Hybrid Vehicles

[dolluper]

After working on gas powered vehicles all my life l thought l would never own a hybrid or even worse an electric vehicle as a daily driver.
Well the time just came along a customer had their Toyota Prius up for sale. Knowing a bit about them not alot l must admit l bought it from her... Boy what a learning curve it is way more than a washing machine on wheels.. Thats what l used to think. If fact they are quite the marvels of engineering which l found out.At first looking for water pumps. power steering pumps , alternator no belts was an eye opener.
The gas mileage is absolutely amazing averaging about 50 to 60 miles per gallon
This is the Prius V model which is like a station wagon. The shocking part is it is roomy with lots of compartments actually thought out.
I' m impressed and really like it now. It is real peppy not a wimpy machine l thought it was.
Anyone else driving a hybrid ?? If you are what do you think about yours ?
I don't think l will ever go for straight electric you have to plug in.. Doesn't make sense to me
Hybrid 2 thumbs up

 

[BWR1953]

I have a buddy who drives for a living. He picks up medical stuff from a location and delivers it to a hospital somewhere.

He uses the "company car" for the job and often times it's a Toyota Prius hybrid. At first he was wary, but now he loves the thing. It has over 450,000 miles on it and it still runs perfectly. Fantastic mileage too. He's always praising the car.

 

[flashback]

my son has had a maverick hybrid for about 2 months, he likes it so far mainly the good mpg as he puts 100 miles a day on it...

 

[dolluper]

That seems to be the trick with them...use it or loose it.. The lady hardly used it and ran into problems. She replaced the traction battery at 140 k kilometers..about 80 thousand miles... Plus 12 volt battery.

 

[airshot]

Hybrids are a much better idea than all electric !!

 

[Scott06]

After working on gas powered vehicles all my life l thought l would never own a hybrid or even worse an electric vehicle as a daily driver.
Well the time just came along a customer had their Toyota Prius up for sale. Knowing a bit about them not alot l must admit l bought it from her... Boy what a learning curve it is way more than a washing machine on wheels.. Thats what l used to think. If fact they are quite the marvels of engineering which l found out.At first looking for water pumps. power steering pumps , alternator no belts was an eye opener.
The gas mileage is absolutely amazing averaging about 50 to 60 miles per gallon
This is the Prius V model which is like a station wagon. The shocking part is it is roomy with lots of compartments actually thought out.
I' m impressed and really like it now. It is real peppy not a wimpy machine l thought it was.
Anyone else driving a hybrid ?? If you are what do you think about yours ?
I don't think l will ever go for straight electric you have to plug in.. Doesn't make sense to me
Hybrid 2 thumbs up

We are on our second hybrid. First one was a 06 highlander , still was running very well at 230 k when we sold it. Woukd tow our 21 ft sea ray with.

Our current Highlander we did not get a hybrid which I regret. Just git a ‘21 Venza as my daughter now has my old Camry. Really like the fact it is AWD and gets good milage for the size vehicle.
just like anything else take care of it. Don’t forget the air filter for the hybrid battery cooling. Often forgotten… the brakes last forever due to regenerative braking.

 

[Bob_VT]

I have a 22 Hybrid Camry XSE and drive it like it was stolen and still get 43 mpg and better if I drive "normal". My wife has a 21 Rav4 Prime PHEV and gets great MPG and holy cow is this thing quick! AND to round out the fleet is my 07 Taco with a V6 which still gets 20 MPG. I am sold on the hybrid technology.

 

[matt167]

Before I bought my ‘13 Mazda 2 I was hoping to find an older Prius that needed a battery as they can be rebuilt very cheap, and are a $500 car with the battery CEL

My coworker has one as his work car. Paid very little, rebuilt the battery pack. And drives it every day with 50 mpg.

 

[Scott06]

Before I bought my ‘13 Mazda 2 I was hoping to find an older Prius that needed a battery as they can be rebuilt very cheap, and are a $500 car with the battery CEL

My coworker has one as his work car. Paid very little, rebuilt the battery pack. And drives it every day with 50 mpg.

Even a new OEM battery for a hybrid is like $3-4k

I just bought a 21 Venza, since I keep them may have to eventually replace the battery, is $3200 or so not a deal killer vs buying a new car.

 

[Scott06]

I have a 22 Hybrid Camry XSE and drive it like it was stolen and still get 43 mpg and better if I drive "normal". My wife has a 21 Rav4 Prime PHEV and gets great MPG and holy cow is this thing quick! AND to round out the fleet is my 07 Taco with a V6 which still gets 20 MPG. I am sold on the hybrid technology.

I almost bought a 21 Camry Hybrid XLE to replace my 07 Camry V6 w 250k , really really liked that car. Ended up with 21 Venza which is bigger, was really impressed with the Camry that gets 45-50 depending on how heavy your foot it.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I'd really be interested in seeing a cost of ownership analysis for similar vehicles that are ICE-only vs. hybrid. I don't think I've ever seen anything other than a bunch of anecdotal claims.

Every time I fill up my F150 I find myself thinking how a hybrid, with it's better mileage, sure would be nice...

 

[briangcc]

And here I'm thinking my wife's '17 Honda Accord 2.4L CVT got 42mpg in my normal commute. No fancy hybrid needed.

 

[airshot]

Ed's defiantly have their place , especially for local commuters. However they are advertised as the cure all for peoples transportation needs. Anyone that has gone on a lengthy vacation finds them less than ideal, to say the least.. I do a lot of towing, the EV really falls down there. Then if you have a large family, even 6 people then EV's don't do so well. Just be aware of the stories you hear, for local one or two passenger commutes they can be great but for any distance or heavy duty service, they are not worth the trouble. Now then, hybrids or self charging vehicles, they have promise !!

 

[matt167]

Even a new OEM battery for a hybrid is like $3-4k

I just bought a 21 Venza, since I keep them may have to eventually replace the battery, is $3200 or so not a deal killer vs buying a new car.

Yes buying complete good batteries is expensive. But the cells don’t all go bad to cause error codes. You just need to find the bad cell packs and replace them for about $30-50 each. They say you can’t because of the voltages involved. Your supposed to have the special gloves and use a Cat 4 DVOM.. since I work for a GM dealer we have everything to figure it out

 

[Scott06]

Yes buying complete good batteries is expensive. But the cells don’t all go bad to cause error codes. You just need to find the bad cell packs and replace them for about $30-50 each. They say you can’t because of the voltages involved. Your supposed to have the special gloves and use a Cat 4 DVOM.. since I work for a GM dealer we have everything to figure it out

That is essentially what you get when you buy a reconditioned battery. If you can do it your self that's fantastic. Only issue is the cells that test good today may go bad down the road. Would suspect you will see more companies doing this work as time goes on.

 

[matt167]

That is essentially what you get when you buy a reconditioned battery. If you can do it your self that's fantastic. Only issue is the cells that test good today may go bad down the road. Would suspect you will see more companies doing this work as time goes on.

Yup. Really you don’t ‘need’ the special gloves or Cat 4 DVOM. Prius and probably other hybrids are just a little over 200v per cell. So even a cheap DVOM that is cat 3 will work. I just looked up the price of the cheapest rebuilt pack and it’s about $800, so a pretty darn good deal as long as it’s warrantied

 

[dolluper]

The technology has changed a bit lately you can get a complete updated Lithium ( traction battery)battery pack for hybrids around 1800.00 Canadian. They are much better and last longer.. No more fan belts needed no starter or alternator replacements brakes last 5 times or more than conventional vehicles(regenerative braking motor slows car down plus charges battery) and about ten years of battery (traction battery) life. Guys are popping out of the woodwork and fixing the traction batteries for as little as 300.00 for a few packs(cell) replaced out of the 28 or so it contains depending on flavor. They still have a 12 volt battery which powers the accessories it is charged by the MG1 part of electric motor transmission.. I found it funny on the Prius the rear brakes are looked after by an electric actuator where as the fronts rely on hydraulic pressure.. The AC runs off traction battery 208 volts. They aren't that bad to work on like most small cars tight spots.That said you have to have some smarts about working on them... If in doubt disconnect the traction battery then go for a coffee let it discharge completely..Doing brakes on them l disconnect both batteries and clear codes when done. Otherwise just opening drivers door will activate the brake actuator ...

 

[airshot]

The more battery "repairmen" we developed the more fires and explosions we can expect !! There have been more fires/ explosions with EV's than we ever had with the "Pinto's", and those were taken off the market !! When it is politically correct, I guess EV fires don't matter..

 

[stresspoint]

100% with ::airshot:: on that , these EV POS catch fire and send clouds of poisonous toxins into the environment.
i drove past one on the highway that was on fire , the fumes were so toxic that i had issues breathing for hours afterward , and not to mention that poisonous smell of the smoke..
even if they survive and don't explode , the deposal of the depleted battery / batteries will defiantly become a big environmental factor for the future people to deal with ,
this i doubt the powers that be are ever going to take into account or become accountable for the dumping / disposal of the worn out cars.

all the who ha about EVs and petrol/ EV hybrids is BS, yes , they are very powerful in some classes , however , in other classes the things are just false economy.
i would like to see someone charge one up on anything less than a 20kva generator

technology for hydrogen or fission energy will make the EV and hybrids shine , until then , I'm sticking to my quad cam V6 that gets 9-11 liter per 100 km that i can service and maintain without the need for a $3000 + service. and it is mostly recyclable
FWIW ,our tow car is a 2.8 liter DID turbo diesel that gets around the same as the V6 , fuel is cheaper (for the time being anyway) , and it has enough grunt to tow around 3 tone with not a lot of change to fuel consumption.
these cars will also be recyclable in the future without untold damage to our preciouses planet.

by all means , you guys that dive EVs and hybrids pat yourself on the back for using all that coal or the oil to make the solar panels to get electricity to make them run.
after all , you are saving the planet from the green house gasses petrol and diesel vehicles emit and replacing them with toxins and waste that will kill humans

 

[matt167]

Hybrid vs full electric is apples and oranges. You’re not using grid power with a hybrid. It uses a small battery pack and operates the engine with a generator as needed. Remove the battery, and now you have locomotive technology.. range extended electric is different as they can use grid power or operate as a hybrid.