[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

To be clear, using the term "self charging hybrid" is stupid, created to confuse people.

If it was stupid and it did confuse people, the concept of a hybrid would have never taken off. They introduced Hybrids over 20 years ago and have perfected it. Almost every car manufacturer has a self charging hybrid. The BMW 330e is a PHEV, self charging hybrid too. Its a marketing term. It in no way means the battery magically charges itself when the car is stationary or when parked in your garage. I don't think any battery is capable of that.

Toyota's Hybrid Synergy drives uses its petrol engine and coasting to keep its batteries charged. The petrol engine isn't the sole power train. Energy recovery back to the battery is the same as any PHEV or BEV.

Depending on how you want to look at it, the term "self charging" may be incorrect. Personally; I don't look into that all that much. Its just marketing. In the end, the question is if their Hybrid tech works or not. We all know the answer to that.

[Chanakya]

They are indeed justified in using the phrase self charging. At no point does the user have to worry about running out of charge like in wall/plug charged EVs. The user never has to take the effort to plug in the car or repent forgetting charging before starting a trip. The charging process is thus, transparent to the user and hence the phrase. Citing laws of thermodynamics and energy can't be created etc is just semantics.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

The warranty is a good thing for the consumer, Toyota will not profit 2 lakhs with battery change(which again is not a bad thing, all companies make profit from selling spares).

Agreed, just that it's not a self charging hybrid, it's a petrol engine charged hybrid. When the engine charges the battery, the car gets the worst mileage (may be around 5kmpl), as the engine has to run the car and also the electric generator. The overall better mileage for hybrids is only because of the efficient electric motor.

Anyways like to read about the 500km electric mode thing, please share if you could find.

500KM running is mentioned in official TBHP review, please go through. Well the battery is not self charging but the car charges itself. The word "Self" here refers to Car and not the battery. So the claim "self" mean car charges the battery itself without needing to charge externally unlike EV or any human intervention other than fueling. This is my understanding when Toyota says "Self Charging Hybrid".

[LeoRBK]

We ask ourselves why would we want to invest in a hybrid car and pay extra for a motor, battery and associated tech?
1. Is it to reduce our fuel bills?
2. Is it keep a clean environment, effectively zero emissions?

The hybrid works well to the first end if you spend most of your time in slow moving dense urban traffic. The technology cuts down the inefficiency of running ICE engine at low speeds and uses battery power which was either recuperated kinetic energy/ ICE engine charging a battery. You will see significant drop in efficiency on constant speed highway runs, a diesel is by far more efficient albeit dirtier.

The technology by no means is clean for the environment. CO2 are quite high. So you are not doing any favours to the community by driving around in a hybrid. Switch to an EV if environmental concerns are important to you.

Regarding the naming convention, the marketing term self charging is misleading. Well if they were clever enough to plonk a solar panel on roof to charge the battery, self charging would be more apt. An ICE engine charges your battery in advance for the 4-5 Kms of range you drive on EV mode. What is self charging about this? Instead of plug-in power it resorts to an alternative source.
As long as we understand this distinction the smart amongst us need not worry about how Toyota chooses to market its car. At the end of the day you are driving an ICE car with a clever way to improve its efficiency, you are not driving an electric. By trying to justifying the term self charging we are simply playing into the hands of Toyota who would want us to believe we are driving a disruptive technology which will save the planet.

[amalji]

The hybrid batteries on Toyota hybrids ( Ni-Mh ) already lasts 8-10 years normally. Even with Lithium ions ( which Toyota might use in the future on Indian hybrids ), the durability is supposed to improve even further. So, theoretically this is a very safe bet for Toyota to make.

PS: In US for example, Toyota uses a mix of Lithium ion and NiMH on different variants of the same hybrid car. This is to keep the weight almost the same even on higher variants fitted with a lot of accessories. Lithium ion batteries are much less heavier than an NiMH battery.

[RJK]

Originally Posted by RJK

Being owners of a Jan’21 Camry, this makes me feel disappointed. Toyota’s strategy makes me infer that the battery they install in cars sold after August’21 may be better and a lower probability of failing, compared to the car/battery combo sold before August’21.



It’s difficult to gauge the efficiency of engine when it’s charging & driving the car. The switchover happens without manual intervention. The efficiency one gets is always of electric motor + engine, combined.

Quoting myself here, I got a call from my sales person regarding the battery warranty. He said Toyota has launched an option for existing Camry Hybrid owners to extend battery warranty till 8 yrs by paying 18k which is at 50% discount, until December. Post that, it’ll go up to 36-37k. Still thinking if we should pay up and take the extra coverage at 18k

[mayjay]

Originally Posted by RJK

Quoting myself here, I got a call from my sales person regarding the battery warranty. He said Toyota has launched an option for existing Camry Hybrid owners to extend battery warranty till 8 yrs by paying 18k which is at 50% discount, until December. Post that, it’ll go up to 36-37k. Still thinking if we should pay up and take the extra coverage at 18k

Should be a relatively small price to pay for ease of mind for 8 years. Would pay if you are planning to keep the car for a long time.
All these batteries are dependent on chemistry and that can be unpredictable, no matter what the average failure rates say.

[RJK]

Originally Posted by mayjay

Should be a relatively small price to pay for ease of mind for 8 years. Would pay if you are planning to keep the car for a long time.
All these batteries are dependent on chemistry and that can be unpredictable, no matter what the average failure rates say.

True, most likely will take it but Toyota‘s approach is what I didn’t like. Atleast for the vehicles sold in the same calendar year could’ve been covered, instead of asking them to pay up. I’ve already taken extended warranty of 5yrs at 45k, and now this additional cost on top. If there was any inkling, I would’ve skipped the extended warranty and taken only the battery warranty.

[One]

Originally Posted by RJK

True, most likely will take it but Toyota‘s approach is what I didn’t like. Atleast for the vehicles sold in the same calendar year could’ve been covered, instead of asking them to pay up.

Agree with you in principle. But hasn't the Camry price increased from the time you purchased to now by over a lakh which makes the combined extended warranty and battery warranty still worth it?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by RJK

True, most likely will take it but Toyota‘s approach is what I didn’t like. Atleast for the vehicles sold in the same calendar year could’ve been covered, instead of asking them to pay up.

Sympathize with you here. Skoda did even worse by introducing their 5+6 year warranty (from a specific date in 2016) without even giving earlier 2016 owners even the option of paying and increasing their coverage

[RJK]

Originally Posted by One

Agree with you in principle. But hasn't the Camry price increased from the time you purchased to now by over a lakh which makes the combined extended warranty and battery warranty still worth it?

Sorry, if Toyota has a habit of increasing prices, how does that benefit me? Do you mean in terms of resale or in terms of the fact that the extended warranty price is now built-in? Not clear to me. In any case, I think the model they'll start selling now is the face-lifted one with Android Auto/Apple car play and minor changes to bumper etc. So, its not like they're selling the same exact car & bumped up the price by a lakh. I'm not even sure how much is it now as I've stopped tracking the price. In any case, if they had covered existing customers, it just creates a stronger goodwill for the customer, after all its not a INR 5-10L vehicle with wafer thin margins they're selling!

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Sympathize with you here. Skoda did even worse by introducing their 5+6 year warranty (from a specific date in 2016) without even giving earlier 2016 owners even the option of paying and increasing their coverage

My sympathies with you too! Its VAG afterall, I don't think they even care about the tiny customer base they have in India, going by the macro scale.