Bitten the hybrid bullet!

[Burnerman]

That seems to be the general way......on the Yaris, there's a vehicle wheel display with the motors in place.
Red arrows shows the petrol engine working, yellow shows power going into the hybrid battery and green shows power leaving the hybrid battery to the front wheels.
Hard accelleration couples up the petrol engine and the front electric motor, and for sure the car does take off well.
Clearly it's all about saving fuel with this thing, and it's difficult not to become mesmerised by the power screen.
I noticed the absence of a towing eye, and called the dealer. The hybrids can't be towed with the wheels on the deck apparently, hence the omission.....any recovery has to have the front wheels lifted so maybe it can't be transported if necessary on a flat bed truck.
John

 

[johnny2007]

Wait until you get to your 3rd service and you'll be shocked.
I had a small aygo for a while and somehow all the things not included in the warranty need replacing at 12k miles.
Brakes, tyres, wipers, there was even a mention of the clutch but at that point I was laughing so hard the salesman couldn't finish with his list.
A £125 service was going to cost over £2k.
I told them to just do the service and they said they couldn't touch the car unless I did all the work needed.
I drove off.
MOT was due following month, so I took the car to my MOT centre where they don't do repairs, they only do mot.
I showed them the list and booked for the afternoon.
The car passed without any problem.
Everything they'd put on that list was a big fat lie.
Question is: how many people will drive away when a "mechanic" has told them the car is dangerous???

 

[Burnerman]

I've found similar issues with a Honda scheme, but every time I forbid the work to be done.
They quoted me £190 to fit a set of front pads Job done for £30 for Blueprint ones.
Honda HRV 19 plate 1.6 diesel, 5 year service plan included in the deal.
Mind you, I got a nice video of the car underside.......I ask you! Just change the naffing oil for gawds sake.
John

 

[JohnD]

So that's why they offer extended guarantee if you have them do your annual services.

 

[JohnD]

That seems to be the general way......on the Yaris, there's a vehicle wheel display with the motors in place.
Red arrows shows the petrol engine working, yellow shows power going into the hybrid battery and green shows power leaving the hybrid battery to the front wheels.
Hard accelleration couples up the petrol engine and the front electric motor, and for sure the car does take off well.
Clearly it's all about saving fuel with this thing, and it's difficult not to become mesmerised by the power screen.
I noticed the absence of a towing eye, and called the dealer. The hybrids can't be towed with the wheels on the deck apparently, hence the omission.....any recovery has to have the front wheels lifted so maybe it can't be transported if necessary on a flat bed truck.
John

I usually leave the power display off as a potential distraction. Today I left it on and was surprised, in slow traffic, that most of the time it was either running on the battery, or charging it on the overrun.

In winter the engine runs more as more electrics are on. There is no fanbelt, I can see the aircon compressor on the end of the engine, it might be electrically driven. It is not at the gearbox end. I can't see a waterpump.

 

[mointainwalker]

I

The petrol engine started up to get me out of the drive, (30 sec) and then stopped again - away I went using electric power.
Joining the main road and accelerating, the petrol engine came on again for maybe 1/2 mile and then cut back out - to be repeated on a regular basis.
I'm wondering how the catalytic converter is dealing with this!

John

Cat apart, what about all the other components in the system (valves, oil, exhaust ) that are going to be affected by very short spurts of combustion and the engine never really getting above ambient temperature ?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

It's OK, the person owning it from year seven or something can worry about all that.

 

[JohnD]

Probably be melted down by then, and replaced with a sodium fuel cell car with no ICE.

I wonder how easily the engines lift out.

 

[Burnerman]

Cat apart, what about all the other components in the system (valves, oil, exhaust ) that are going to be affected by very short spurts of combustion and the engine never really getting above ambient temperature ?

Absolutely, that sort of thing is against most engineering practice and very alien to me!
The fact that the car can have a 10 year warranty shows that they must have faith in their product.
Curiously, the recommended oil - far from being the traditional 5/30 C3, is in fact 0w /8. Never heard of that one but I can see why it needs to be so thin.
John

 

[flameport]

0w /8. Never heard of that one

Unobtainium oil = very likely someone uses something else, then it's an excuse to void the warranty.

10 years of 'servicing' costs by the main stealers would probably buy a new car anyway.

 

[Burnerman]

Pardon our interruption...

Seems to be made by many manufacturers!
John

 

[Avocet]

I noticed the absence of a towing eye, and called the dealer. The hybrids can't be towed with the wheels on the deck apparently, hence the omission.....any recovery has to have the front wheels lifted so maybe it can't be transported if necessary on a flat bed truck.
John

That's odd? It's a legal (type approval) requirement to have at least a front one (on any car, hybrid, EV, or otherwise). I suspect there will be an irritating pop-out piece in the front bumper or grille area (probably in line with one of the chassis longitudinals), behind which, there will be a captive nut. There should be a loose (and probably left-hand threaded) eye bolt somewhere in the back, with the jack. I suspect that's dealer BS, to be honest. My EV isn't supposed to be towed either, but still needs a towing eye - it's just for dragging them out of the way if they get stuck, rather than for towing them any distance.

 

[Avocet]

Absolutely, that sort of thing is against most engineering practice and very alien to me!
The fact that the car can have a 10 year warranty shows that they must have faith in their product.
Curiously, the recommended oil - far from being the traditional 5/30 C3, is in fact 0w /8. Never heard of that one but I can see why it needs to be so thin.
John

Yes, that's something I've wondered about too. Probably one of the worst things you can do to an engine - repeated cold starts and short runs. As you say, Toyota will have done their sums and passed their type approval tests, so the cat must still be able to "light up" in time to pass the emssions test, and the engine must be able to cope with it for a decade, if that's the warranty they're offering, but it really "goes against the grain" for me too! I've never really liked the idea of hybrids much - a sort of "worst of both worlds" solution, but they do seem to work!

 

[Diver Fred]

Our Honda (Half-electric) Jazz has a range of about 3 miles on pure electric power - a 0.7KW battery pack. Certainly makes a difference to fuel economy, up 10MPG from the previous one. What is a talking point is the in-town (stop/start) economy - it's better than the open road.

Engine does get warm - the heater produces heat, certainly enough to keep my 'always cold' wife warm and happy.

 

[JohnD]

Pardon our interruption...

Seems to be made by many manufacturers!
John

I couldn't find a local supplier with stocks. I like to keep a litre in the boot. The price is ludicrous. The manual does say that if unavailable, you can top up with other grades but you should use the recommended one at oil change.

It might be for the fuel economy ratings though rather than engine protection.