Plug-in Hybrid Technology Kits released

I think it would be cool if somebody were to produce a small battery vehicle with a detachable gas generator. Short trips, at home at night, detach generator and plug it in. Once in awhile when you want to take it on a long trip, reattach generator.

 

Is this what your looking for?

Generator trailer

 

i think he is looking for something much smaller than that... but it does sound like something gm would market

 

That might mean more to the rest of us if you took your Prius and did the conversion and let us know how well it worked out but I'm betting that you wouldn't do that for the same reason I won't: you have to take in to account the warranty because it covers the $8,000 cost of a new battery. If the conversion company was to give you an eight year, 100,000 mile warranty to replace the one that you'd be voiding with Toyota, that might make a difference but then you'd still be dealing with the current $10,000 cost of the system. Considering that Toyota doesn't recommend it anyway, since they are the ones who designed and built the Prius to begin with, I'm not seeing a positive side to doing the conversion, even when it comes down to $5,000. It's certainly something that I'd consider in eight years after the OEM warranty expires and if the original battery needed replacing. I definitely want to get away from gasoline completely but it's still not feasible at this time.

 

You mean the part where they said that Toyota would have to prove that the modification was the cause of the problem? Let's look at that aspect from a pragmatic point of view. First of all, Toyota wouldn't have to prove anything, you would. Something goes wrong with the car. You take it to the dealership who declares that the modification voids the warranty. What do you do? It's up to you to prove that the modification didn't damage the battery, the company that did the modification isn't going to stand behind you. You're stuck paying for everything that goes in to the repairs. You have to get an attorney to prove your case in court because that's where it's going to go. You pay for that. Your time and energy, which would be considerable, are also paid for by you. The company that did the conversion won't touch the car because they'd say that it wasn't their fault and what needs repairing isn't covered by their warranty if there is one because their warranty only covers their system, not Toyota's which is no longer covered because you voided the warranty. You end up spending a lot of money on top of the $5000 conversion to cover any of the costs associated with the problem and you are the one who has to do all of the legwork and put out all of the effort while the two companies say that it's not their problem. Maybe you'll eventually get the issue ruled in your favor and you might get back the money that you had to shell out in the meantime but is it really worth it? You'd really be stepping in to a quarmire so good luck with that.

 

no, the part of the article that states that no parts will be replaced, modified or altered from its current or intended use

iow, this is an add on mod

 

First of all as has been discussed before the battery is no where near $8000. Please show me a link with actual price of battery at $8000.

Secondly I could see darelldd doing the conversion himself, taking lots of pictures and posting them on his website.

 

A magazine article isn't enforceable though. Whether the modification replaces parts or not is not meaningful if Toyota says that it voids the warranty. Maybe they can be proven wrong but you'd be the one who had to defend yourself against their lawyers.

 

mrbigh mentioned that figure in an earlier post to this topic. You'll have to show it to yourself by going back to the first page. Whether it's $8000 or $6000, that's still a lot of money. Also, I look forward to the aforementioned self-conversion and the taking of lots of pictures as well as the copius journaling that would accompany them.

 

I found a dealership online that will sell it today, brand new, as many as you want to order, for $2388.10. MSRP is only $2985.13.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...005&catalogid=1

Not bad. I'm still trying to find a "module" price, though.

Anyway, it's not the battery to worry about, it's the PSD. What happens to its lifespan if the electric part is stressed more than expected over 100,000 miles? Hard to say. The battery? It should be fine, doing what it's meant to do. The PSD is another question. I suspect it will be fine, but only time will tell.

Nate

 

It would take a lot to hurt the PSD.. think most of your car will fail before it does.

 

I agree, the PSD is tough. It's definately worth the risk. I think the market for the plug-in kits will pick up as warranties run out. The PSD is only a few grand as well, but installation isn't easy like a new battery.

Nate

 

If Hymotion had made their 5 kWh pack out of the mature Lithium-ion battery format, 18650, the batteries alone would:

1) Weigh only 25 kg.

2) Cost only $1,500.

Which is a good bit cheaper than the $2,400 cost of the Prius 1.3 kWh NiMH battery, although of course that does not include the cost of their additional electronics.

 

I think they might have been getting it confused with this company that plans to charge $10k-$12k. (http://www.edrivesystems.com/faq.html) They will replace the whole battery with a new one (keeping your old one). If it goes to $5k like this company I will get it as long as they warranty the battery for the same time period as the original battery. Based on some quick calculations If it costs $5k and gets me an average of 150 MPG to my current 51 MPG, driving an avg of 1400 miles a month and gas goes to about $3.50 a gal then I will break even in 6.6 years. Not to mention the coolness factor. =D