Posts Tagged ‘hybrid cars’

Hybrid Car Myths

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

If you are thinking about a hybrid vehicle, you may be hearing quite a bit of “gossip”. Some people think the hybrid car is the best thing since sliced bread. Some people say it’ll just pass. Yet other people again say they think they can save a packet, but you’re not sure it’s really worth it. What’s the truth, and how do you separate fact from fiction with all of the stuff that is being said to you? Below, you can read and consider the usual hybrid car myths.

Hybrid cars are just the same as electric cars: This is not true because hybrid cars are fuel-powered for the most part. They have what are called ‘battery assists’. The assist is powered by a nickel-metal hydride battery pack that is rechargeable.

You are guaranteed to save money with a hybrid car: If you are doing town motoring, you may save gas and you may not. The same goes for highway driving. There are just many different factors. It has been said that if everyone bought hybrid cars, the gas consumption would drop by only 10%. That’s not a very big difference.

A hybrid vehicle’s battery can run flat: A hybrid car battery should not run out when you are actually driving it. The engine in a hybrid car does not idle when stopped (at a red light for instance). What does it do then? Well, it recharges its battery. So there’s no need to worry about a hybrid car stopping on that score.

The hybrid vehicle’s rechargeable battery only lasts for two years: A hybrid vehicle certainly would not be worth purchasing if this was the case. A hybrid vehicle’s rechargeable batteries usually come with an 8-year guaranty.

If I run out of gas, I can continue driving on the hybrid car battery: Keep in mind, a hybrid car’s battery is an assist. That means that hybrid car’s still run on fuel. After you run out of gas, the battery could keep the car running for a short while. However, the car will cease running pretty soon.

Hybrid vehicles will soon put normal car dealers out of business: I’m sure that this won’t happen anytime soon. The reason for the delay has to do with the how much a hybrid cars cost. Many people simply can’t afford one. Furthermore, people just aren’t too sure whether they will actually save money on a hybrid car. Therefore, they are slow to join the rush of people who want to own a hybrid car.

Hybrid cars will only save you about $88 a year: I did hear something on the news about this one day, but it may be untrue. If there’s something you really want though, and there’s a lot of smoke surrounding it, you simply have to start digging and do some of your own research. There are many different models of hybrid vehicle, and many different manufacturers make them. This means that there may be many more variables involved than the ones discussed here. A hybrid car may help you, and it may not, but the final decision is all yours.

So, please don’t worry a great deal about what other people tell you. They probably have only heard others passing on rumours. Do your own research and think it out for yourself. Try the Internet to get your information. The manufacturer’s literature is also quite useful, if you stick to reading the facts and skip over the hype. Check that whatever the literature claims is also in the guarantee.

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Hybrid Car Battery Packs Info

Monday, May 11th, 2009

Those considering purchasing a hybrid car may be more than a little concerned about what is under the hood. Hybrid cars have partially battery-powered motors. Since a battery-powered motor is not something that typically comes to mind when people think about what’s driving a car, it’s a good idea to get a good understanding of hybrid car battery packs. Below you will find a few facts about them.

Hybrid car battery packs do not need to be replaced like torch batteries do. They are made to last over the lifetime of the vehicle, and therefore a hybrid car’s guarantee covers the battery pack for a time period that lasts between eight and ten years. In terms of mileage, a hybrid car battery pack is expected to last between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, and it probably will last even longer than that.

The toxicity of hybrid car battery packs is a worry, but not a major problem, since hybrid car batteries use NiMH batteries, not the cheaper rechargeable nickel cadmium ones. Nickel cadmium batteries can be detrimental to the environment if not disposed of professionally, but the NiMH batteries that are used in hybrid car battery packs are safe and fully recyclable.

Hybrid car battery packs consist of hundreds and hundreds of cells. Several hundred cells means that hybrid cars have a complex battery structure beneath their bonnets, and, it is true, complexity usually translates into expensive, but with the generous guarantee hybrid car manufacturers are giving on their vehicles, there is not much risk of additional massive expense from the battery pack involved in buying a hybrid car.

The number of hybrid car battery pack failures reported has been really very low. When I say low, I mean negligible. If failure does happen, it is usually before the hybrid car even leaves the salesman’s garage. Toyota has even stated that some of its first Prius hybrid models have battery packs that have gone more than 300,000 miles.

The cost of replacing hybrid car battery packs isn’t really even an issue It isn’t an issue because the hybrid car battery packs are built to last. The Department of Energy looked into hybrid cars, but stopped its test when the capacity was “just like new” after 160,000 miles. So very few people really seem to know for sure what it costs to replace hybrid car battery packs.

Hybrid car battery packs are evolving very quickly. If we look into the near future, we can see the next generation of hybrid car batteries is already in development. The goal is, naturally, to develop the technology so that it gives loads of power, outlives the hybrid car’s lifetime, and costs less to make than it does today.

If your hybrid car battery pack does run out, there is an easy solution. Toyota has put out some advice on what to do, should your hybrid battery pack run out after the guarantee has expired. Their advice is to have the battery reconditioned. This solution works well because if something does go wrong, the problem usually lies with only one of the 28 modules that make up the battery.

So, if you simply replace the problematic module with one that matches the chemistry of the other hybrid car battery pack’s 27 modules, your hybrid car’s battery should be back to new(ish). You can find a matching module by getting a battery pack from another car that has a similar mileage and age.

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