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From what I've heard the hybrid powertrains are way more complex and prone to extra problems on top of ICE problems. But it's a testament to Toyota's engineerin
by jancsika 3y ago
From what I've heard the hybrid powertrains are way more complex and prone to extra problems on top of ICE problems. But it's a testament to Toyota's engineering that the Prius makes it seem that this isn't the case.
In any case, on the much higher bar of running a car into the ground I think the Prius would get priced out on repairs for the last 20% of the run time. You've got both the regular battery and the hybrid battery, the regenerative braking system, and probably a lot more little dingles and dangles that would cause arguments with a spouse if you dug your heels in and kept paying for them just to run the car all the way to the finish line.
With the Corolla you just might just have to decide when you've had enough of driving the damned thing.
- zik 3y agoThe Prius powertrain is the most complex one I've seen in any vehicle. It's amazing that they can make that thing reliable.
- VectorLock 3y agoCan a Prius keep going if one of its ICE or EV motors dies? Then its not complexity, its redundancy!
- Gareth321 3y agoDepends what, but mostly yes. If the battery fails then the engine is used permanently. If the engine fails then the battery can be used for its limited range.
- bestham 3y agoNo, the 12V battery, the hybrid battery and the combustion engine all need to work for the vehicle to function.
- red369 3y agoI also think this is correct. Apart from the fact that any reasonably modern cars will usually go into limp-home modes, or even stop driving, if errors are detected, I seem to remember something about an electric drive motor needing to spin backwards when driving using the combustion engine. That feels wrong as I write it, but I remember it being something fundamental to the planetary "Power Split Device".
- willis936 3y agoThe extra complexity spreads out the load. All of the things that often fail in an engine are less likely to when the engine only operates for a limited duty cycle, for extended durations, and for a fixed optimal load. You have the more robust motor system smooth over all of the transients. So while there are more single point failures the system might be overall more reliable. If simplicity was the only way to make something reliable we would have rickshaws rather than cars.