CC:
When I see the word hybrid, or you see this badge on the back of a vehicle, you might think battery packs, motors, inverters, regenerative breaking. But the reality of it is if it does have hybrid on it, it’s going to be a lot of opportunities for maintenance at your shop. Let’s go over some of the easy ones right now.
When I say hybrid breaks, you probably think regenerative breaking, and you’ve probably heard all of those stories about the brakes lasting well over 100,000 miles. Typically, this happens in the rear, but the front brakes, well, they can wear out rather quickly because a hybrid vehicle has an inverter. It has motors. It has a battery pack. And if you compare weights, it can be anywhere of an additional 400 to 600 pounds depending on the make and model. So brake and brake service, well, it still matters a lot. And they’re going to wear out just as fast as a conventional vehicle.
No matter if it’s an EV or a hybrid vehicle, they will typically have a 12 volt battery. This battery, well, it’s going to start the car. It’s going to do other functions on the vehicle, like the ABS and engine management system. And it’s typically going to be an AGM battery because the stresses on this battery are going to be higher than a normal vehicle. So any EV, any hybrid will have a battery underneath the hood or in the front. That is an AGM battery typically, and is controlling the 12 volt architecture of the vehicle. So make sure you’re testing this battery on a hybrid vehicle.
I got some good news for coolant service. You’ve probably noticed that coolant volumes on modern vehicles has actually gone down, but with hybrid vehicles, well, the coolant volume has actually gone up. These vehicles will have cooling systems for the inverter, the motors on the vehicle, and even the battery pack. This can add as much as two gallons of coolant to the repair order and also special procedures to hopefully drain all of the old coolant out and make sure that there’s no air that goes in with the new coolant.
You may think that hybrids, since they may not run the engine, but still move the vehicle with an electric motor, that’s going to be easier on the oil. Actually, the opposite is true. If you have a vehicle that doesn’t start the engine, that still has oil inside, but it doesn’t have a chance to warm up this oil, when the engine eventually has to start to charge up the batteries or even propel it down an on ramp or other high load situation, well, that oil needs to be in great shape. If the oil is old or has other issues where it’s degraded, well, that’s going to cause damage to the conventional part of the drive train, the internal combustion engine. So make sure you’re recommending oil changes and obeying the manufacturer’s recommendation for oil change intervals.
So if you really think about a hybrid vehicle like this one behind me, there are compromises that are made. Yes, you’ll get better fuel economy. Yes, it will use less gasoline and be more efficient and pollute less. But the reality of it is it’s going to be a heavier vehicle. It’s going to have issues and needs like the coolant and the oil that are the same, or even more demanding for this hybrid than they are on any other vehicle. So make sure if you have a customer that has a hybrid. And some of them, they won’t even realize they have a hybrid, that you’re looking at the maintenance interval and you’re inspecting the vehicle, just like a car with an internal combustion engine only.
This video is sponsored by Auto Value and Bumper To Bumper.
