About the plug
About the plugA friend passed along a New York Times article titled Should I Get a Hybrid or Go Full Electric? The title is linked. After reading it, and combined with additional information that was already running around my head, I emailed him back remarking that its all about the plug!
Two hybrids
The article explains the two types of hybrids: conventional and plug-in. Conventional hybrids have a battery that powers an electric motor to augment the gasoline engine. It also incorrectly seems to suggest that energy from braking alone charges the battery, when in fact the gasoline engine charges the battery continuously.
A plug-in hybrid has a larger battery that can powering car solely with electricity for short distances, on average 40 to 50 miles. And they can be charged using the same Level 1 or Level 2 chargers that EVs use. High power Level 3 charging is off the table, which the article misses.
But this is not intended as a critique of the article…
So, back to the point. The battery in a plug-in hybrid will be charged by the gasoline engine if its power is drained, operating exactly as a conventional hybrid.
Imagine you are the owner of a plug-in hybrid. Theoretically, if you drive less than the battery’s range, you can go indefinitely with using any gasoline. What’s needed now is a convenient place to plug in, and the willingness to, in effect, manage an EV!
Further, in the scenario described, a plug-in hybrid needs to be plugged in daily. A full EV only needs a charge maybe once or twice a week!
This is what was rummaging through my mind. The European auto market is down, way down, and only one segment one segment is up, albeit slightly. And its the conventional hybrid market.
Its all about the plug!
Plugging in is the change. As a people, we’ve grown accustomed to driving and stopping randomly for a fill-up. The plug is the change of religion. Everything else is essentially the same: a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal, and on and on and on.
In the interim, the EV market continues to grow, and despite problems in Europe, faster than anyone imagined, exposing more and more drivers to the “new” religion.
The last hurdle will ultimately be more places to actually use the plug!
Heck, even EVs have warning lights. Lots of them. See our page here.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
Back up entry page overhaul
Kia back up entry update
because the page has swollen to be nearly out of control.
Kia only recently (2019)added a fob with all its buttons on one side, including the button that releases the mechanical key (left). Hyundai had added a fob that had the mechanical key release on the back (right). In hindsight, this happened at a time that access to their owner’s manuals was so bad, we had to search a Canadian sight to find any at all.
The EV9 uses a one-piece handle, but a piece still needs to be removed to get a shot at the key hole. To do so, the door handle needs to be held open. Then the small somewhat flimsy cover needs to be removed (right). We used a finger nail in the video we did of the process, but the mechanical key may work better. Check out the 
In this case, DBC, the symbol used does not feature the acronym at all. Its shown to the right, and is a 
In use, if the vehicle ahead and/or both lane markings are detected and the vehicle speed is below 120 mph (200 km/h), the green indicator light is seen. Gray indicates that the lane markings are not detected or the vehicle is above speed. It appears in white when the system is cancelled.
Others added include a Driver Attention system, which monitors a driver’s eyes for signs of sleepiness, and Grade Assist, which helps keep a vehicle under control while going downhill. But these and others used pre-existing symbols.
EV or gas? A little something to help you decide
I had two conversations recently, back-to-back, that really came down EV or gas. Bear in mind, I drive an electric vehicle or EV.
The first was with a waitress I’ve known for some time but hadn’t seen in a while and her “car story” that I’d thus missed. It seems her 5-year old 3-Series BMW with 50,000 miles on it simply died one day. Mid-motion. The diagnosis was a blown transmission that would cost $15,000 to repair! She ditched the car.
Being a bit of a smart @$$ and feeling a little smug, which may come back to bite me, I asked, “do you know what an EV doesn’t have?” She actually didn’t know so I answered my question: “a transmission!” (So that you know, an EV’s electric motor is connected directly to the wheels.)
She then added that her husband’s Audi goes through a quart of oil every 1,000 miles and I noted that my last gas car was also an Audi with the same engine and it too used oil at the same rate. Then, the bartender chimed in that his 100,000 mile Volvo also uses a quart every thousand miles.
I then asked, “you know what else an EV doesn’t have?”
Had to be done…
And if you are curious about our opinion on a big issue holding back EV adoption, click here. And we have a primer on EV charging here.
——————————————————————-
Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY