Rescuers Prep for Hybrid Car Accidents 620
mykepredko writes "I've driven a Toyota Prius for two years now and found this CNN article regarding the training required to rescue people trapped in hybrid cars to be slightly alarming. As an EE, I would expect that the electrical system is designed to be as well protected and fail-safe as possible in an accident, but if I'm ever in an accident, I'll make sure that any responders are wearing rubber gloves and boots and if any cutting is done, the roof is the only area they touch." Toyota has an accident guide indicating that if the airbags deploy, the hybrid battery pack should be automatically isolated.
Wait a sec .... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wait a sec .... (Score:5, Funny)
Are they some sort of cellphone company ?
If you are going to alter the article you could at least spell it correctly
You're right. (Score:5, Funny)
You're right, something is fishy. ExxonMobil [exxonmobil.com] probably wouldn't spell thier own name incorrectly.
Re:Wait a sec .... (Score:5, Funny)
I agree. Especially the part about a low-speed rear-end collision "opening a portal to hell."
Re:Wait a sec .... (Score:3, Funny)
Maybe this is Id's way of gearing up for the Doom3 release.
wbs.
Re:Wait a sec .... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wait a sec .... (Score:5, Interesting)
The reality:
ChevronTexaco is an investor in ECD Ovonics [ovonic.com] - the company that owns the popular NiMH battery technology [ovonic.com] that is popular in hybrid autos. Toyota gets their NiMH batteries from Matsushita/Panasonic, who are conveniently not paying the 3 percent royalty. So, the two companies have been tied up in the courts for years now battling this out. Last year, they moved into arbitration and that will be released this month [ovonic.com]. Although it was wrong for Matsushita to steal the technology, it is going to look bad when Toyota hybrids are banned from importation due to a lawsuit coming from a ChevronTexaco joint-venture.
Re:Wait a sec .... (Score:5, Informative)
this thread is going into miss-information fast
The system developed for the Prius was made by a 3rd party company which is partialy owned by toyota. Toyota took their works and continued the development of their system. Ford worked with the same 3rd party company, but largly designed their system theirself (ford by far leads in R&D on hybrids, just haven't put anything out till late summer). They did make a deal with toyota over some of the controls, mainly to avoid patent violations, but it does not share tech, just look at the 2 systems in person and it's obvious, or talk to someone who has worked on one them.
Honda does not use the same type of system at all. The use a integrated flywheel, motor, altenator. It's sandwiched between the engine and tranny. Its a crappy lame hybrid, same thing as GM is putting out in their trucks as an option. Most would not call it a hybrid, at most call it a mild hybrid. But Hondas marketing is at work.
The CVTs in the vehicles are differant. Ford and toyota get their cvt via the planetary gearset used for the powersplite between the engine, generator, motor/wheels. There is no tranny to speed of, just the powersplit unit. The insight and civic use a normal transmission or you can get it with a cvt that is of a complicated deal using cones and belts and what not. They are very differant.
Also there is no patent infringments with using the planetary for the powersplit since this idea is as old as gearing it'self.
Also though you said nothing, i doubt ovonic has any claim over nickel metal hydrid batteries. Since that tech has been around for long anough for any patents to expire, plus their is so many ways to make such batteries you could get around them, and ovonic is more active with lithium ion batteries. And the Ford escape hybrid uses Sanyo batteries if anyone cares.
Re:Wait a sec .... (Score:3, Informative)
I did research on solar power cars back in the late 80's as part of an independent research project at my college. The more I dug into the subject the more I began to discover that all the ju
Re:Wait a sec .... (Score:3, Funny)
All I can say (Score:5, Funny)
Re:All I can say (Score:3, Funny)
KVL (Score:5, Funny)
Is there any resistance to this idea?
-Cyc
Not a great assumption... (Score:4, Insightful)
If you are in an accident bad enough to need "responders" to get you out, odds are not great that you'll be conscious.
Re:Not a great assumption... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Not a great assumption... (Score:5, Informative)
Nope, most any person who is trapped - dead or alive - has to be pulled out, and since we are the only ones trained to do it, guess who gets called out?
The difference is that we generally wouldn't go emergency if it was a definate body recovery. But IO have certainly cut my share of dead and alive patients out of cars.
The thing about all of this is that, in an accident bad enough, you can't guarantee any emergency system within the car is going to work. I don't care *what* the manufacturer says, if it were my guys they would be wearing any protection we could give them.
The problem isn't just limited to Hybrid cars. Think about the cars that have side-impact airbags, air cushions, etc. Anywhere we want to cut could contain within it an airbag ready to deploy. Worse, even those manufacturers don't have a standard for how long before a system is deenergized. At least with steering wheel airbags we can put a special cover over it.
Re:Not a great assumption... (Score:5, Interesting)
Insane numbers of airbags, compressed gas cylinders strategicly located in our best cutting points, airbags that don't always go off, and therefore might go off at any point in time while we're cutting the car apart.
And now they're adding several hundred volts to the mix.
Luckily we don't need to cut through the center of the floor boards very often (common wiring route for the big linces).
But then, the automotive companies don't seem to have concern for making a car that's easy to cut apart. They main focus on not killing you in the first place.
The Mini's are the most impressive I've seen. 60mph into a telephone pole (annihalated the pole), and then into a redwood tree. No broken glass, but the engine compartment was demolished. Incredible how much energy it soaked up, without harming anything past the firewall. Too bad it caught fire as the gas tank was torn open by the bottom of the telephone poll...
Re:Not a great assumption... (Score:4, Insightful)
The next day at work, a coworker brought in her newborn infant. I never thought I'd be so happy to see something small and pink and wrinkly and wriggly.
Re:Not a great assumption... (Score:4, Funny)
"but enough of what my wife tells me"
Re:Zero Compassion (Score:3, Insightful)
On the face of it, that's a good assumption. But in REALITY, you need to do whatever you have to to get basic information like WHERE ARE YOU? Sometimes people need a jolt to calm down.
Re:Not a great assumption... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Not a great assumption... (Score:5, Funny)
Then a special sensor would calcuate the height of the other vehicle. If it looks like it might be an SUV, another charge fires the battery pack out the front of the vehicle.
Re:Not a great assumption... (Score:3, Interesting)
A lot of accidents (I don't know the percentage but I'm sure its most) happen at intercetions. And that usually means traffic lights. Ejection seats would have a very good chance of shooting a guy right up into one. Not to mention trees, buildings, and a whole bunch of other things that are along the side of the roadway.
Another problem is that if any part of the system fails then the ejector is a going to be in a world of hurt. One of the ma
Sound Effects (Score:5, Funny)
I'd like to suggest new electric cars be equipped with Jetsons-style "whuwuwuwuwuuwu" sounds as a safety feature. Actually, this might very well be an untapped commercial opportunity: custom car sound effects. Drive a wagon train! Drive a steam train! Drive the U.S.S. Enterprise! Be ironic and drive a Hummer!
Re:Sound Effects (Score:5, Funny)
ok, I kid.
it's probably only a 3rd.
Re:Sound Effects (Score:3, Funny)
Or be like the kids in my neighborhood and drive a mobile dance club.
thump thump thump thump thump thump
Re:Sound Effects (Score:5, Funny)
Thump thump thump? The kids in your neighborhood are into waltzes?
Schwab
Re:Sound Effects (Score:5, Interesting)
Why not an electric toothbrush, or electric mixer? Come on, the Enterprise is in space, it doesn't actually make sound! ;)
The Shadow vessel scream from B5! That'll wake you cyclists up!
Re:Sound Effects (Score:3, Interesting)
Sound effects as a safety feature (Score:4, Interesting)
Anyone driving a vehicle which is sufficiently loud (e.g. cycle with loud pipes) to prevent others from hearing the quieter vehicles should be subjected to immediate confiscation of their sonic assault weapon. This would have the worthwhile effect of turning the ex-driver into a pedestrian, so that they could appreciate the hazards of overly loud vehicles from the opposite perspective.
Even weirder: Prius race cars. (Score:5, Interesting)
The car sucked... badly... in almost all of the stages, because it was really fast for the first mile or two until it ran out of battery, and then the dinky motor wouldn't be able to give it enough power to keep up with anyone.
There was one stage at the hippodrome, though, where they were running a mile or so course on a twisty infield and part of a horse track. It was very competitive on there. It was so surreal though to have one roaring rally car after another go flying by, and then when the Prius ran, the first car went screaming by, followed a bit later by the Prius -- where all you could hear was the tires on the dirt/gravel.
Re:Even weirder: Prius race cars. (Score:5, Informative)
THIS LINK [toyota.com] provides a description of how the Prius' drivetrain uses the gas and electric motors in tandem.
Re:Even weirder: Prius race cars. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Even weirder: Prius race cars. (Score:4, Informative)
FYI, most production cars are incapable of 200. Usually drag is the limiting factor. A late model high-end Camaro or Firebird, for example, with minimal upgrades (chip, intake, exhaust type stuff) will generally drag-limit itself around the 155-170 range dependant on a few factors. A 'Vette in the same boat might make 180-185-ish due to it's better aerodynamics. In any case, even on a wide open empty road, anything over 150 is pretty fucking scary in a production passenger vehicle of any kind - especially taking into account unpredictable things like rocks and small animals that might be in your path.
And generally, you don't get arrested at 100 either. I routinely hit 120 in the major city that I live in when traffic opens up enough to allow it without being overtly rude to other drivers. A little knowledge of where the police usually set up speed traps in your city, combined with a radar detector and a vigilant eye, can usually keep you ticket free even at those speeds.
From a Prius owner: (Score:4, Interesting)
Flooring the thing for a few miles would probably do it. I remember taking the bugger to 100 and that engine was working way too hard to fuel the electric battery.
The one time I ran out of juice from normal usage was going through Western New Mexico to Albuquerque with no stops. There is a long incline going into the city after a slight incline over the whole trip. The car wasn't ready for it and had to slow down to 55.
Yes, that motor is only good enough to keep you sustained at 55 by itself.
(Note: I still heartily reccomend the car for most everyone, and the 2004 model has a higher HP gas engine so I'm sure the problem isn't pronounced.)
Re:Sound Effects (Score:5, Funny)
BTM
Re:Sound Effects (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd like to suggest...
I'd like to suggest that mothers starting telling their children to look both ways before crossing the street.
Re:Sound Effects (Score:3)
Think of the blind children!
Re:Sound Effects (Score:3, Funny)
Ideally, it would be a sound fairly similar to other cars of its size, projected mostly in the direction of travel. On the upside, the people inside the car would barely have to hear it. But this also means adding a "check vroom-vroom noise" light to the dashboard.
Re:Sound Effects (Score:4, Insightful)
Beingg a volunteer firefighter.. (Score:4, Interesting)
I have also heard of their being multiple batteries.
Also, some new mini-van with a glass roof has extra reinforced roof posts that my fire dept's hydraulic cutting tools cound't cut.
Finally, the presence of air bags everywhere all over the car frame is great, they can explode at random times.
New cars are making it really hard to get people out of them safely after an accident.
Re:Beingg a volunteer firefighter.. (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, but the people tend to be alive after these accidents. Anyone can yank a corpse out of a mangled Honda. Believe me, anyone!
Re:Beingg a volunteer firefighter.. (Score:3, Funny)
Not just the Big Orange Cables... (Score:5, Informative)
But after an accident, any part of the wiring harness could be energized relative to the frame -- you just don't know, for example, if the dome light circuit is going to happen to be connected to the same bank of circuits that were smushed into the Big Orange Cable in a front-quarter collision that also happened to damage the fail-safe circuit breakers.
It's a big deal -- I imagine your training is similar to what the rural fire volunteers are getting here in Colorado: if it's a Prius, don't touch it!
Reminds me of the college kids who like to play with radiation warning labels: ``heh-heh. My laptop has a radiation sticker on it! Cool! heh-heh.'' The problem is that if you get in (for example) a car accident and one of those labels is visible anywhere around the car, there is no first aid for you until the radiologic response unit arrives from across town.
Re:Beingg a volunteer firefighter.. (Score:5, Funny)
On the bright side, you won't need to carry a defibrillator to these accident scenes.
Re:Beingg a volunteer firefighter.. (Score:3, Informative)
In fifteen minutes, the car was non-operational.
Turns out the back battery is the one that does the electric motor, and it really doesn't like to get hot, ever. Removed the offending paperwork and it was back to normal almost right away.
And this just in (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:And this just in (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:And this just in (Score:5, Informative)
Off the top of your head? (Score:3)
Tim
Re:And this just in (Score:3, Informative)
Motor vehicles have vapor, but not the ignition and usually not the oxygen.
Flight 800 had a mostly empty center tank of approximately 13,000 gallon capacity. Between 500 and 1,500 times that of a normal car.
It had approximately 50 - 100 gallons of fuel in it, enough to create good vapor for the remaining 13,000 gallon capacity.
That fuel was also not gasoline, but kerosene (more or less) a very different substance. So the explosive air/vapo
As opposed to the safety of... (Score:5, Interesting)
Where any accident will involve the spraying and leaking of a dozen gallons if highly flammable fluid?
Re:As opposed to the safety of... (Score:3, Informative)
Back here in the Real World, gas tanks are hardened, so that only the most violent shock would produce a rupture, and are also positioned at the opposite end of the vehicle from the major source of ignition (ie the engine).
You really have to try really hard/be very (un)lucky to get a car to explode.
Diesel is safer than petrol (Score:4, Interesting)
Current VS. Voltage... (Score:5, Informative)
500 volts? 45 volts is enough to kill you... at 10 amperes!
Seriously, aren't we nerds, or something?!
Re:Current VS. Voltage... (Score:4, Informative)
What's the reasoning behind why 100-200mA is lethal but >200mA is just severe burns and respritory failure?
It's right in the article provided in the link...
As the current approaches 100 mA, ventricular fibrillation of the heart occurs -an uncoordinated twitching of the walls of the heart's ventricles. There's no worldly help for the victim.
...
Above 200 mA, muscular contractions are so severe that the heart is forcibly clamped during the shock. This clamping protects the heart from going into ventricular fibrillation, and the victim's chances for survival are good.
Not really (Score:3, Informative)
2 - you must have voltage to get to the heart - less than 80 will seldom do it, but this depends on skin moisture and pH, how much water you have on board, do you drink Gatorade or just sweat alot...
3 - high-current electrocutions do kill people, because you don't get this high current instantly or constantly - imagine 2 A, followed by a trailing off to 80 mA - gotcha.
4 - Gauss pla
Upside-down (Score:5, Insightful)
And if the car is upside down?
Racing cars.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Racing cars have a standard placed cut off for the motor/fuel line inside the drivers door for rescuers, why not something like that for the hybrids?
The radio (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The radio (Score:4, Funny)
Why the concern? (Score:5, Insightful)
Sounds like another internet scare article put out by a 'reputible' source...
Voltage issue... (Score:5, Informative)
From the article:
The battery powering the electric motor carries as much as 500 volts, more than 40 times the strength of a standard battery.
Re:Voltage issue... (Score:4, Informative)
If you were to touch a 10,000 volt power line though, that would be a different story alltogether, because it has enough watts going for it, that when you touch it, you get the full 10,000.
-Jesse IAAEE
Reminds me... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Reminds me... (Score:3, Interesting)
Happened to a friend of mine when I was about 10 or so. Funny at the time, but he was pissed... in more ways than you know.
Re:Voltage issue... (Score:3, Informative)
Your electric fence can't deliver a lethal shock because the circuit is formed through the earth (soil). The soil has a high impedance, so very little current flows even across 10000 volts. The fence initially delivers a very strong shock because your body acts like a capacitor charging up. Once you are "charged" (i.e., at a high voltage) the cur
Re:Voltage issue... (Score:3, Informative)
They actually covered this on Myth Busters (best tv show ever). Urinating on something as powerful as the third rail of the subway is not enough to do anything because urine is not a steady stream, but lots of tiny droplets. The current would have to jump though the air many times to get to you, and it loses power with every jump of a gap. So it never gets to you.
cutting someone from the car? (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem with these things isn't the danger of electricity, it's the danger of being under my suburban!
Re:cutting someone from the car? (Score:5, Funny)
Sure, your SUV may smash my hybrid, but you'll be extra crispy. Especially if that voltage gets into the coils of the heated seats you got your ass planted on.
Re:cutting someone from the car? (Score:3, Interesting)
Don't take my word for it. Check out this article [gladwell.com], which appeared in the New Yorker magazine few months back.
stored energy is stored energy (Score:4, Insightful)
all that electrical energy in the batteries is,
but when it comes down to it if the car has the
same range as a similar normal car then there is
exactly the same amount of energy in the batteries
as there would normally be in a car's fuel tank.
But these aren't pure electric cars. They only
have a few km of range on the batteries and most
of the energy is in the fuel tank just like any
other car.
Um, no (Score:4, Informative)
There are two problems with the above: it neglects the rate of energy transfer and the barrier to it. With a gasoline engine, both are reasonably high unless someone's walking around with matches, and emergency crews are smart enough not to smoke. The risk of shock is higher than detonation.
Also, there's no analogous concept of capacitance for gasoline. However, if the wrong cable gets severed, your ass is fried with an electric. Also, because stored electrical energy is less obvious than a puddle of gasoline, it's harder to avoid.
So there's about 5 reasons why one need fear hybrids in a crash more than regular cars
Re:stored energy is stored energy (Score:5, Funny)
for formatting
your post
in a way
that accomodates
my very rare
300x1200 resolution
screen.
This story is almost wholly bogus. (Score:5, Informative)
Extended comments at Gizmodo [gizmodo.com] makes it clear that this is 99% rumor/FUD. Does anyone bother chacking the facts on these things before they're posted?
OK,
- B
Re:This story is almost wholly bogus. (Score:3, Funny)
Was that a rhetorical question? :)
Re:This story is almost wholly bogus. (Score:4, Insightful)
"Concerns about hybrids are increasing in large part because of their growing popularity."
Obviously, somebody in the industry hasn't done his homework preparing for the new millenium and is trying to save himself through using his connection in the cable networks. What really bothers me is how they are using the innermost concerns of people to plant them in a world of fear. They almost make it unpatriotic to buy hybrids as thus you are endangering the heroic rescuers besides yourself. Not that CNN really surprises me with this move. I've lost all faith in their capability as any kind of source of information.
Re:This story is almost wholly bogus. (Score:5, Interesting)
Thanks for the info! I was almost thinking about reconsidering my plans to buy a Prius later this year, then I thought about how unlikely it would be to route lossy high-voltage the long way around the frame. Then I saw your link, and that sealed it -- I'm getting a Prius first chance I get.
I'm just afraid folks will fall for it like they've fallen for the cellphones at gas stations [snopes.com] myth. Every gas pump in Texas has a label perpetuating this silliness!
Re:This story is almost wholly bogus. (Score:3, Informative)
First, I'm glad to hear that I had a hand in someone buying a hybrid. Woohoo!
Second, it's not just Texas. I haven't kept track, but I regularly buy gas in NY, MA, CT, NJ, and sometimes PA and ME, and I see those labels more often than not.
OK,
- B
Saabs had explosives (Score:5, Interesting)
Both door posts had warning stickers not to crush the car or bad things would happen.
I guess the junkyard crushing machine operators got occassional surprises!
Re:Saabs had explosives (Score:3, Informative)
Next generation hybrids... (Score:3, Informative)
However, in ANY car wreck, a badly mangled car is dangerous.
Re:Next generation hybrids... (Score:3, Informative)
In the case of the 4wd model, you'll find electric motors in both the front and rear, along with the gasoline engine up front. The battery will still be in the back end though.
In any case, wires are routed underneath along the frame rails - not through the doors or top pillars. And each side of the circuit is generally done in different locations of the car to prevent someone from cutting through both + and - cables at the same time. I
Not sold on the hybrids (Score:4, Interesting)
The diesel in the VW is proven technology, but I was also worried about how the hybrids would be in an accident. Plus, the Golf TDI runs like an NBA player from his kids' wives. I know it will go 125MPH, but I was still accelerating when I decided to back off.
Re:Not sold on the hybrids (Score:5, Interesting)
Other hybrids: all part of the Prius gets 5 stars on front impacts. Civic Hybrid would be no different from regular Civics.
Some important facts... (Score:5, Informative)
First, the High Voltage system is isolated from the car body completely. Not even "ground" is shared. The cables and parts are shrouded in tough orange plastic.
Second, the article is incorrect on two points: the battery is only 200+ Volts, not 500V. The 500V is only between the inverter and motors.
Also, there are no high voltage components in the doors.
Because the airbag accelerometers are used to monitor whether the car is in an accident, the main battery relay shuts off right next to the battery long before any metal starts twisting its way into high voltage areas. The bigger danger is the battery (several NiMH cells) being split open, but it is protected by its location and special shrouds.
My biggest fear in an accident is that the E-personnel are scared into paralysis by rumors, and don't rescue me.
BTW, you can see the Toyota Emergency Responder guide at http://techinfo.toyota.com/
Re:Some important facts... (Score:3, Insightful)
That one caught my surprise, too. Considering that the doors are pretty much a dead end, I couldn't fathom why there would be. Power doors and windows don't need any more juice in a hybrid than any other car.
Definition? (Score:4, Funny)
More Detroit FUD BS (Score:5, Informative)
My THIRD Prius, an 04 (I've owned an 01 and 03 - both completely problem-free), is currently sitting in Port Newark. I am also a retired rescue captain so I can state with some authority that Prius fundamental design is such that it would take a deliberate act of stupidity for a rescue technician to manage to make contact with both the positive AND negative high voltage leads at the same time since both are ground-isolated and separately encased in conduit.
In real-fife rear-end accidents, only ONE Prius battery was damaged and it's safety issue was some minimal leakage of electrolyte; NOT "Deadly High Voltage"!
In fact, the Japanese national fire safety bureau (the official name escapes me at the moment) insisted that Toyota place the HV conduit inboard far enough that the "Jaws Of Life" can't possibly make contact in one or two "bites".
Sigh...
"I don't understand it???
I'm afraid of it!
KILL IT!!!"
T_O_M
This is mere FUD in all likelyhood. (Score:3, Interesting)
I have heard from my friends in the automotive industry (take that vague description FWIW) that the trend is for all vehicles, not just hybrid and electric vehicles, to move towards drive-by-wire systems over the next ten years or so. So any rescue problems that a Prius will have, so could any other motor vehicle. This isn't going to stop me from buying a Prius or Civic Hybrid next time I'm in the market for a car.
Duh... (Score:3, Insightful)
If only it was completely electric, then the greatest danger of all (gasoline spilling and igniting or exploding) would be eliminated. And an impact switch can isolate the battery pack in case of collision. But, they just keep making foreign-oil-dependent bombs on wheels for us to drive around in. (as well as deploying other kinds of bombs in other places to maintain our oil supply)
Uh oh, better stop my research... (Score:3, Funny)
Stay in school (Score:4, Interesting)
Did you hear? There are conveyances that carry TOXIC, FLAMMABLE fuel in LARGE TANKS and in HOSES from the tank to the engine!!! If the conveyances get hit, there could be an EXPLOSION!! If I'm in an accident, I'll make sure that any responders are wearing fireproof hazmat suits, and if any cutting is done, the roof is the only area they touch!
Toyota's own response - boy are they quick (Score:3, Informative)
Toyota Press Release [toyota.com]
Toyota Prius Engine Safety in the Event of an Accident
For Immediate Release
(05/04/2004) Torrance, CA
The Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid vehicle has many safeguards to help ensure safe operation for drivers and protection of emergency response professionals in the event of an accident. The high voltage batteries are contained in an extremely strong protective case located in a portion of the vehicle very unlikely to be penetrated in a collision. Drivetrain management computers continuously monitor all system functions performing hundreds of tests each minute. In the event an abnormal condition is detected, all high voltage circuits are disabled and high voltage is contained inside the protective case.
Further, two safety mechanisms are in place that shut off the engine and disconnect high voltage if an airbag is deployed or if there is a sudden deceleration indicative of an accident. High voltage cables and components are heavily insulated, shielded, isolated and the cables are painted bright orange for easy identification. The controller box is a sealed unit and has warning labels.
To reassure emergency response professionals when the Prius was introduced in 2000, Toyota placed advertisements in trade publications and sent letters to industry organizations announcing the availability and dissemination of Emergency Response Guides. Today, all Emergency Response Guides for Toyota's alternative fuel vehicles, including Prius, RAV 4 EV, CNG Camry and Highlander Fuel Cell Hybrid are available at Toyota's technical information web site and Toyota continues to advertise in appropriate professional publications.
Electrically driven Toyota vehicles like the Prius, RAV 4 EV and e.com have been available in the U.S. since 1998. Like all vehicles, they can be involved in emergency situations. They have established a good track record for electrical safety and we are not aware of a battery case breach or any personal injury in the U.S. related to hybrid or EV electrical systems.
# # #
Contact:
Toyota Product News
Apparently Toyota is pretty protective of it's technology.
Re:That's shocking!!! (Score:5, Funny)
*dry look* (Score:5, Funny)
They do. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Then there are toxic chemicals (Score:4, Informative)
The Prius uses NiMH batteries. They have a highly caustic (pH 13.5) electrolyte, but other than that are apparently non-toxic. Vinegar or Boric acid can be used to neutralize any electrolyte that leaks, but leaks are not likely since the solution is absorbed into the cell plates and shouldn't normally leak even when the battery module is cracked.
Re:Two words... (Score:3, Interesting)
Judging from http://techinfo.toyota.com [toyota.com]'s 2004 Prius responder guide, Toyota has been quite responsible in routing the cables under the floor pan, where emergency responders are unlikely to need to go. The system is also designed with a relay powered by the 12 volt auxiliary battery that the car's computer has to enable in order for the high voltage lines to be energized. If the car deploys its air bags, that relay is designed to open, disconnecting the high voltage pack from the rest of the car.
In othe
Look out! The sky! (Score:3, Insightful)
It wouldn't be a big deal for a rescue crew to just pull it out before they cut anywhere else, making sure the power is cut. Probably a good idea with a normal battery in a wreck that bad, o