What does car trouble on an EV/Hybrid act like?

Overheal

Not a question instigated on trouble with an EV/Hybrid though I own a Prius C, actually this was a thought ruminating in my head since yesterday when I had Jeep trouble* - have any eco drivers here had trouble with their cars and what kind of issues has it given you, what was the cause and the fix? Unlike a normal car if I had trouble with my prius I probably couldn't message my car people and have them off the bat go "oh well check XYZ" and have my problem sussed, I feel like I need to poll other eco drivers to build up a library of experiences here for when the inevitable happens, if mods are ok with a meandering megathread of sorts about general EV/Hybrid car trouble.

The only time we did have trouble with the Prius was a couple months after we bought it, which turned out to be an EOL starter battery, oddly housed in the back passenger seat, which is an expensive gel type bastard because it's in the cabin (standard batteries off-gas). There was no clear error code/fix offered by the dash, just the car electronics would flicker trying to start the car, even though the hybrid battery pack had charge.

*it's been sitting since March and I had to fight with it to get it cranked over which I attributed to a couple things: transmission overheating (I first had it in park, near our dumpsters, with the AC on, in 30 C heat, bc I was cleaning it out to move office furniture, so I turned it off and it wouldn't restart for about 15 mins), low battery voltage and possibly old sparkplugs, as well as ethanol laced fuel which had been sitting for a long time that probably was not well mixed. It didn't act like any startup issue I'd had on the car before, which has included dead battery, bad o2 sensor, bad fuel pump, etc. etc.

Gumbo

I might drive an EV, but i'm certainly no Eco Driver

Overheal

Gumbo wrote: »

I might drive an EV, but i'm certainly no Eco Driver

its less letters than EV/Hybrid Driver :pac:

liamog

If it's an Ioniq, lots of random messages that you fix by replacing the 12V battery

Black_Knight

EVs are in the "have you tried turning it off and on again" category.

Lumen

My Model 3 requires the odd two finger reboot.

graememk

Black_Knight wrote: »

EVs are in the "have you tried turning it off and on again" category.

Disconnect the 12V battery and wait 5 mins

There isnt much to actually go wrong, on an EV anyway, Hybrids, well you still have an engine.

Black_Knight

graememk wrote: »

Disconnect the 12V battery and wait 5 mins

There isnt much to actually go wrong, on an EV anyway, Hybrids, well you still have an engine.

I guess the trouble is, when something does go wrong, if a hard reboot (disconnect 12V) doesn't fix it, you're goosed. ICE give you some sort of feedback when trying to turn them over. All the safety protocols in EVs would likely just end up with a light on the dash and a car that won't start.

Lumen

Black_Knight wrote: »

I guess the trouble is, when something does go wrong, if a hard reboot (disconnect 12V) doesn't fix it, you're goosed. ICE give you some sort of feedback when trying to turn them over. All the safety protocols in EVs would likely just end up with a light on the dash and a car that won't start.

My Kia ICE stopped working a couple of weeks ago. Check engine light, limp mode, max speed walking pace.

Had to be towed to a dealer. Took them a few hours to diagnose it, was a swirl pot sensor or some other fossil crap. Cost over a thousand in parts and labour, was 1000km out of warranty, got it discounted to €350 on goodwill basis.

I'll take my chances with electric motors, thanks. :pac:

Black_Knight

Lumen wrote: »

I'll take my chances with electric motors, thanks. :pac:

So will I.

graememk

Gone are the days where a bit of percussive maintenance with a spanner on a dodgy starter will fix/get you going so you can get home.

Lumen

graememk wrote: »

Gone are the days where a bit of percussive maintenance with a spanner on a dodgy starter will fix/get you going so you can get home.

My favourite one was pouring petrol into the carbs.

Those were the days! :pac:

fricatus

Lumen wrote: »

swirl pot sensor or some other fossil crap

LOL

Lumen wrote: »

I'll take my chances with electric motors, thanks. :pac:

Yeah, me too... when I look at the threads in the Foss... sorry Motors forum, I just think EVs will end up saving people a lot of pain when they're commonplace. Look at some of the titles there over the past couple of weeks:

"Hyundai i40 sump full of diesel"
"Audi A5 - clutch and pressure plate quote"
"Emissions fail NCT"
"Opel Corsa 1.3 CDTi - "Oil Change" warning message?"
"BMW EGR cooler recall"
"Contaminated fuel"
"Diesel in my petrol car, now high oil warning"

But I guess they can all drive from Dublin to Cork and back without stopping, eh? :rolleyes:

Padre_Pio

Are there any OBD/ Carly diagnosers or software for EVs?

BMW have ISTA software that you can buy (presume other carmakers have similar)

slave1

Yes, for both Nissan Leaf and Teslas that I know of anyhow, probably more

Lumen

Padre_Pio wrote: »

Are there any OBD/ Carly diagnosers or software for EVs?

BMW have ISTA software that you can buy (presume other carmakers have similar)

I have an OBD dongle and ScanMyTesla. Works fine with the Model 3.

Sesame

My Auris Hybrid has had two different issues lately.

I can't remember the first error but it was something about the filter under the passenger seat by the battery. I needed to clean it out as it was overheating. Any bag or leg against that filter seems to cause it despite me cleaning it out.

The other problem lately is that if I park with a window open and turn off ignition fully (i.e leaving kids in hot car to go shopping), something stasy on and runs down the 12 v battery. Lots of ignition twiddling and pressing P in different combinations does the trick. Maybe I need a new 12v battery.

slave1

Lumen wrote: »

I have an OBD dongle and ScanMyTesla. Works fine with the Model 3.

...and do you find it useful? What features do you like about it most?
I have Leafspy but rarely use it, just wondering is ScanMyTesla worth it

JPA

slave1 wrote: »

...and do you find it useful? What features do you like about it most?
I have Leafspy but rarely use it, just wondering is ScanMyTesla worth it

Seems to be more for curiosity/geeking out from the videos I have seen.

ELM327

I've never seen a problem that was not solved by disconnecting the 12v for a few minutes.
(except on Teslas, that were either replaced under warranty or an MCU failure)

Philippe14

My new e-Golf (about 1 month) failed to start with the message "electrical fault. Please Stop".

I had to get it towed. It took 2 weeks to have it ready (between a failed diagnostics or two before getting the correct one, and getting the parts). It ended up being a heater that is part of the battery pack.

It's been working great since then.