Featured As gas prices have dropped, so have owner's EV/hybrid loyalty

oil prices could drastically change overnight.

But to be fair, non-hybrids have gotten very efficient.

 

People buy, sell and trade vehicles for an infinite number of reasons...not just to obtain the highest MPG.

 

it's typical nimby syndrome. they believe that it applies to someone else, not them.

 

Back in February we sold our 2004 Sienna because we had bought a 2016 Highlander Hybrid. In 2017 we plan on replacing my wife's Mini Countryman with a Chevy Bolt. She'll then drive the PiP and I'll use the Bolt for commuting to work. I've wanted a full EV for a while, and the allure of cheap gas hasn't dissuaded me from that goal.

 

likewise.

 

The Volt hasn't suffered the same range degradation as the Leaf I think largely because it's liquid cooled as opposed to air cooled that the Leaf uses. I can hear my Volt making funny gurgling noises when it's really hot. Later found out it was because the Volt's battery management is taking care of things on its own without any input on my end. It also doesn't use its full battery capacity, nor does it drain it all the way, much like the Prius does, which helps longevity.

Erick Belmer has driven his 2012 Volt over 300,000 miles now, of which 100,000 was on electric. He's said the only thing he needed to replace was the front wheel bearings, probably due to potholes from living in Ohio, and the radiator, because he was behind a truck carrying gravel, and one slipped into the grille and hit it. There's a cheap metal screen you can buy to keep those big rocks out though. Aside from this though, he's said the car's been flawless.

He says he still gets the same 35 miles of EV range now as he did when he first bought it. Many others with high mileage, like 80k+, have stated similarly. Google "sparkie volt" to see his latest stats.

I wouldn't touch the Leaf in a hot climate though. Those have been shown to suffer premature degradation and significant range loss, mostly because Nissan cheaped out on the thermal management system. Kind of hard to cool a hot battery if the surrounding air is also hot.

 

it's time nissan looked into a/c.

 

He's closing in on 110,000 EV already.

 

this is nice, but this is just 4 years. IMHO, the main limitation is time. it takes about 10 years for prius batteries to start failing in hot climate regardless of miles. I'm thinking Li will be similar, but much harder to replace.

 

Why do you think Li-ion would be harder to replace?

 

have you priced the replacement cost (including labor)? I'm afraid it will be cost prohibitive.

 

Costly is different than difficult. A larger pack is going to cost more no matter the chemistry.
It is probably easier for a car shop equipped with lifts to remove a Volt pack than a Prius one. The battery is accessible from the underside of the car, and can be dropped out with run of the mill transmission jacks. Now under the rear seat, getting to the pack got easier in the new Prius, but a person or two still have to lift it out of the car. I'm guessing the Prime's pack will be a real PITA.

 

According to these posts:

$3,500 Replacement Battery confirmed
and
P0AF8 and Volt needs a new battery module

an out of warranty Volt battery replacement looks to be around $4400 including labor. This was with a refurb'd battery pack, with the old one being returned to GM for refurbishment.

 

this sounds inexpensive until you realize those refurbished units are basically used batteries. to put things in perspective, there is a PC member who refurbishes prius HV batteries for $500.

 

i have to replace my electric golf cart batteries at 10 years for $700., it's inevitable. if you're going to keep your prius long term, consider it part of depreciation, rather than a one time capital expense.

but again, these stories aren't going to convert any two dollar gas drivers.

 

And has demand for replacement packs for plugins grow, so will the number of independent businesses to refurbish the packs, and the price will drop more.

 

We spent $3200 to replace the traction battery in our 2005 Prius w/200k miles a couple of years ago. Death of pack was due to a seized engine. Had the engine not seized, the pack would've lasted until 250K miles easily. It was actually cheaper/easier to replace the engine ($2400) and battery than to find an equivalent used Prius.

 

Why did the engine seize? Did the car inform you there was an issue, and to stop driving on EV alone?

 

My son ignored the multiple warnings that the engine was low on oil. He won't make that mistake ever again. We suspect that the battery pack got stressed due to multiple attempts to start a seized engine. 2 of the cells of the pack reported voltages a good 1 volt or more lower than their neighbors, which threw a fault. Even after recharging the pack back to full, it was still throwing failed pack codes, so that's when we decided to replace the battery pack. We knew going in that we probably were going to have replace the battery pack as well as the engine.

 

kids!