Opinion
I switched from ICE (internal combustion engine) to hybrid when I bought my latest car, and gained a 50% improvement in gasoline mileage. It is a 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid.
It's been interesting few months in learning how a hybrid differs from an ICE. It has a large, 400-volt battery that is charged by braking (called "regenerative braking") and by the gasoline engine.
Whereas ICE has one mode (the engine runs all the time), this hybrid has three modes:
- Only the battery and electric motors power the wheels
- The gasoline engine assists the electric motors in accelerating, driving over 40mph (65km/hr), and/or when the air conditioning is operating
- The pistons operate at 1,000rpm, such as when coasting, to charge the battery and run the air conditioning in Economy mode; no gasoline is consumed
HEV display (image source ConceptCarz)
Other differences:
- The electric motor starts the gasoline engine, so there is no traditional starter motor
- If the battery falls below 300 volts, it can no longer start the engine, and there is no workaround
- The 400-volt battery can run the car for only about a mile, should the gas tank go empty
- The standard 12-volt battery operates all the other usual 12-volt electrical parts, such as headlights, radio, and blower motors for the heating/cooling system
Normally, the 400-volt battery is continuously discharging (when running the motors) and charging (from the braking and the gasoline engine). From the built-in graphics, it appears the battery tends to hover around 350 volts.
It turns that there are two situations where the big battery fails:
- When the car sits unused for several months; the car manufacturer recommends running the car for ten minutes once a month, should it be unused
- Cells in the battery fail; the manufacturer states the battery is designed to last the "life of the car," whatever that means
The previous owner of my car, which is now 15 years old, let it sit for ten months, and then found he could no longer start it; the voltage had fallen below 300V. Sadly, he allowed a repair shop to replace the battery at a cost of $3,200. It turns out that it is possible to remove the battery to access a charging point, then use a 400V-inverter to recharge the battery; the process takes about a day, and there are YouTube videos on how to do this.
So, yah, hybrids that are recharged by the car have a different kind of range anxiety -- not letting the battery fall below 300V.
TIP I found a problem with running the car for 10 minutes: after a few minnutes the gasoline engine shuts down, meaning charging is no longer taking place. The workaround is to turn on the A/C, which forces the gasoline engine to keep running.
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