On May 29, 2010, I had a Hymotion A123 plug in hybrid kit installed on my 2004 Prius by Smart Toyota in Madison, Wisconsin. Since that time I have been very dissatisfied with the kit. The function and use of the plug in hybrid was not fully explained to me. I have a degree in engineering and used to work for General Motors. I get what Smart is trying to tell me but honestly, the kit does not work. In all fairness, I must tell you they have offered to replace the kit at no charge. Here is the problem, even if the kit did work, I would like it removed from my car. I am not willing to drive the way it takes to fully appreciate the advantage of the plug in hybrid. Again, I was not told about the driving change I would need to make before I purchased the kit. Now, here is what I don't get. Smart Toyota says the kit can not be removed from the car and they have refused to remove the kit, even if I pay to do so. What gives with this? Can the kit be removed? I have phoned and emailed Hymotion and they have not contacted me either. Does a removed kit have any value on the open market? Can the car be sold for a fair price with the kit in it? If someone near Madison, Wisconsin, would like to take on the project I would sell them a Hymotion converted Prius cheap. It is a 2004 dark red metalic with 33k miles and loaded with everything but leather. It is flawless and has never been smoked in. Any suggestions? The car should be worth $12K to $13K and we all know the kit was over $10K. Any sincere help would be appreciated. Thx.
First I would really like to know your commute. For an example how many miles per day do you travel? Its it all highway or all city or a little of both? What speed do you travel on those roads? What fuel mileage was you getting before the conversion? What was it after the conversion? Second. Yes you can remove the Hymotion system as far as I know. The only issue is that there is some wiring ran through the prius that once installed may be a little hard to remove. If you remove just the unit its gong to be hard to sell because there is no public documentation on how to install the unit and what wires need hooked up and where. As much as I would like to have the installation instructions and wiring diagram Hymotion wont give them to me. Your best bet if you don't like the car is to sell it. If you find the right person you could sell it for about what its worth. Around $22K if you advertise that the Hymotion system is new and only has a few hundred/thousand miles on it. I'm sure you could sell it for $15K. That would be a hell of a steal for a plug in.
Dunno, how much can you lift while bent over the rear hatch lip? . ... just kidding ... . Seriously, though, maybe if you come to Hybridfest we could make a side project of deinstalling your HM kit and learn a bunch about it in the process. Or maybe you and Theforce could just go out for a "how to drive your hymotion" clinic and it would work better for you... . _H*
Sorry for the dumb question: What driving style change is needed to drive the plug-in converted car? Thanks!
Pulse and glide is for optimization, it isn't required. Of course you can extend your range doing that, but you can drive it regularly if you want. And as far as I know about the hymotion, it spoofs the battery meter when you are driving, but when braking or otherwise it leaves it alone so the regen can take over. Have you tried just driving it? I am guessing they put in an EV button of some kind right? If you do want to completely uninstall it, I might want the batteries but I think that is a last resort.
If your MFD is not showing a full charge after charging for the night then there is definitely something wrong and you need to get Smart Motors Toyota to fix it. Did it ever get a full charge? Does the Hymotion LED flash at all? If you could tell me the information I asked in my first post I can estimate what MPG you should be getting.
my daughter had one in the transportation department at uvm. it never worked right (they only got around 50 mpg calculated at the pump), hymotion sent someone out to fix it and it still didn't work. i think you need to lean on the dealer rather than give up. good luck!
For me. No driving change is needed. I have found driving with a soft touch helps. I do not drive slow. I have the need to accerate, I do. I echo theforce, the display should show all green with a full charge. An early discussion was extention cords. Make sure yours is the correct gauge for it's length. Bisco, interesting they have one at uvm. I can imagine college students and their driving style. BTW I now have 3 teenage drivers. Back to the OP that you have considered getting rid of a 10K investment after 10 days. Good luck in whatever you decide. Chris
it is not for students, it's at the transportation department which studies and makes policy for state and federal roads. typical bureaucracy with a bunch of nerdy employees sitting around in cubicles all day basically getting nothing done. my daughter was apolicy grad student working there while in school. she left after graduating and is now a farmer. the stories i could tell, OY!
Any update peoriacab? Can you give me any of the details I asked for to help you out? I'll be traveling on 39 either to or from Hybrid Fest and maybe both. 39 is not too far from you. If you wanted to we could meet somewhere and I can take a look at your setup.
Hi All, The Hymotion kits are working great for the State of Oregon. We have converted several (between 7 and 11, the plan was for 11, but I think the budget ran short) of the Pruis' that were in the State fleet. They are averaging 72 miles per gallon. The ones that are in the pool and see multiple drivers generally don't get the best MPG, but the ones that are assigned to specific drivers tend to get the best mileage. And even in the pool, some drivers get way better mileage than others, as you would expect. Basically, they are a big hit with the drivers and the motor pool staff as well. So, don't blame all state employees because some Hymotion kits don't work. We've had minor repairs on at least one of ours, but it's back up to par and running great. Later, Dan
Thank you for your offer of help. I too will be at the Hybrid Fest in Wisconsin. Last Wednesday Smart Motors came down with a trailer and carried my 2004 Prius the 300 miles back to Madison. Hymotion had authorized a new battery pack sent direct from their lab where it was extensively tested prior to shipping. My L5 tested out fine but they changed the pack to be safe. They agreed when they got my car that nothing in the Hymotion system was working. What they found was that the small 12 volt battery was weak and when that was replaced with a new one, everything worked fine. Smart is now saying that they will be certain that battery is in good shape before the installation of any Hymotion kit. I think everyone should be made aware of this situation. Should I start a new thread or will you make note of this in your writings?
Well I thought that a weak 12v was a known issue with the Hymotion system. The new firmware should have delayed the start up of the pack so the 12v battery voltage could stabilize. But if you had a very weak battery which is possible if your 2004 still had the original battery then the Hymotion system would never turn on. So are you going to keep your converted car now? I look forward to seeing you at Hybrid Fest.
Yes, I am going to keep the car. I have wanted an EV since 1973. This is way cool. The battery was the original!!!!!! I bought the car two weeks before the Hymotion install just for this purpose. It is a very nice '04. I'll try to look you up at the Fest. I will be in town early Friday afternoon and will stay for the duration. John Dolan, the Hymotion guru from Smart Motors, will know how to find me. Thank you again for your words of encouragement. Peoriacab
Hey guys, I just stumbled on this old thread. Turns out that I'm the guy who bought the car from the original poster of this thread. That was in Feb. 2012. We bought it as our new family car. Besides the Hymotion Kit, it was also low miles, a great color, had tinted windows, a heated driver's seat, and a full set of brand-new snow tires. I'm a bit east of Madison, WI, over in Oconomowoc. When we got the car, I took it to Smart Motors, and had the Hymotion system looked over, and everything checked out great. It was good for several years, but not the Hymotion system quit working. I think it's the DC/DC converter. Earlier, parts were not available. Unfortunately, Hymotion went out of business. It looks like a few small business deals have now made parts available again. Right now, I'm planning to remove the system, take it apart, and see about making the repair. I ended up finding this thread after Googling "how to remove a Hymotion Kit". It's bizarre how many things that I web search for, only to come back to something else I've already been involved with! You can always follow my automotive adventures at 300MPG or on my YouTube Channel.
