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Hybrid and electric vehicle service As the fleets grow, so grow your sales opportunities By Jacques Gordon
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his year, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard for passenger cars increased for the first time in decades, from 27.5 mpg to 34.1 mpg. By model year 2025, the CAFE standard will increase again to 54.5 mpg. To reach these fleet average numbers, almost every automaker selling cars in North America has already introduced at least one model with a hybrid-electric or all-electric powertrain, and they are all working hard to increase the market as well as develop the technology. The hybrid fleet is expected to grow dramatically over the next decade, and the odds of a hybrid car pulling into your driveway are increasing each month. If you’re not already working on hybrid or plug-in vehicles, it’s the time to prepare for some new service opportunities. Normal maintenance of a hybrid car is not much different from a conventional vehicle: it has an engine, so it still needs a periodic oil change and a new air filter and eventually new spark plugs, too. Pure electric vehicles don’t have an engine, but just like hybrids, they still need new cabin air filters and wiper blades, brakes, shock absorbers, and of course tires. But before you agree to service a hybrid or electric car, there are some things you need to know that will help you decide which maintenance services you want to offer, and some things that are important to the safety of your technicians and your customers’ cars.
After the driver has stopped the car, Honda’s “AUTO STOP” light warns that the engine will start again once the brake pedal is released. In the auto industry, there is no standard design for this warning light; Toyota uses a “READY” icon, while Ford lights up a little picture of a car.
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Specific oil change recommendations One reason hybrids get such good gas mileage is because they almost never get zero miles per gallon. Unless the engine is charging the battery or running the air conditioner, it automatically shuts off whenever the car stops moving. This stop/start feature confuses most first-time hybrid drivers because they think the car has stalled. Many are also surprised when the car starts moving again once they release the brake, even if the engine is not running. When techs drive hybrids into the shop and the engine stops, they quickly figure out that the shift lever must be in Neutral or Park to prevent the car from moving. What some techs don’t figure out right away is how to make sure the car is turned off, especially since most hybrids have a Stop/Start button instead of an ignition key. If the car is turned on, the engine will start when the battery’s state-of-charge falls below a pre-programmed percentage. The only way to prevent this is to make sure the car is turned off and the gauges and display screens are all dark. Imagine the horror of hearing the engine start with the car on the lift and the oil drain plug removed (it has happened). Every car manufacturer recommends the type of motor oil that should be used in their engines, and those recommendations are quite specific for hybrids. Most are designed to use 0W-20 motor
Using the wrong motor oil in a hybrid engine will not only reduce gas mileage, but also may cause higher emissions, no-starts and even engine damage.
MTD October 2016
