Today I was visiting one of my clients, a Ford dealership. We got on the subject of Hybrids. One of the sales people told me that with a hybrid if you roll over, rescuers cannot come and get you because they might get electrocuted and you cannot take a hybrid through the car wash for the same reason. I told her I had a Prius and had brought it through a car wash and nothing happened. She said I was damn lucky. So, is there any truth to that? I would say no because no one told me about it. And I think those would be important things to bring up. So any truth to it?
No truth to it. If anything happens the battery is de activated from the system from inside the battery. if anything happens, power is cut.. plain and simple. Nobody would be allowed to release a car that could not be washed.. you could dunk the car in water if you want, nothing should happen. The short circut lines are line ones in your bathroom. if it grounds out, even to water.. it's power is cut off.
Maybe that's why I get a tingle every time I wash the car... Babs, you need to dye your hair another color... 8)
Found this on a city government website which discusses rescuing people in a Prius. Here's the link for any interested in more detail: hybrid rescue
Fiction. Think about it. Why the hell would manufacturers build a car that would electrocute you? How come no one brought this up with electric cars? Besides, every car has electricity running through it. Yeesh :roll:
I know of 2 Prius that have been caught in flash-floods where the water level came up beyond the hood. Nothing happened to the people inside... besides just getting wet. The electrocution claim is pure fiction, no fact at all.
Maybe the fact that it was a "Ford Dealership" should clue you in on how (and why) this is BS :mrgreen:
The Prius automatically disconnects the high voltage battery in a crash. Car washes are perfectly safe, I've taken mine through numerous times. No car should be driven through water depper than about 1-3 inches, unless it is an offroad vehicle. Several of my former MINI friends trashed their engines in situations like that through hydro-lock (engine aspirates water which is not compressible into cylinders, and that's the end of the engine). Overall, the Prius is engineered with safety in mind. It has excellent crash ratings, and my guess is that it is a much safer car overall than just about any Ford vehicle, in particular trucks or SUVs.
Well, now that we've cleared up that the hybrid can't shock people, wouldn't it be great if it could? You know, with an MFD display allowing a driver to shoot out bolts of lightning at unscrupulous or intentionally uninformed dealers? A keyfob control option would be good, too. YOU: I've been forced to come to this Ford dealership, and I accidentally made a salient point about hybrids. DEALER: If you take a hybrid through a car wash you'll die. [YOU press a button on your fob.] PRIUS: ***ZOT*** DEALER: Ow! [Pause.] DEALER: See what I mean?
Based on in the same way that the Toyota V8 is based on the Lincoln V8? As in, not at all other than some superficial similarities?
Well, lets put it this way: it was so similar, Ford decided to license the technology rather than go through the possibility of a patent infringement lawsuit.
And car dealers lament that they are not trusted. How can you be trusted when untruths about your product, and other's products are spewed with such great ease? I find this entirely interesting because Ford is going forward with realistic Hybrid technologies at a faster and more progressive pace than any of the other domestic manufacturers combined.
Its all true. Up here in the PNW we have all had to park our Prii and walk since the rain returned. Nope no one can drive their cars. You can see them out there on the side walk with their fobs in their hand praying to the Prius gods for the rain to go away. That is why it has been so dry up here, all of those Prius drivers who have been praying for dry weather! :mrgreen:
Since this Ford dealer is a client of yours, I guess you can't afford to p*** them off in any way. Here is how I would have responded: 1. Airbags have killed in accidents, primarily children who were riding in the front seat. 2. Airbags have also killed EMT and rescue workers, who inadvertently triggered an undeployed airbag module during extraction. 3. Speaking of Ford's, how about all those cops burned to death when their Crown Vic burst into flames after being rear-ended? Hmmm, Ford still chose to put the fuel tank between the rear axle and the bumper. 4. Last but not least ... Ford Pinto ring any bells? How many croaked due to those rolling bombs? If any of that bulls*** you heard was true, don't you think that by now there would have been a special on 60 Minutes or Dateline or some other news show??
Well I knew the car wash was BS, but I wasn't sure about the rescue stuff. I brought it up to my Toyota Dealer client and they laughed about the car wash stuff, but when I told them about the rescue they said, oh well that's true, sort of. So Tony in service told me all about the precautions taken with the jaws of life and a Prius. I'd really rather not tick off my Ford Dealers, I have 4 of them as clients. Of course I get picked on my a lot of my dealers about my car, mostly the domestic dealers, but some are cool with it and want more information about it. And it's funny how many of them think I need to plug it in. You'd think car dealers regardless of make would know about hybrids. And in case you are wondering why I have a lot of car dealers as clients it's because I do automotive marketing for local dealers.
There appears to be a *huge* misconception over how the HV battery works in the Prius. First of all, the cables that carry the power to the front of the car are not "live" all the time. Relays - normally open - have to be energized to close and complete the circuit. If at any point there is electrical leakage due to a short, the Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter will open and kill the circuit. If the SRS airbags deploy the relays are de-energized. Anyway, there is an official Emergency Response Guide at Toyota and other EMS sources: http://techinfo.toyota.com/public/main/2ndprius.pdf As far as unique hazards, a passenger and especially an EMS / First Responder has far more to fear of the seat and curtain airbags. Special training is required for a First Responder before safely working on *any* airbag-equipped vehicle. Please read my point from the previous post I made. Ford fuel tank explosions have killed occupants in rear-end collisions. And in *every* vehicle out there with SRS airbags, there is a distinct and immediate danger from an undeployed airbag module. Yeah, I guess you can't get into a p***ing contest with your "client." However I would be more than pleased to do so. I just finished my taxes and am in an appropriately sour mood. If your Ford dealer gave me a comment like he gave you, I'd respond with something that rhymes with "duck shoe." And you can quote me on that too!
One of the first things rescuers do is cut both battery cables with bolt cutters to de-energize the electrical system. I think the fear is from the question, "where do I cut the HV cables"? There are now many dangers, from HID lamps, airbags, hybrid batteries... and that old standby, the gas tank! no doubt the hybrid system is one more thing to worry about, but with training required now anyway, it's not a burden.
I heard a long time ago.. ya know when dinosours roamed the earth.. or last year that once the cables are cut into a little.. or shorted out (basically touched) the system de activates from the battery. So... crash where any cables are shorted, it's cut. The system kind of work like a house GFI... GFIs are used in areas where water is present. It detects the short and stops it before you can be electricuted. I'm guessing the prius has a system simular that watches the electricity flowing through the car. Anything unordinary? cuts it. hmm.. watch out for lightning storms! :wink:
