Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) theoretically give drivers the best of both worlds, in terms of propulsion, enabling local driving on electricity and the ability to use gas for longer trips. PHEVs should also ease drivers’ range concerns, in winter especially.
But when is a PHEV not a PHEV? The answer: when it’s just a hybrid. A PHEV is just a standard hybrid (HEV) when one can’t (or shouldn’t) charge it. This is exactly what the US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has advised in a safety recall affecting many thousands of Toyota Rav 4 Prime PHEV owners. It is also (basically) the case when your PHEV has to burn gas to provide cabin heat, which is by design for many brands and models like my Kia Sorento PHEV. It is also what happens when any PHEV uses up its battery’s charge and switches over to gas, but I digress. Just a note, Toyota originally estimated they would complete replacements of the 2021 and 2022 Rav 4 Prime’s defective DC-DC Current Rectifying Modules in the 4th quarter of 2023, but they are running behind.
Whenever PHEV drivers have to use gas, it is potentially annoying for them because, generally speaking, these drivers buy PHEVs to avoid burning gas. Before you judge and think: then those people should just get an all electric vehicle (EV), I’ll just mention that there are many reasons people don’t make that choice. They include, but are not limited to: can’t install a 240V charger at home, like to (or need to) take regular long trips into areas where charging resources are scarce, the EV they might otherwise want is too expensive or a comparable EV would come up short in some important way (maybe they regularly haul stuff that would otherwise be a challenge to do with the EV). And then there are those rare cases when it actually costs the same, or more, to drive on electricity as it does on gas (when electricity rates are high and gas is cheap)? I guess what I am really trying to say is: don’t begrudge anyone for buying a PHEV instead of an EV because 1. There are not enough EVs to go around in the first place and 2. a PHEV is capable of being as energy efficient (and nearly as low in overall emissions) as an EV.
While the shortcomings of a PHEV may be that it still burns gas sometimes and has to lug around a gas powered engine it may only rarely use, their virtue is still that they are highly capable of greatly reducing carbon emissions, saving us money (in the long term) and offer a no compromise path for us to move toward less environmentally harmful forms of personal transportation. Oh, and can you imagine if your EV couldn’t be charged in cold weather, like those misfortunate Rav 4 Prime owners that have been waiting months for Toyota to complete their recalls? That could be the end of a brand! As the owner of both an EV and a PHEV, EVs do simplify things (never have to worry about burning gas, ever) and they handle winter just fine, too. But with a PHEV one also has that gas engine “backup”, I suppose. But that’s cold comfort, ha! Funny, not funny, I apologize. When your PHEV has to burn gas, whether just to stay warm or so it doesn’t catch on fire (no more puns I promise), are you more than disappointed? Do you question whether you made the right choice? That may depend on which situation you are in, facing a recall or just the prospect of temperatures cold enough you need to run the gas engine, but I humbly suggest that we think of it the way I started this piece: PHEVs give us the best (and the worst) of both worlds. Don’t get too hung up on that worst part, and embrace the best parts (maybe focus on and enhance them).
Back to the problem though: about half of the 60+ people I spoke to or who responded to a social media survey I did this week said Toyota still hadn’t gotten around to performing the recall work on their Rav 4 Primes yet (though about a quarter of those people did say it was scheduled to happen in the coming days or weeks). Hopefully, Toyota is also going to offer those folks a little reimbursement for the many miles they had to drive without the benefit of their all electric range, resulting in greater wear on their gas engines in addition to the generally higher cost of gasoline (and of course the additional pollution their driving caused). I mean if we are going to hold VW and other brands liable for selling diesel engine cars that polluted much worse than they claimed to, why wouldn’t we hold Toyota to an appropriate level of responsibility here too? Maybe Toyota will even do something to make up for all that extra gasoline consumption, like deploy more solar panels on their factories or more PHEV options in their model lines, too. For those of us who have to burn some gas in our PHEVs when the temperature drops, think about all those times when you don’t have to use gas at all and know that the gas engine will get much better MPGs if it is only being used for heat and not propulsion.
Do you drive an EV or PHEV? Have you had any concerns, or actual problems using either in winter? If so, how did you deal with the problem and what did you learn from the experience? Would you favor an EV or a PHEV for winter driving? Please leave any comments or questions below.
Images courtesy of Toyota and Justin Hart.
Justin Hart has owned and driven electric vehicles for over 15 years, including a first generation Nissan LEAF, second generation Chevy Volt, Tesla Model 3, an electric bicycle and most recently a Kia Sorento PHEV. He is also an avid SUP rider, poet, photographer and wine lover. He enjoys taking long EV and PHEV road trips to beautiful and serene places with the people he loves. Follow Justin on Torque News Kia or X for regular electric and hybrid news coverage.
I'm still waiting after a…
I'm still waiting after a month for my local Toyota dealership to get the parts for the defective DC-DC Current Rectifying Modules and perform the repair.
I am sorry to hear that Mac…
I am sorry to hear that Mac. You are definitely not alone though... hopefully Toyota will get on top of this soon. It sounds like they are at least a couple months behind schedule. And hopefully, Toyota will also offer some kind of refund or other remuneration for your inconvenience and, frankly, their failure to deliver on the "promise" of their vehicles and technology.
ICE not good, PHEV not good,…
ICE not good, PHEV not good, BEV not good.
I see, nothing is good enough for you.
Invent something better no one can criticise. Good luck!
I wish I could get back the…
I wish I could get back the time I wasted reading this nonsense. Your analogy of VW using illegal devices to avoid emission laws to Prime owners having to run in legal and as-designed hybrid mode is absurd. PHEVs and hybrids are the perfect transition as EVs and battery technology continue to evolve and improve. GM - many years ago - was on the right track when it introduced the Volt in 2007. Alas, GM has lost its way and become a Chinese-partner by switching to EVs. GM is now changing its tune as the EV market cools and it announced future PHEV and hybrid models after 2024. Please write something more than just a misguided opinion piece next time you write (assuming they will publish it). Perhaps then some people will find your article worthwhile. Cheers and good luck!
Yes. I own a RAV4 Prime…
Yes.
I own a RAV4 Prime subject to recall and haven't been notified of a fix for me yet. Not a problem. The world is not a perfect place. And BEVs are certainly not the perfect solution so many claim. And that statement doesn't even factor in the infrastructure or state of battery technology and logistics issues.
It was an annoying article to read. The author seemed to try, at times, to be ballance in his perspective. He failed, imho.
As the author of the piece,…
As the author of the piece, I would ask: how do you feel my perspective was unbalanced? I'll note that I am the owner of both a PHEV and an EV, from two different brands. Do you perhaps feel I wasn't fair to Toyota? It is certainly true that there is no perfect solution (to personal vehicular transport?), though PHEVs can be and EVs are great solutions for significantly lowering ones fossil fuel related emissions.
I am not sure what you mean…
I am not sure what you mean exactly, though it sounds like you think I am complaining. Toyota has failed its customers and owes them something. This is is similar (though in a far lass impactful or deceitful way) to what VW did with their "diesel gate" scandal 9 years ago. They have sold tens of thousands of people a product that does not deliver what it was advertised to. At the very least, Toyota is 1. taking too long to fix their critical component failure and 2. owes its customers some kind of rebate for the inconvenience they have experienced and the additional pollution that results in the "work around" for their product's shortcoming. Personally, I think EVs are great and the best available option we have to address our problems of emissions related contributions to climate change and air pollution. Passenger vehicles are the single largest source of climate change inducing and pollution creating emissions and EVs are far less polluting than ICEs, over time. PHEVs are or can be almost as "good" in that sense as EVs and definitely have a roll to play in transitioning the populace toward full EV adoption.
I read this article but I'm…
I read this article but I'm not getting what are you trying to say. Strictly about PHEV: we have a Volt 2018, and it's awesome car. 62K km with an average 0.6L/100km. No problem in Canadian winter, engine starts whenever outside it's below -12 C. GM was a fool they didn't use voltec tech on a larger car like Malibu, or an SUV. Now they realize the mistake and trying to switch, as many other car manufacturers. I guess Toyota was right when they said the BEV are not a solution for everywhere, and instead one BEV you could build 3 PHEVs and overall it will be better for environment.
I apologize for not being…
I apologize for not being clearer (I do see one sentence that could be revised or moved that may be the reason what I was trying to say didn't come across). And perhaps the title of the piece is confusing too... but basically I was trying to say Toyota has done its customers and PHEVs generally a disservice. The Rav 4 Prime is capable of heating the cabin without running the enginer, just like the Chevy Volt could (I used to have a 2017 Volt, loved it!), but only when the battery has sufficient charge in it. Because Toyota has told tens of thousands of Rav 4 Prime owners NOT to charge their PHEV in temperatures below 41 degrees, it means they are forced to only use gas and run their PHEV like it was a non-plug in hybrid. To make matters worse Toyota is taking a very long time to fix the issue, longer than it should take for 50 thousand or so affected owners.
Wow, need to find something…
Wow, need to find something to be upset about and Toyota and Plugin hybrids are as good a target as any.
Toyota is an easy target as people who like BEVs tend to hate them for not adopting full electrics yet or in full force. And making out like a slow recall is the same as no recall. And not really making a good point of the 2023 and 2024 models not being effected. I know, that would be merky and not as forceful. You did get me to read the article and see the ads. So mission accomplished.
When VW advertised their…
When VW advertised their diesel powered vehicles as being "green" by polluting less, they were lying. They got fined many billions of dollars for their deceit, too. Toyota isn't deceiving anyone per se, but their product which is supposed to be able be drivable on electricity only, and to provide cabin heat on electricity only, is now functionally incapable of doing that for many thousands of owners, because the recall means their vehicles can catch on fire if they are charged in temperatures below 41F. I am not saying this is as bad as what VW did, at all, but comparing the two situations because, frankly, Toyota owes its customers and the world some reimbursement for all the extra gas its owners have had to burn the last several months, and all the extra pollution this situation has created. That would be far, far smaller than what VW had to cough up, but Toyota owes people it has let down, plain and simple.
No need for plug-in hybrid, …
No need for plug-in hybrid, just hybrid is good enough. Look at lexus es300h.
Good enough in what way?…
Good enough in what way? Just in cost to fuel? Hybrids still emit a lot of pollution, 20-30% less than an ICE, but still too much pollution to be sustainable. Hybrids that don't plug-in may be good enough in some capacities, I agree, but they still come up short when it comes to lowering emissions enough to save us from the most severe impacts of climate change.