EV Ownership: A Hybrid Technologies Update

Last week, I wrote about the LiV Wise electric car from Hybrid Technologies. A member of the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association had taken delivery of one of these Toyota Yarises with the combustion engine ripped out and replaced by lithium batteries and an electric motor. He shared his excitement about the car — and the fact that he’d put 1000 miles on it in his first month of ownership — and I shared it with GoodGreenCars readers.

But lest you think EVs are absolutely perfect, he did write in that he’s had a few minor issues with his LiV Wise:

• A software glitch had the computer beeping at him, but that can be updated
• When plugging in the car, metal contacted metal (”completely my fault,” he said), which created a spark that tripped the breaker in his garage
• The battery management system screen no longer comes on when charging without the key, so he may have blown a fuse in the car

“So we’ll see how idiot-proof the car is,” said the owner in an email. He also mentioned that Hybrid Technologies’ “customer support has been awesome so far,” a necessary attribute in a company whose products are on the bleeding edge of automotive technology. If you’re going to take the $40,000-leap, you want to know that the builder of your car has got your back.

Would you like to see more reporting about real people living with the latest in automotive technology? Let me know in the comments.