When I bought my Model 3 I considered hybrids. I decided against them because they are more complex than ICE vehicles or EVs. The owners of the repair shop we use for our Odyssey are concerned about their business if there are too many BEVs on the road because BEVs need far less maintenance that the ICE cars they work on.
Rolls-Royce has unveiled their new hybrid system for Europeâs next main battle tank.
It combines a 10 cylinder diesel engine (modified to run on almost any fuel) and an electrified ZF transmission.
REO was Ransom Oldsâs second company. He left his first company, Olds Motor Works, after a major policy dispute.
Just my personal example when comparing costs for my RAV4 at the time.
The ROI on the price difference for the hybrid version was 1.86 years. After that it is saving me around $800 in gas per year assuming gas stays fairly consistent. These geopolitical disruptions just make it pay off fasterâŠ
I save even more with my PHEV. I typically drive 900-1400 miles on just 6-7 gallons of gas. (The variation depends on the ratio of local driving/long highway drives) Because I signed-up for a Community Solar program, I get a 21% discount on my electricity, so even though I do the vast majority of my driving in EV mode, it costs substantially less than the equivalent amount of driving when I am in HV mode.
On a related note, I recently took the vehicle to the dealer for the backup camera recall. I never had a problem with the camera, so I didnât rush to do it. Then, I got a notice that completion of the recall would include a free carwash and a free refill of the gas tank. So, although I normally fill the tank when itâs at ~the 50% mark, I purposely waited until it was down to the 25% mark.
By my calculations, that free fill-up saved me about $48-50. A carwash would have cost ~$15-20 if I had to pay for it. And, I got to drive a brand-new loaner car while my vehicle was in the shop.
Win-win-winâŠ
Yet the chances of being killed in an accident while driving a vehicle is so much higher than the fire risk. Is the house worth more than your life? Driving is the most dangerous thing a middle aged person can do, yet people donât think of it that way. I think the suicide rate passed the vehicle fatality rate for younger people.
Basically the Chevy Volt. Am I right?
Sort of⊠The Voltâs driveline architecture was very similar to the Prius with one specific difference so as to not use a patented part of Toyotaâs system. The engine, hybrid motor/generator and transmission are all connected into a single unit.
The Prius can be driven with a full flat hybrid battery. The Volt cannot. Is has to do with an overrunning clutch the Prius has and the Volt does not.
It is more like the BMW i3 which was a full EV with an optional 647cc ICE running a generator. Basically fully split from the driveline except for wires.
I know that at least the Prius V has no 12 Volt starter and canât be started when the hybrid battery is dead. But yes I think it can still be driven with reduced performance with the gasoline engine alone.
If the hybrid battery dies on a volt or prius youâre not starting the engine but if itâs merely depleted after using ev power the gas engine takes over.
The 12v needs to have power for the prius to turn on but in a jam you can jump start it. When the hybrid battery fails youâll get the yellow triangle of death as prous forums call it. The battery with new cells is about $2,000 installed still a fraction of what our 2010 is worth.
Have more confidence in our hybrid specialists than the Toyota dealer based on recent conversations where the dealer wasnât sure which generation we had even with the Vin. Havenât been there in years other than recall work.
Technicians must use model year or VIN when accessing information on Toyota Information System.
Hobbyist forums group models by generation. Sometimes I need to stop and count the body style changes over the years to estimate the model year of a posterâs vehicle. Knowing the generation can be helpful when buying used body panels at a salvage yard, but not when performing a service bulletin or recall inquiry.
dealer knew we have a 2010 from the Vin
But I wonder if they saw the July 09 in service Date and got confused. Told us to drive there for an estimate once they saw the vehicle for new headlight bulbs. 2008 and earlier you loosen the front bumper to get behind the housings. 2010 itâs unbolting a couple things under the hood to get clearance on the pass side. Our mechanics had the bulbs changed in 30min with an estimate over the phone. Wasnât going out of our way just to get an estimate from the dealership when our mechanics only 4mi up the road.
In-service date is interesting, but itâs only somewhat related to the model year
Dealers sometimes have new cars on their lot, sitting unsold, collecting dust
and by the time theyâre sold, registered and titled, 2 years have come and gone
You could theoretically buy a brand new 2024 or 2025 model year car now . . And the In-service date is NOW, not 1 or 2 years ago
That is all they need to write a repair order. Since you were speaking on the phone, you were talking to a service writer, not a technician. The service writers I worked with did not look up labor times, they relied on technicians for estimates.
There was a warranty enhancement program addressed the shortened headlight bulb life, but it expired is 2019.
Since you have all your repairs performed by an aftermarket repair shop, the Toyota dealer would have no record of the headlight wiring modification being performed. A visual inspection by a technician would be necessary.
Labor time to replace one bulb is 0.4 hours, however warranty labor time for the modification pays 2.9 hours and involves removing the bumper cover.
Production for the 2010 model year Prius began March 2009.
If we knew about the program weâd have gone to the dealer. We were part of the Blizzard Pearl 14yr paint warranty but thats done. These were the original bulbs from 2009 so they lasted 16yrs and weâd replaced both before the other failed. Weâd been quoted parts and labor from this dealer over the phone before but it was double what the indy shop quoted. Labor for the bulbs was about what you said. $90 roughly. Gonna keep it going as long as possible or mom decides on the replacement which will be some sort of Mazda/Toyota or Honda hybrid. The prius was a June 09 build off the truck and delivered at the end of July barely in time to save $2,300 in sales tax.