I am an intermediate school teacher. Today was career day at my school, and one of the guest speakers was a Hyundai engineer. Because I am passionate about " clean transportation," I asked when Hyundai plans to produce a hybrid vehicle. His response was that Hyundai is testing a hybrid at present, but does not like the liability that comes with hybrid vehicles. After further questioning, he stated that hybrids are risky because they have the potential for real safety problems when they charge. He was vague, and I didn't want to press him in front of my students, but I told him I had never heard of any safety issues related to hybrid battery charging. His response was, "That's just it, you never hear about it." He went on to say hydrogen was the alternative fuel of the future. NEED I SAY MORE!!! I love my Prius, and I wanted to debate this gentleman on the spot, but it was not the place, and I am not an engineer. Are there any safety problems related to hybrid battery charging? Do automobile manufacturers view hybrid vehicles as a safety liability at this stage of development? I appreciate any information this knowledgeable forum can give me. Thanks in advance for your time and responses. *** (Footnote) My Prius is the perfect car for me untill I can get a plug - in. I am a Prius disciple, and I confess to being ill equiped today! I need this information so that next time I can rebuke the evil disinformation disseminator.
my guess.... have you ever taken a rechargeable battery from it's station? They were charged slowly and they remain warm. If you have a huge battery in the back of a car, you need a huge system to keep that warm during charged and any other condition. Have you seen how much room is taken from the Camry Hybrid, the Lexus GS, and the LS hybrids? They may not want to sacrifice space on that issue. Seamless integration...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(V8Cobrakid @ Feb 24 2007, 12:02 AM) [snapback]395661[/snapback]</div> Yeah, but that doesn't sound like a safety issue.
Maybe Hyundai was using LiIon batteries from Sony and they caught fire. While NiMH, which the Prius uses, doesn't have the charge density of LiIon, it doesn't spontaneously combust either. As you may know from reading the many threads on State Of Charge (SOC) of the traction battery, Toyota goes to great lengths to keep the HV battery in a happy middle state. Hybrids have no special safety liability. I crept past a flaming Ford Exploder, er, Explorer, on the side of the freeway a while back. When was the last time you heard of a flaming Prius?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(owl20 @ Feb 23 2007, 11:38 PM) [snapback]395652[/snapback]</div> I'm not an engineer but IMO this EDD is just spreading FUD. I don't know the total number of hybrids sold by every manufacturer but with some 7 years of sales I believe there are no additional safety problems. There are dangerous things in every car. This is why there are labels warning against sticking your hand in whirling fan blades and releasing pressure on a hot radiator. For the Prius I would add: Don't touch orange stuff and don't spray water in the engine compartment. All cars when moving charge batteries. The Prius charges batteries more often than we can count. If this guy thinks hydrogen is the fuel of the future maybe he should find a job at GM.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bill Merchant @ Feb 24 2007, 12:22 AM) [snapback]395673[/snapback]</div> You're just showing your intolerance for non-hetero Prii...charge and let charge, I say.
What kind of engineer was he? I suspect he's worked on systems completely unrelated to propulsion, so he has no idea what he's talking about.
Sounds like a typical GM automotive engineer who doesn't understand batteries or electicity. Car companies need to either be lucky to have flexible open minded engineeers, or hire new ones to convert to electric vehicles. This is the main reason we have so few thus far.
Ah, well, after my experiences with Hyundai vehicles, the liability is they will loose a lot of sales to hybrids. Hyundais get very poor mileage in my experience, compared to other similar vehicles, such as say, Hondas.
This is really a fantastic car!! Especially when I am coming into town and see that brown cloud hovering over congested areas. I'm glad, especially when stopped at a light; producing ZERO emmissions. I'm glad, by using this vehicle, I reduce pollution. Pollution which contributes to the plethora of illness' related to hydrocarbon combustion... I really think korean engineering lacks the expertise and knowledge base required to put together a Prius type vehicle: HSD, regenerative braking, PZEV... I have strong reservations about compressing a highly flamiable gas and placing aboard motor vehicles. Lastly, The prius has high current/voltage running front to back and vise versa(highly visible orange cables). It's something to think about when and if you do self maintence more complicated than brakes/oil/filters. And even then, there are protocals which allow for safe working conditions. I feel the engineer who spoke was full of it. The pressure on the success of this car is full court. Any issues regarding liability or poor safety are at best remote. There surely would be an expose. As NPR reported the NFB issue( http://www.nfb.org/Images/nfb/Audio/Nearly...he_Blind%20.mp3 ). So enjoy this car, it gives so much to tommorows generations. And thanks for being a teacher!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ZenCruiser @ Feb 24 2007, 05:34 AM) [snapback]395760[/snapback]</div> Not me! But the Exploder was flaming.
If only the automakers would accept all the liability of the freaking GASOLINE cars that they happily deploy, we'd be in GREAT shape. I dare say that an automaker *without* a hybrid in the race at this stage of the game has some serious things to be concerned with. Safety of hybrids is not one of them.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(owl20 @ Feb 23 2007, 08:38 PM) [snapback]395652[/snapback]</div> When was the last time you heard about ANY Toyota catching fire or rolling over or ... fill in the blank. I don't think I'm living in a case but I've never heard of that. When I think of Fires, Explosions, and Rollovers I think of Fords, GM, Mitsubishi and Suziki. Lastly. The guy doesn't know what he is talking about outside the company he works for. Just because they don't see to be able to come out with a safe hybrid doesn't mean they can't be made. Ok. One last thing. Doesn't one or more Ford products use the Toyota hybrid system?
At least one version of the GM EV1 had a large bank of lead acid batteries. If those were charged incorrectly, there could be a significant probability of accumulating an explosive atmosphere of hydrogen gas. There may be some 'institutional memory' of this at GM or elsewhere in the engineering world. Those who have big battery banks on their wind or solar energy systems work under similar limitations. With good design and prudent operation, nobody blows up.
Actually, when I re-read the title of this thread: "Do car makers view hybrids as a safety liability?" I realized "Of course...those without hybrids to sell, certainly." When have you ever seen a salesman for product X recommend product Y? Very rarely. It's hard enough finding a salesman who doesn't badmouth product Y, Z, and Q because they're not from his company!
