Coastal EV mod purchasers: Customer service experience

I purchased the Coastal E Tech EV mod for it's ease of install and the stealth of not having a switch show. It takes about 2-3 seconds holding in the cc stalk. It works fine was delivered on time no waiting and no problems.

I would not buy their trailer hitch just because of the design and now by seeing the poor welds from others post. I do recommend the curt hitch no problems there.,Sorry I got off the original subject.


The EV mod is great have used it when shuffling cars in the drive. plus great for store parking lots.

bottom line is I had good luck /service/ whatever you want to call it from the Coastal E Tech mod.

Craig

 

My experience was 'ok'.

Order turn around was very quick (less than a week).

Their support appears to be non-existant... at least I got no reply to my email of a basic question.

 

All I can add here is the expereince was exactly what I would expect from an online transaction. Placed the order received an automated email and the EV Mod was delivered in 4 days. No human interaction and the product worked and installs just as described. (I'm sure this is what they hope for as it seems they are poor in dealing with customers who have issues or questions)

Overall its a nice mode thats easy to install and works as advertised.

 

In April '05 I purchased the Auto-Lock and the NAV kit (pre-order). I got the Auto-Lock in September '05 and the NAV kit in January '06.

I ordered the EV mod in February '06 and got it 8 days later.

To me, if it's in stock it's quick and if it isn't, be prepared to wait. I didn't have to deal with their tech support

 

Oh, c'mon, I've still got a few of my pin-on-wire mod kits left from
last year. Keep your money, we'll get you fixed up at Hybridfest.
You wanna supply your own pushbutton, or should I dig around for one?
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ May 15 2007, 11:52 AM) [snapback]442449[/snapback]</div>

I'm interested. I can get my pushbutton from the shack.

 

I received my Coastal Tech EV switch in their very first shipment of the first production run, after they had finished beta-testing and made mods to the earlier beta version.

I had to wait a month or so, because I had ordered it before it was actually fully developed. But rather than ship a beta version, they waited until they had all the bugs out. I think this would have been late summer or fall of 2004.

They answered the phone every time I called and were extremely helpful. It sounds from other people's experience as though this has changed, but my experience was great and my satisfaction was 100%. The device was hard for me to install, as I am not mechanically inclined, but I got it in and it has worked perectly ever since.

I like the Coastal Tech mod on the c/c stalk because I can engage and disengage it without taking my eyes off the road or my hand off the wheel. I frequently find myself driving in a residential neighborhood with a lot of stop signs with the car not warm enough to shut off the ICE. I use the ICE to accelerate to 25 mph and then use the EV switch to shut it off while I cruise to the next stop, and then use the switch to turn the ICE back on to accelerate again. Thus I may be using the switch a dozen times in a mile: once to start and once to stop at every stop sign. It therefore makes a big difference having it on the c/c stalk rather than up under the dashboard.

I highly recommend the Coastal switch. I am aware that other people have other preferences. Your own habits and preferences will determine which version will be best for you. Keep in mind that is is very seldom advisable to try to stay in EV mode for long periods. And worse to put it in EV mode and leave it there until the battery runs so far down that the ICE starts up on its own. That probably lowers your mpg.

 

I ordered it, they shipped it, I installed it, it works. That's the extent of my experience with Coastal. The only thing that irks me is occasionally not knowing whether or not I'm in EV mode since our cars don't have the handy indicator. It would be simple with the push button that Hobbit has offered but questions come up since you have to hold the cruise control stalk for 2-3 seconds before it grounds that pin. Truth be told, I may swap mine out for a little red button some day.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brick @ May 17 2007, 12:06 PM) [snapback]444253[/snapback]</div>

Same here. From what I've seen around here, if you want/need any questions answered, you are better off asking them here at PriusChat. Many PriusChat users have become the defacto support for Costal. It also seems from what I've seen around here that if it is determined that you have a defective Costal EV device, they are pretty good about replacing it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brick @ May 17 2007, 12:06 PM) [snapback]444253[/snapback]</div>

When the ICE is already off, and I want to be sure that I've activated EV, I use the NAV/Energy screens as an indicator, since the MFD switches to the Energy screen when EV is enabled.

1) Switch to NAV screen.
2) Hold c/c cancel until MFD switches to Energy screen.
3) Let go of c/c cancel

I haven't yet found an equivalent method for ensuring that I cancel EV mode. Anyone here have any suggestions?

 

As I've said in other threads on this, I like the immediacy of a
direct button. [Wherever it winds up mounted.] Reason: before I'm
in stage 4, I use it like I would the go-pedal to shut down -- right
when backing my foot off for a glide. Then, toggle again to re-light
the engine when I need to go. I'll do this for as long as needed
until I finally get the opportunity to move to stage 4. Sometimes
that doesn't happen for the entire trip, so it's EV on, EV off, EV
on, EV off as needed. At that point, engine/drivetrain behavior is
no different from as it would be in normal stage 4 operation, so it
*is* saving me fuel at that point. But that's by resisting the
temptation many folks have to just stay in EV and accelerate all
their battery zoobs [that's a technical term] away.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ May 17 2007, 02:26 PM) [snapback]444349[/snapback]</div>

Thats my biggest complaint with the 2 sec delay: using EV to glide during warm up then cancel EV to pulse. I sometimes end up using battery for longer than I should waiting for EV to cancel.

But for the topic at hand, I called in to ask if they had the EV mod in stock, they did, I ordered and got it within a week and am happy with the experience.

 

I ordered the EV mode from Coastal, received it within the same week, it was faulty, they sent a new one right away, installed it, and now works like a charm.
They've answered all my phone calls, and all my emails. There was only one phone call that wasn't answered within 24 hours - I left a message instead.
What can I say? I've ordered and installed most of their other mods (12v outlet bypass, Lockpick 3, xm offer, hitch, ev mode) and all works great, and their customer support has been good. No bad stories about them.

 

I ordered it, and I received it in under 2 weeks. I can't remember the actual timing, but it was nothing that raised my eyebrows. I really like their installation instructions, which were clear and illustrated well enough for me to accomplish installation in under 30 minutes with only a few cuts on my hands to show for it. (I actually still think of electicity and electronics as kind of a mystery, being a biology kinda science gal myself. )

I did just finally install a DICE iPod intgegration unit into my car and that was much more of a pain, because the instructions had such useful steps as "remove the stereo unit" without any instructions on how to do this. The Coastal was MUCH better.

I never needed customer service, so can't respond to that. I think we all hear the most from people who have bad experiences more than those who have positive or neutral interactions. It's the nature of forums on the net.