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Hymotion has to offer 10 years or 150,000 miles warranty?

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by ken1784, Jan 26, 2009.

  1. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    I'm not sure what does following article mean, but does Hymotion have to offer 10 years or 150,000 miles warranty?

    Green Car Congress: ARB Approves Modifications for Test Procedures for Plug-in Hybrids and Fuel Cell Vehicles, Defers Decision on Certification of PHEV Conversions

    PHEV Conversions. The element of the multi-part proposal considered this morning that generated the most discussion both before and during the hearing was the proposed certification of aftermarket plug-in conversions. Conversions are considered aftermarket parts, and as such legally require exemptions from anti-tampering requirements, with the exception of the handful of vehicles given an experimental exemption for development purposes.
    Certified conversion systems—such as CNG or propane—are required to meet original emission certifications, exhibit durability, and meet OBD requirements.
    Part of ARB staff’s concern is that the vehicles being targeted for conversion are originally PZEVs, warranted for emissions by the vehicle manufacturers for 15 years or 150,000 miles. The battery is considered an emission control part and is considered a zero-emission energy storage device used for traction power. As such, the battery is warranted for 10 years or 150,000 miles.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #1 ken1784, Jan 26, 2009
  2. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    No, the decision on what type of warranty and testing/certification any PHEV kits have to provide has been deferred for a later date to gather more information and feedback.
     
    #2 drees, Jan 27, 2009
  3. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    There may be some leeway on the warranty, but the certification would likely would not be exempted.
     
    #3 bedrock8x, Jan 27, 2009
  4. dhancock

    dhancock 2 Prius Family

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    As I read it, the quoted statement is talking about the battery warranty on the orignial car (PZHV) and NOT making any statement about the Conversion warranty,
     
    #4 dhancock, Jan 27, 2009
  5. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    No - the whole issue is that because the OEM battery is considered an emissions component, it must be warranted for 10-years/150k miles in CARB states - any modification to the system must maintain factory emissions levels and warranties.

    This means that technically under current law, PHEV conversions should meet the same emissions levels and warranty requirements. Certification to be sold as CARB legal is an expensive process, which most PHEV conversion companies would have a hard time affording.

    The aftermarket automobile industry has long faced the same problem when selling aftermarket engine parts - any part that replaces or modifies any part of the engine between the air filter and the last catalytic converter is considered to be emissions related and must have CARB approval to be legally sold and installed for use on roads. In addition, during a SMOG test, any non-OEM emissions related components must have CARB approval documentation.

    As a result, only the highest volume manufacturers and popular parts end up CARB approved. The rest are shadily sold as "off road" parts meaning that they can not be used legally on the road and if found during an inspection either during a traffic stop or scheduled SMOG test, you will either be forced to return the car back to legal status and possibly face fines depending on the affected component.

    The difference being is that most of these aftermarket parts can and do significantly affect emissions (in particular, any exhaust part that removes a catalytic converter as is a very common modification to improve horsepower), but according to the documentation, so can a PHEV conversion due to the increase in number of cold starts.

    I have always held the opinion that if it passes the sniffer test then it should be legal, but obviously, designing an easy to administer cold-start test would be difficult and expensive to do.
     
    #5 drees, Jan 28, 2009
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