refusal to renew insurance policy

I heard a rumor that State Farm is going to start refusing to renew the insurance policy on any car that has had a plug-in conversion done to it. The reason supposedly has something to do with too many claims being filed on those cars. (I was unable to find out what kind of claims were being made.)

Has anyone heard about or experienced anything like that with State Farm or any other insurance company?

 

It may have been a misunderstanding. I think there was some confusion between normal cars that have been converted into hybrids and hybrid cars that have been converted into plug-in hybrids.

Lack of technology literacy can lead to communications errors.

 

Sue,

I'm glad you replied to my message.

Your reply means one of two things. Either State Farm routinely Googles its own name to keep an eye on what people are saying about them, OR State Farm routinely monitors groups like Prius Chat to read about the potentially unsafe driving practices that group members are talking about.

With that in mind, I'd like to provide a "guide to safe driving practices for the Hymotion Prius," based upon what I have learned with my Hymotion Prius.

1) Never drive any car while the car is in neutral. I actually tried this for a short while (as a way to keep the battery from charging too much on the way down my hill). Then, I read that it is considered unsafe and, in some states, is also illegal. I have since come up with an alternate way of driving down the hill and staying in EV mode.

First, I do what PeakOilGarage recommended. I start my car and wait for it to go into EV mode. (I don't have the CARB update.) Then, I switch off the Hymotion battery while I am still in my driveway. This still leaves the car in EV mode and allows me to use up some of the charge in the traction battery on the flat stretch before reaching the downhill stretch. Because of the terrain, my traction battery only goes down to about 50-55% before I start going down hill and charging it up again. If I don't run it down like this, it will charge up to over 80% on the way down the hill and a CCL (charge current limit) will kick me out of EV mode.

Then, halfway down the hill, I turn onto a level side street that has very little traffic. I monitor my SOC gauge (ScanGauge) until the SOC gets down to its normal value of about 62%. Then, I pull over safely and put the car in park. I turn off the power, turn on the Hymotion switch, and turn the power back on. I've found that this is the simplest and safest way to get the Hymotion system back on without letting the ICE (gas engine) start up. Then, I pull out and turn right at the next corner to go the rest of the way down the hill.

2) Never drive at unsafe speeds (too slow), just to stay in EV mode. I normally drive at about 29 mph, when the terrain is relatively flat. Fortunately, the speed limit is 30 mph for most of my commute. After stopping at a stop sign/light, I accelerate back up to speed at a rate that is perfectly reasonable and safe. Some people don't agree, but that's ok. They're entitled to their opinion.

As I've said before, the steepest hills on my way home require me to go no faster than 9 mph, if I want to stay in EV mode. Part of this steep road has a 45 mph speed limit and is 2 lanes, with no passing zones. Fortunately, I work 2nd shift and am not coming up this road until about 11 pm. So, I often make it all the way up the hill (at speeds ranging beteen 9 mph and about 20 mph) with nobody coming up behind me. This is perfectly safe for 2 reasons. First, I use my flashers, which you should always do when you are going significantly below the speed limit. Second, there are no street lights. So, it is dark enough behind me that I can see a car's lights when they are still pretty far back (even around a curve). That gives me plenty of time to either speed up to a more normal speed OR pull over (if I happen to be near a place where that is a safe thing to do).

The bottom line is that you should never get so hung up on staying in EV mode that you make unsafe decisions. You should always be prepared to accelerate out of EV mode when the situation calls for it. When I am going up my hill in the daytime, there is a lot more traffic. So, I don't use EV mode on the hill in the daytime.

You should never drive so slowly that you disrupt the flow of traffic. If everyone is passing you, you're probably going at a speed that is too slow to be safe.

Finally, you should NEVER try to drive on a freeway at 29 mph.

3) Be very careful to keep your eyes on the road, not on your Prius monitor or ScanGauge. Once you are familiar with your displays, it is perfectly safe to use them while driving. Just use quick glances at the displays and avoid the occasional temptation to stare at a number, waiting for it to change.

4) Be conscious of the fact that you are driving differently from the regular gas-hog. Other people may sometimes not expect you to go so easy on the pedal. Be sure to drive defensively and leave plenty of room between yourself and other cars.

5) Be cautious about doing additional modifications to your car. Make sure that you fully understand how the mod will affect your car's safety and reliability. For instance, I started putting a very weak (battery-powered) thermal blanket in the back of my car, hoping to help my traction battery stay warmer. The goal was to be able to use EV mode when the battery would normally be too cold to allow it. Fortunately, the blanket was too weak to work at all. I have since learned that uneven heating of the battery can cause a serious reduction in its lifetime. A really hot blanket would be a really bad idea.

I have considered grill-blocking with styrofoam pipe insulation. I even bought the insulation. At this point, the weather is getting warmer and I won't be trying it this year. The two main concerns with this are (1) that the insulation needs to be secured with zip ties or something so that it cannot fly out while you are driving and create a safety hazard and (2) that you have to closely monitor your engine coolant temperature and be prepared to stop and remove some of the grill blocking well before the engine reaches a temperature that could cause any kind of damage to the car.

6) When your Hymotion system was installed, there were items (spare tire, jack, etc.) that were removed from their normal secure locations. If you still carry these items in your car, make sure that they are secured in such a way that they do not become dangerous projectiles in an accident.

7) Does anyone else have any additions for my "guide to safe driving practices for the Hymotion Prius?"

Arthur