In light of unstable fuel costs, consumers are once again returning tobasic transportation by trading in their old gas-guzzling SUVs for moreeconomical vehicles, especially those powered by hybrid electricvehicle (HEV) technology. This was especially evident in thegovernment’s Cash For Clunkers program, which had to be extended due tothe surprisingly swift consumer response to the program.
Hybrid vehicles did make the top 10 list of vehicles purchased duringthe Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS). On the one hand, the currentpopularity of hybrid technology seems to offer an unbounded serviceopportunity for independent automotive service providers. On the otherhand, a currently limited, 1-million HEV population might be operatingunder an eight-year, 80,000-mile manufacturer’s “49-state” warranty oran extended warranty in California.
Right now, the service opportunities lie mainly in the future, ashybrids move out of warranty and into the independent service bays. Ineither case, it’s entirely realistic to expect hybrids to become agrowing part of the automotive service market. So let’s take a brieflook at what hybrid technology is all about and what effect it mighthave on the independent service market.
Decade of Dual Power
The first commercially produced hybrid car to hit the road was theHonda Insight back in 2000, followed by the Toyota Prius for model year2001. But both of these cars were very limited production vehicles. TheHonda Insight was discontinued in 2007, replaced by a hybrid version ofthe Civic. The Prius lives on, and continues as the most numerous andpopular hybrid on the road today.
Hybrid Talk
Most major auto manufacturers have some type of hybrid design in thevarious stages of planning, manufacturing or marketing. Although hybriddesigns have been on the market for about 10 years, only recently havethe “global warming” movement and rising oil prices focused thenation’s attention on the hybrid’s high fuel economy and low greenhousegas exhaust emissions. In fact, driving a hybrid has become as much ofan environmental status symbol as it has a matter of thrift.
When discussing hybrids, it’s important to remember that hybridtechnology is a work in progress and that there’s no such thing as a“generic” hybrid design. Hybrids use three fundamentally differentpowertrain arrangements — series, parallel and series-parallel — totransmit mechanical and electrical torque to the front wheels and torecharge the vehicle’s main batteries.
Battery technology is also progressing from nickel metal hydride(Ni-MH) to lithium ion-based designs, which means that an HEV’s storagecapacity will markedly increase, as will the service life and theprojected cost of the batteries. Next, remember that the terms,“engine” and “motor” are not interchangeable in hybrid or any otheralternative motive power technology.
An internal combustion engine (ICE) develops rotating torque byconverting one form of energy (gasoline) into another form of energy(heat), which is converted into mechanical energy that rotates theengine’s crankshaft. The electric motor (EM), on the other hand,develops rotating torque by directly converting electricity into amagnetic force that rotates the motor’s armature shaft. Although manyhybrids use a conventional 12-volt starter motor and ring gear as abackup, the hybrid’s electric drive motor normally serves as a silentstarter motor for the gasoline engine.
Last, it’s important to understand that power management in a hybrid orother alternative motive power technologies is accomplished by using acomplex computer system to monitor and coordinate all vehiclefunctions. Modern hybrids use the latest computer networking,electrical multiplexing and drive-by-wire technologies to operatepractically all systems and subsystems and to achieve optimum fueleconomy and exhaust emissions.
Modern hybrids also use regenerative braking to recharge the batteriesduring deceleration. Regenerative braking, in most cases, conservesgasoline by transforming the kinetic energy of the vehicle intoelectrical energy that can be used not only to slow the vehicle, butalso to recharge the vehicle’s batteries. In most cases, the hydraulicservice brakes operate only under severe braking conditions or tomerely slow or stop the vehicle at low vehicle speeds.
Last, a hybrid’s gasoline engine runs only when the batteries needcharging or when additional power is required for climbing hills orpassing other vehicles. This feature not only saves gasoline, but saveswear and tear on the engine itself.
Hybrid Population
When you add up all the hybrids that are on the road today, they totalabout 1 million vehicles — which is less than 1% of the vehiclepopulation. Hybrids are still a very small drop in a very large bucket.Within five years, however, these numbers will change dramatically.Hybrids are expected to account for 20% to 25% of all new car and lighttruck sales by 2013. That means a growing aftermarket for replacementparts.
Providing Hybrid Service
Hybrid service can be broken into three categories: routinemaintenance, engine service and transaxle/battery service. Routinemaintenance includes the lubrication, filter and inspection servicesthat all conventional vehicles require. The only difference is thathybrid vehicles require less routine maintenance than normal because:1) the gasoline engine runs only when required; and 2) the conventionalhydraulic service brakes operate only during emergency situations or atvery low vehicle speeds.
The spark plug replacement interval for the iridium-tipped spark plugson a 2006 Toyota Prius, for example, is 120,000 miles versus a100,000-mile interval for conventional platforms.
Taxi drivers using the Toyota Prius vehicles in metro taxi service arereporting a brake friction life in excess of 100,000 miles. Batterylife is also estimated to average about 10 years, so it’s not quiteaccurate to say that there’s a pent-up demand awaiting the shop thatgears up for routine hybrid maintenance.
The gasoline engine itself falls under EPA requirements for the toolingand information needed to diagnose and repair emissions-relatedfailures. Since the engine is completely computer-controlled,technicians must familiarize themselves with correct service proceduresincluding “locking” the vehicle to prevent the engine from attemptingto start automatically during a routine service such as an oil change.In addition, technicians must understand that hybrid vehicles requirespecial service and repair procedures.
The Prius’s 12-volt absorbed glass mat (AGM) auxiliary battery foroperating accessories, for example, must be recharged using a specialToyota battery charger or a low-amperage equivalent.
Last, attention must be paid to vehicle-specific details whenperforming routine maintenance on hybrid vehicles. Honda Insights, forexample, incorporate aluminum bodies held together by specialcorrosion-resistant bolts. Some hybrids use a letter mark on the end ofthe spark plug electrode to index the spark plug gaps to the cylinder’scombustion chambers. Similarly, all hybrid vehicles use speciallow-rolling resistance tires. Using generic substitutes will reducefuel economy, which, in most cases, will be immediately noticed by amileage-conscious owner.
Any service or repair involving the high-voltage (HV) system, whichincludes the transaxle, electric generator, drive motors, constantvariable speed transaxles and the high-voltage batteries, requiresspecial technical training and service safety precautions. Thegenerator/motor assemblies and constant variable speed transaxles arecurrently supplied only as new, complete assemblies from the hybridmanufacturers. Very few major components in the hybrid design lendthemselves to in-house servicing or rebuilding.
When servicing hybrids, keep in mind that contact with any voltagepotential of 60 volts or more can be fatal. Generator voltages canrange as high as 500 volts and battery voltages can range as high as300 volts. To warn technicians of the danger, all high-voltage wiringis colored orange. Special high-voltage electrical test and safetyequipment like high-voltage insulating gloves are required forservicing high-voltage battery systems.
With that said, any independent shop must evaluate the potential costsand profits of servicing hybrid vehicles. Routine maintenance andengine service, of course, requires no appreciable amount of specialequipment. Generator/motor, transaxle and battery service, on the otherhand, requires vehicle-specific training and some special tooling likehigh-voltage insulated gloves and high-voltage electrical testequipment.
In-depth service might also require an OE database like Toyota’s newTechStream information system. This system costs about $8,000 for acomplete OE diagnostic hardware and data access package, but isnecessary to diagnose the on-board electronics and access the latestmodule calibrations.
But technology keeps moving on. One European manufacturer is looking atadapting some hybrid features into its conventional vehicle platformsby automatically shutting off the engine when the vehicle is at rest.At future prices of gasoline, this and other hybrid-style fuel-savingfeatures may well point the way to major changes in the way theautomotive aftermarket provides service and parts to the motoringpublic.
