VW or other.

I think the emissions is what EPA penalized VW for. VAG (Volkswagen Auto Group) and BMW were caught, the other car manufacturers are being looked at.

58mpg was a couple in 2009 driving a VW jetta across the US while hypermilage driving. Edmonds tested a VW passat and was getting 51.7mpg on the EPA test run, CBS did a review a while back and got similar economy.
My experience however is 44mpg loaded at 80mph for every trip between WI and FL for the past 7 years. Dad's car gets 50mpg at 55 and about 38 in town. I have my foot in the throttle so I normally see less.