Hymotion Plugin in about 2 hours

You are partially correct. Hymotion had been acquired by A123systems. I attended a talk a couple of weeks ago given by Harvey Wilkinson from A123Systems of Watertown, who brought along a 2007 PHEV Prius. He expects early March 2008 to be the date the BREM (Battery Range Extender Module) will begin to be offered. Estimated price is $9995.00 for a 40-mile pack if I remember correctly. It was amazing to compare the weight of the Lithium Ion battery with a conventional one of the same size. I wish I had a video of the talk, but the local cable in Harvard, Ma. was unable to film it. He explained a lot of things that were way too technical for me to fully grasp, let alone relate to others, but it was quite fascinating. I will definitely be wanting one eventually given the type of driving I do. Check out the site: A123systems.com

 

Warranty from tires to tip of antenna gone bye-bye.

 

I hope the $9995.00 estimate will come down to the $5000 area.

 

I attended a talk and installation. A123 was installing two units in two Prii owned by the local utility company. Unfortunately they kept moving us around for slides and talks and stuff that by the time we got back to the main floor the battery was in and everything was closed up.

But the issue of the warranty did come up in the Q&A. A123 said that they'd take over all of the warranty issues. They would cover what Toyota would have covered prior to the install.

BTW I checked after the install. They put an EV switch in both cars.

 

as a upcoming technician and access to high voltage gloves, is it possible to install it yourself? assuming one has all the tools... or heck even offer to install it as a partnership

but more details would be nice, i remember in the wiki they said the 5kilowatt pack only had enough EV miles to 15, which made more sense. If a 5 kilowatt pack can provide 40 true ev miles than why does the volt require a 16 kilowatt pack? even though they are using 8 to preserve battery life.

 

I would think Hymotion might change their warranty policy on any such "self install" kit.

 

Doc... why bring this up? It isn't true.

If you screw up something in the BMS or the original battery, you will likely have trouble getting Toyota to cover it (though even this seems a non-issue from what others have said here). If your brakes suddenly stop working, your seatbelt won't buckle, you radio only plays soft rock, or your antenna fails, there is NO way they can legally deny the warranty claim.

 

nope its lithium a123 cells the exact same used in this hymotion prius

alternatively there's competition now Green Car Congress: Valence Technology to Supply Additional 600 Li-Ion Modules to OEMtek for PHEV Conversions

4 kilowatt more for a couple thousand!

 

Can I get some sort of relief for only being able to pick up a country music station?

 

Yes. For the Hymotion warranty to cover your Prius the kit has to be installed by one of their trained installers. They guys that did the San Diego install were from San Francisco. I think their shirts said "Joe's Garage". (No kidding.)

 

I wonder if you get more cycles at the lesser depth of cycle before battery expires?