Kia Niro Hybrid & PHEV Thread

couldn't find that anywhere. You sure that is true on the Niro? Thought I heard 3.3 somewhere.

 

well, that's not like you. And that's a compliment.

That said, I checked wiki on the topic, to no avail.
Segeay .... with the recent realization that so many plug-in hybrids have virtually no capacity loss warranty, it should make one wonder ..... are there in fact, any phev's that do actually have capacity loss warranties?
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The Prime has DC charging in Japan. The grid and residential electric are different than most other places. Making home charging slower.

Likely because of cost, and the fact research showed the majority og gen1 Volt owners never installed Level 2 charging at home.

I don't how much such a warranty would be worth. Emission and hybrid battery warranties mean that these packs have a decent buffer of capacity that is unused most of the time. It would be easy to hide any total capacity loss from most people by dipping into that buffer.

 

just thinking of @bisco - who has noticed loss of ev PiP range over the years. If this follows suit - it may well be that prime owners meet w/ the same exasperating fate in the not too distant future. Maybe other phev owners as well.
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I didn't, but neither is a precedent to set our follow anyway.

It's the degree to which something ages. Eventually, everything shows it. The focus should be on what to expect and when.

What percentage after how many years is considered "normal" aging?

 

for those who use their phev as a phev, 15% loss is no big deal. for those of us using it mostly in ev, you get used to the initial range, and are disappointed when you can't reach the places you used to without the engine.
like all things, you get used to it, and it wouldn't stop me from buying a prime.
but even in a bev, i would only plan on 80% of published range, and buy accordingly.

 

That's just a wild guess, based on assumptions from early-adopter purchases. In reality, we have no idea what the situation will be +7 years from now.

Think about how many more charging-stations will be available. If you can easily plug in to top off, what's the problem with some normal age-related degradation? After all, capacity fluctuates more than that each Winter anyway.

Think about how compelling the new choices will be +7 years from now too. We've seen other families use the older Prius as a hand-me-down, using that as a great excuse to purchase a next-gen offering. Why would this be any different?

Think about how inexpensive the option to upgrade the existing battery-pack could be. We are already seeing Nissan & BMW experiment with used packs. The capacity remaining is quite sufficient for other needs. After all, a trade-in program would be a new source of revenue for legacy automakers.

 

In a discussion about EV conversions, and how much battery capacity to install, someone mentioned the rule of thirds. You want enough range that a third covers your daily trip out, a third for the trip back, and third to cover unplanned errands, weather, battery aging, etc.

 

that's one way to look at it. for some, another might be, how do i cover the weekly trip that is x times my normal use.

 

upgrade to the pip battery? i'm all ears.

 

that is the granny charger (slow charger) in the uk the one that plugs into a 13 amp wall socket

 

And some would call a weekly trip regular use

 

that's how i would do it. otherwise, it's a phev or two cars. does seem like a waste of battery size though.

 

Shallower discharging on the days that aren't the big weekly trip might extend the battery's life, or perhaps the extra capacity would allow skipping a night of charging.

 

but paying for it and hauling it around 6/7 of the time is inefficient.

 

once a week for us

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any warnings from tesla about not leaving the battery charged and unused for long periods of time?

 

Nothing absolute, just to not normally store near the 20 miles at the top or the 20 at the bottom.
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Same with a PHEV's engine. An Al-air battery for a range extender might be a better solution.

They probably have instructions for long term storage after a collector bricked a Roadster's battery.