At the Ford Dealership where I work, we have signed up to sell the new hybrid Escape. It requires some training for service, and some special tools. You have to buy a special pair of gloves to work on high voltage, and get this, a special insulated hook to separate the tech from the car if he gets shocked. Really makes me want to work on this thing.
Well, regular internal combustion engines involve contained explosions and highly flammable fuel. Don’t you have to take special precautions like avoiding open flames, sparks, careful disposal of contaminated rags, worry about absorbing or inhaling poisonous fumes…?
I mean, I understand your concern, but isn’t it a matter of learning some new safety procedures and habits? Is it really significantly more hazardous than working with gasoline engines?
I read an article a couple weeks ago about emergency response crews (in CA, I think) being trained to avoid getting shocked if they have to cut a person out of a hybrid car. Toyota says their Prius is supposed to shut down the juice if anything happens to the car, but the high voltage lines are bright yellow, just in case.
That’s a good idea - are they going to make that an industry standard? A situation were the “don’t touch/cut” parts are bright yellow in one vehicle, red in another, orange in another and some other color in yet another isn’t good.
I just find it funny that ford would sell us a hook for $167 to separate the tech from the car. It doesn’t really worry me. With what the training and the extra equipment costs the dealership, I hope the truck is a success.
The high voltage cables in a Prius are orange not yellow.
They are run through the bottom of the car where emergency workers are unlikely to want to cut.
http://techinfo.toyota.com/public/main/2ndprius.pdf
Brian