Michigan Man Sues Toyota Over Prius Plug-in's Awful Range

by Steph Willems

Published: August 7th, 2016

michigan man sues toyota over prius plug in s awful range

The short-lived Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid was never a popular vehicle, and the subject of one man’s lawsuit could answer why.

A suit filed against Toyota in an eastern Michigan court claims the plaintiff’s 2012 Prius Plug-in didn’t come close to offering the meager advertised range of the upgraded hybrid, CarComplaints reports.

In its advertising, Toyota claimed the model (built from 2012 to 2015) was good for 13 miles of all-electric driving, after which the vehicle switched to normal hybrid operation. Richard Rosenbaum claims his Prius Plug-in only achieved eight miles of range, and that number sometimes fell to three miles, even with an all-night charge.

Rosenbaum said bought the car to commute 12 miles, and hadn’t expected to use gasoline during the trip. In May of 2015, he took his vehicle to the dealer to address the low range.

According to CarComplaints, “Rosenbaum says a test was conducted and after the test the Prius started getting 10 miles on a single charge, causing the plaintiff to believe Toyota did something to alter the car.”

The automaker denies it did anything to alter the vehicle. However, Rosenbaum’s beef with Toyota goes deeper than just warm-weather range. He claims the automaker never told him the vehicle would burn gas continuously during the winter. Below 55 degrees, the Prius Plug-in operates solely as a hybrid, using the gasoline engine to provide warm coolant for the heater.

Rosenbaum never saw the gasoline savings he had hoped for. His suit alleges the automaker violated Michigan consumer protection and breach of warranty laws, as well as breach of contract violations.

In 2014, the plug-in model’s best sales year, Toyota sold 13,263 Prius Plug-ins to the regular Prius’ 122,776. The model is set to return as the 2017 Prius Prime, offering 22 miles of all-electric range, though the automaker recently pushed back the launch date.

[Image: Toyota]

#Lawsuits #Plug-inHybrids #Toyota #ToyotaPrius #ToyotaPriusPlug-in

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Keith_93 on Aug 07, 2016

I usually roll my eyes at these type of lawsuits, but this guy has a point. If this car's range is consistently off by more than a third, that is way beyond "YMMV." That would be like buying a car that claimed 30mpg highway, and actually getting 18mpg highway.

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- Mcs on Aug 08, 2016
  
  EVs and hybrids are different than gas-only cars in that the manufacturer gives you an important tool, regen braking, to increase mileage and range. It's a skill that you have to work at. The trick is staying off the conventional brakes as much as possible. That means anticipating every stop and stopping/slowing the car with minimal or no brake pedal pressure. Hit the brake pedal too hard, and you'll get no benefit from regen. Master that skill and you'll exceed the EPA rating. Smooth driving effects all types of vehicles, but is a bigger factor in electrified vehicles because of regen. Energy economy relies on a certain amount of skill and it's hard to replicate that in a standardized test.
  
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- Shaker on Aug 08, 2016
  
  @mcs True - you'll generally exceed the stated range if you use regen properly, (or the "B" or "L" setting on the shifter for long downhill runs). Climate control will reduce your range by 10% over a single charge, but only if you drive the battery flat. If you attempt multiple short drives on the same charge (with stops long enough for the interior to warm/cool), the climate system has to start over at either warming or cooling the interior, so range can suffer considerably under that scenario. So, you have to have a "buffer" in mind when you decide on the range you need.
  
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- Brandloyalty on Aug 08, 2016
  
  @mcs Yes, and not to mention trying to avoid braking to begin with. Regen + electrical boost suffers conversion losses (which is why maximizing ev mode can actually reduce mileage if overdone). And the rear brakes are applied lightly during regen using the brake pedal, which is all lost energy since regen is done with the front wheels only. Regen by downshifting suffers losses fron higher rpm's, but this wastes less energy than the rear brakes. So downshifting is preferable to braking, which is why newer hybrids start regen braking as soon as you lift off the gas.
  
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SunnyvaleCA on Aug 08, 2016

Isn't the entire point of the plug-in Prius to get the solo carpool lane use in California? Think about it. You save about $0.60 by plugging it in.

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