Anybody Else own a Hybrid?

[GJarrett]

It may have dropped mpg a little by the time I retired it, but it was still 40-45. Like I said it never got below 40.

As I recall it actually weighed less than a ton. Most of the body panels were plastic. I could sit on the back bumper, slump down and grab the bottom of the bumper while I was facing backwards, and then dead lift it off the ground.... barely, but with all my strength I could do it. If I had ever gotten in an accident I would probably have been mashed like a pancake... there wasn't much to the car.

 

[dogfriend]

If I had ever gotten in an accident I would probably have been mashed like a pancake... there wasn't much to the car.

That is one reason that I bought the Prius to replace my former commute vehicle, a 93 Toyota Pickup. In the Pickup, my head touches the roof, my knees touch the door and the gearshift on each side, and my chest is only about 6 -7 inches from the steering wheel. No air bags, no ABS, no safety features besides a seat belt. That truck will probably last forever, but if I get in an accident with it I would likely die at the scene.

 

[gijoecam]

My parents have had a Hybrid Escape for a little over a year now... they were disappointed that it only gets 26 mpg on the way to Florida. Once there, however, they average 35mpg.

Personally, until the long-term battery issues are resolved, I'm not jumping on board (i.e. what do you do when your hybrid needs a $5000 battery change at 6 or 7 years old?? AutoZone isn't going to carry those...).

-Joe

 

[Tbars4]

i have noticed the new hybrids listing their city mpg noticably higher than their hwy mpg.....

 

[dogfriend]

Personally, until the long-term battery issues are resolved, I'm not jumping on board (i.e. what do you do when your hybrid needs a $5000 battery change at 6 or 7 years old?? AutoZone isn't going to carry those...).

-Joe

That seems to be one of the issues for most people, and I was concerned about it too, until I looked into it further. Here are some counter arguments to the battery issue:

1. Where I live (Calif) the battery warranty is 10 yrs / 150000 miles on the Prius. This is because it is considered to be part of the AT-PZEV emission equipment.

2. The battery is charged and discharged very conservatively to make sure that it is never overcharged or depleted. The HV ECU monitors battery state of charge (SOC) and battery temperature among other parameters. The system is designed to get maximum battery life (see argument 1 above) .

3. Although most of the Prius(es) don't have enough miles yet, there are some which do have high mileage (>200,000 miles) on the original battery. In particular, they are being used as taxis in Vancouver BC and some other cities and racking up the miles.

4. Currently, the cost of the battery pack for the 2nd Gen Prius is about $3k list. There are some other sources which may be a little cheaper. If the battery fails at 151,000 miles, the way I see it, I will have saved enough gas @ $3 /gal to afford another one.

5. With the amount of Prius(es) on the road in Calif, I wouldn't be surprised if Autozone starts carrying them in a few years.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I was surprised to see a Prius taxi today. It was gray, not yellow, with taxi license plates.

 

[dogfriend]

i have noticed the new hybrids listing their city mpg noticably higher than their hwy mpg.....

The reason that the city mpg is higher is because the electric motor and battery are used more at slower speeds. It is possible to run completely from the electric motor at speeds up to 41mph. In stop and go traffic, the gas engine (aka ICE or Internal Combustion Engine) will shut down and you don't burn any fuel until traffic starts moving again or until the battery needs to charge.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Why can't an Optima deep cycle battery replace one of the special batteries in that car? I know that the red top isn't made for deep cycling, but the yellow, and blue top could deep cycle. I've found them to be very sensitive to power surges, and overcharges. This could ruin them very quickly. Is the battery in there an AGM (absorbed glass mat) like the Optima?

 

[dogfriend]

They make really good taxis. I think that some taxi companies are using the Ford Escape Hybrid too.

 

[dogfriend]

Why can't an Optima deep cycle battery replace one of the special batteries in that car? I know that the red top isn't made for deep cycling, but the yellow, and blue top could deep cycle. I've found them to be very sensitive to power surges, and overcharges. This could ruin them very quickly. Is the battery in there an AGM (absorbed glass mat) like the Optima?

The 12V accessory battery is a AGM type battery. The HV battery is a NiMH battery pack with several cells in series to make 201.6 V. A lead acid battery would be too heavy for the HV battery.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Do you have any pictures of the battery pack? How big is it? I think it's located under the rear seat. I wouldn't be surprised if there would be a new market for these batteries like car stereos, air bags, even catalytic converters (from what I've read in another recent thread). Wouldn't lithium ion technology have more output current than the nickel metal hydride batteries?

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

all you need to know about hybrids --> no touchy the orange wire.

seriously though, while ive yet to be in a prius, although ive been around a couple, hybrid technology in general is really amazing.
The main problem is people need to drive the vehicle with a certain hybrid mentality, wich you seem to be doing.
youd be suprized how many people complain that thier hybrid gets <22 MPG while their flooring it on the highway all day long.

I dont know about the prius battery, but i had the carpet out of an rx400h yestarday, and i was suprised how small it is. fits in the area under the rear seat

 

[dogfriend]

Do you have any pictures of the battery pack? How big is it? I think it's located under the rear seat. I wouldn't be surprised if there would be a new market for these batteries like car stereos, air bags, even catalytic converters (from what I've read in another recent thread). Wouldn't lithium ion technology have more output current than the nickel metal hydride batteries?

Here are some pictures of the 2004 to 2007 HV battery:

HV Battery Info:

99 Pounds total
NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) type
28 Modules total
6 Cells within each Module
168 Cells total
1.2 Volts in each Cell
6.5 Ah total
201.6 Volts total

Rumors are that the next gen Prius will have a Lithium Ion battery.

 

[Maniak]

We looked into a hybrid before we got our mustang. We each drive at least 70 miles per day (each vehicle) just for work and will put 200 miles on a vehicle over the weekend just going into town and back a couple times

We looked at the mileage gains and compared it to the cost difference and figured that since most of our driving is on the freeway, and the mileage of a hybird on the freeway is no better than (if not worse than) other same sized car that we wouldn't make up the difference in price before we wore out the car. We just couldn't justify paying a $5k premimum to get hybrid that doesn't get any better mileage than a honda civic (freeway) that has a $3k+ wear item that may or may not last 4 years for us (150k+ miles for us)

We have an 18 month old 2006 mustang (v6) that already has 50k miles on it (we gave up on the small car idea since 25mpg average city/highway is good enough at the time of $2.25/gallon gas).

~Mark

 

[IZwack]

Maniak -- did you factor in the tax breaks for having an alternative fuel vehicle?

 

[Maniak]

yea.. that brought the price back to almost the same as a civic.. we just couldn't get over the "new technology", expensive wear item, for almost no gain..

Of course, we got to hear of a horror story (when we were lookign) of someone having bad batteries after a 2 years and having to pay $5k for a replacement set which didn't sit well.

They are getting better, and if we lived in the city a hybrid could be a posibility, but out where we live, its 11 miles to the closest store (quickmart).. At one time the closest gas station (heading towards town) was almost 20 miles away.

~AMark

 

[dogfriend]

Highway mileage is still pretty good. We made a trip down south to the San Diego Zoo, Disneyland, etc. We averaged 46 mpg traveling 70 -75 mph most of the time.

My understanding is that mileage will improve as the car accumulates more miles up to about 10k. I have almost 3400 miles now.

I bought my car during the time when the tax credit was $1575, so I will get this back on my 2007 return. The tax credit was cut in half on Mar 31, so it is now $787.50 from now till June.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You really put a lot of miles on. I put about 50 miles a week on my van (all stop, and go driving). All of the local highways where I live have an average speed limit between 25-50 MPH. You have to go far out of NY to get a speed limit of about 65 MPH. Most vehicles here in NY have city mileage except for people which work in NJ. The average person doesn't own anymore. Everything is a 2 or 3 year lease. I would rather stick with an old vehicle which is mine instead of making hefty lease premiums, then have to give it back. Leasing is just like having a long term rental. They charge a fortune for over mileage.

 

[dogfriend]

You really put a lot of miles on. .

I'm not sure if this was directed at me or Mark, but almost everyone in Calif drives a lot.

My roundtrip to work and back is 24 miles a day, which is not far compared to most. Some of my former coworkers (including the guy with the Classic Prius) had about a 90 - 100 mi commute. One of my coworkers has a 120 mi commute (I've been telling her she needs to either move or get a different job for years )

I tend to drive a lot on weekends, especially because my dad lives 45 miles away and he is by himself now. I try to make it up there at least every other weekend.

 

[BrooklynBay]

The mileage comment was originally for Mark, but I guess both of you put a lot of miles on. What was the most amount of mileage both of you ever put on a vehicle?