Predicament of imported hybrids and EVs in Zimbabwe

This week we tackle issues that imported used hybrids and electric vehicles are coming with into Zimbabwe.

First, we discuss the types of high-voltage batteries.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) use various forms of cells and battery packs to provide electricity to the propulsion system.

The voltage stored in the battery pack must be efficiently transferred to the drive motors, so that the vehicle can operate.

The HEV battery pack is slightly different than that of a pure BEV.

An HEV can charge the battery as the vehicle operates, which allows for the use of a smaller battery pack.

The layout of the battery must be considered for the internal combustion engine (ICE) and drivetrain, when designing this type of vehicle.

Hybrid electric vehicles are a stage between conventional ICE-powered vehicles and an EVs.

This technology has both propulsion systems present on the vehicle, which lowers the need for a large battery pack, but it also increases the cost of the vehicle.

When looking at potential areas of concern for this application, the technician must be able to diagnose both types of systems and determine if one is affecting the other.

This is where we have major issues in Zimbabwe, as the technicians are not well versed with high voltage systems that make up these hybrids.

HEVs have regenerative braking systems, as part of their operation.

This type of braking system will be a major application within the EV space and allows the vehicle to recoup some of the expended energy that would have been used to propel the vehicle.

Developing a thorough understanding of the various systems on this application will allow the technician to easily identify which area to look at when diagnosing a failure on the vehicle.

Examples of used HEVs being imported into the country are Honda Vezel hybrids, Honda Fit GP1, GP5, GP6 hybrids, Honda Shuttle GP7 and GP8 hybrids.

These Honda family types come with lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) batteries that have already reached warranty life and should be replaced.

When the battery pack is severely depleted it will cause the ICE to use more fuel in trying to compensate for the lost propulsion power from the battery pack.

When this happens, the vehicle will no longer perform as a hybrid is supposed to.

The other issues that come with above-mentioned Honda family hybrids are the neglected services of electro-hydraulic clutch actuators, which are responsible for the operation of the dry dual clutch.

This system uses brake fluid to hydraulically actuate the dry dual clutch.

This brake fluid is said to be hydroscopic in scientific terms, which basically means brake fluid absorbs moisture over time.

This applies to all the mentioned Honda hybrids, except Honda Fit GP1 hybrid, which uses hybrid multi-matic continuous variable transmission (HMM-CVT).

Most of these vehicles are over eight years old, and we assume they have not been serviced for a long time, according to my experience working on a lot of these vehicles.

Most of these hybrids are experiencing major failures just a few months after they have arrived in the country, mainly the collapse of the dry dual clutch caused by contaminated brake fluid, which this system uses for its operation.

The other large family of hybrids is the Toyota hybrids family.

Examples of these hybrid families are Toyota Aqua hybrids, Toyota Axio hybrids, Toyota C-HR hybrids, Toyota Prius Hybrids, Toyota Alphard hybrids and many more.

These Toyota hybrids use nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery packs.

These battery packs arrive in the country past their warranty life.

 

This means most of them come already depleted.

Apparent capacity loss (ACL) is one of the most common failures of NiMH batteries.

An ACL condition is when unused parts of the battery cell transition to dormant state and the total cell capacity is reduced.

Therefore it “appears” as if the cell has lost capacity, when it has not.

In other words, the NiMH battery cells losses capacity over time, but there are many ways to try and reverse this condition using various equipment and processes that are available from reputable hybrid repair specialists.

Now let us look at plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles (PHEV).

The PHEV battery pack is similar to the HEV type of battery packs; it must be able to be plugged in.

The PHEV is larger than the HEV battery pack (approximately 8 kilowatt hours vs. 1,3 kilowatt hours), and is smaller than BEV pack, as it has an ICE to recharge the pack when it becomes depleted.

The uniqueness of this pack is its ability to be charged with house alternating current (AC) power.

The average consumer’s daily vehicle mileage driven is around 32 miles (51.5km).

This is primarily to and from work each day, which makes PHEV ideal for this type of commuting, as it primarily uses electrical power stored in the battery pack to propel the vehicle, encompassing the ICE when the driver goes further than their normal routine.

Charging the vehicle at home or at work will minimise the use of the petroleum-based engine, so pollution output will be reduced.

Example of plug-in hybrids and their battery pack capacity as well as their range are the Audi A3 with onboard 13kWh pack, which has a 64,4km range backed by 1,4-litre petrol engine; the Toyota RAV4 with an 18,1kWh pack that has a range of 74km; the Mercedes-Benz GLE 350de with onboard 31,2kVWh battery pack, which has 106km range, and the Polestar1 from Volvo with on-board 34kWh battery pack, which has a staggering range of 149km.

Even though some of the above-mentioned PHEV are a bit pricey, one can drive to and from work for several days without recharging, which saves a lot of money in terms of fuel, as the ICE will not be used until the battery pack has reached a low voltage threshold.

 

*Taurayi Raymond Sewera is ASE & AUTOCATE ASSOCIATION certified World Class Master Technician with 39ASEs, ASE Advanced Level Specialist L1, L2, L3 and L4, AMI Accredited Master Electric Vehicles and Master Automotive Manager, ACDC certified Master Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Technician. Taurayi is the founder and CEO of TauRay Automotive. He can be contacted on +263 77 234 1193, +263 77 235 7296 or [email protected]